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Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ecophiles
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/10/23
Harm to Animals and the Environment
Harm to animals matters to me; the degradation of the environment matters to me, too.
As animals, I include us. I want to reduce harm to animals in general. Pain is not fun (duh).
As to the environment, I point to what the scientific community says and well-meaning, informed global citizens know: climate change is both real and a serious issue. The use of natural fibres over synthetic ones is a good start because plastics harm ecosystems that animals depend on for decent survival. But also the use of plant-based natural fibres to reduce your impact on the environment altogether, including the animals that live and are a part of them.
Invest in Staples that will last you long
The actual cost of fast fashion comes from the externalities, which are things such as environmental and ecosystem impacts for the worse.
The simple answer for avoiding these is to be a more conscious consumer of the products that you buy which have the greatest potential to harm the environment and ecosystems, and people such as child or women labourers in poor countries.
Some of those can include a greater carbon footprint based on the use of synthetic fibers. Their production can cost carbon. They also damage the environment. Always, always, they end up in the ocean or landfills. These can have deleterious effects on ecosystems. Other negative effects include people. Because if something is damaging the ecosystem, and the animals or plants that are in the ecosystem are affected in some way. Those effects can in many ways hurt us because we eat plants and animals, which can exist in ecosystems damaged by plastics.
One key is to purchase the natural fibres that last longer than the other ones and to avoid the synthetic fibres altogether. Those kinds of staples are a means from which to reduce your consumption patterns, and the consumption patterns are altogether less damaging per purchase in addition to a reduction in the frequency of the purchases.
Labels matter (not brands)
Labels can matter. The labels of certification such as fair trade, sustainable apparel coalition, ethical fashion forum, Greenpeace detox, and so on. What are these groups doing? These groups are involved in providing certification or information about the potential harm to certain products and the safety of others. This is good for the buyer, which is you and me.
Buy Vintage
You can buy vintage. This means all products. You can go to an antique store or a place that sells vintage clothes. Those clothes are old, but they are useful. They don’t have to be thrown away. They don’t have to be wasteful. You don’t have to be as wasteful with purchases. This is part and parcel of being a conscious consumer in the ethical and sustainable fashion movement.
The brand does not necessarily matter, because the bigger brands don’t necessarily take into account these certifications or concerns. There is inertia from a market force in prior times that did not take any of this into account, which is something to be seriously taking into account for us- to change the direction of the fashion industry for one.
Shop Local
You can shop local. There are fewer impacts on the environment due to transportation limitations. You can simply buy at the farmers market. You can support local business. By supporting local business, you can uplift the community. You can help a neighbor. You can purchase things that are built by small and medium businesses. Small and medium businesses are the drivers of much of the economy. In tough economic times, as now, they are important. In tougher environmental circumstances, these are also important.
Repurpose your old clothes and Recycle
You can look at organization and charity directories that can inform you and put you in the right direction for the where you buy clothes. You could also look into methodologies for recycling. There are places to do it. Also, there are ways to simply biodegrade old clothes that could even be a fun weekend project. For example, if you like composting or simply haven’t tried it, you could look into red wiggler worms and hot composting to get some free fertilizer from old natural fibre clothes in only a few weeks time.
We can all do our part; me, too.
License
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightjournal.com.
Copyright
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