Fashion Need Not Cost The Earth
One of our motivations for Mash N Gravy was to source ethically produced clothing which did not instantly scream ‘Tree Hugger’. The perception of some is that organic garments either have to be a rice puddingy shade of off white to prove that they have not been bleached or cobbled together by the ageing, visually impaired members of a remote Himalayan tribe.
We know differently and want to prove that dressing your child in uber cool gear can be done on a reasonable budget and need not have devastating consequences for the world in which we live. Children grow, sometimes at an alarming rate – send them to their grandparents for the weekend and they come back two inches taller. So why then should you spend more money than you have to on clothing when there are cheaper alternatives available?
Did you know that there are 0.8m of cloth in a pair of boys school trousers? How much does that fabric cost and what about the making up of the garment? If a super market or low cost chain can sell these garments for £2.50 it doesn’t take the brightest candle on the birthday cake to work out what these are made from and who is making them up and under what conditions. It’s not rocket salad!
The clothing industry is one of the worlds most damaging and under the circumstances it is not always best to ‘Buy British’. The UK clothing industry is right up there with the most harmful, producing 2 million tons of waste, 3.1 million tons of CO2 and 70 million tons of waste water annually. The dying process alone can use up to 800 litres of water per Kilo of fabric.
Many of our brands from Europe comply with the Oko-Tex Standard 100 which is an international testing and certification system for textiles, limiting the use of certain harmful chemicals. Test samples are examined to determine their pH value formaldehyde content, the presence of pesticides, heavy metals and preservatives. The use of flame retardants and biocide finishes is prohibited in the clothing sector. The greater the contact with the skin the more stringent the requirements.
We have all been urged recently to regard our carbon footprint in our various modes of travel, the food on our table and the energy which we use in out homes. Now you can assess the environmental impact of the clothes in your wardrobe using the new Household Textile Environmental Impact Calculator. Log on to www.ecotextile.com and follow the prompts ie. How many items of clothing does your family buy? How do you wash, dry and iron them, and ultimately how do you dispose of them? This will calculate your Environmental Damage Units and highlight the areas which need to be addressed.
I’m sure that we will encounter this subject again in the Blog as our awareness has been forcibly brought to other areas of our lives and lifestyles which we have been urged to change. Happy shopping and don’t forget to check the label!
If you needed to travel from Sydney to Melbourne, would you catch a taxi No, because it not cost effective. Harrison Solutions
Comment by Harrison Solutions — November 28, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Point taken Harrison Solutions, there are ‘greener’ ways of dressing ie charity shops, recycling and customising old garments etc, but when making a new purchase we all have the right to make informed choices and as a retailer Mash N Gravy is committed to offering labels which we feel are the most conscientious in their processes from design through to production, packaging and delivery. We are here to provide these brands for those who need or want to make a new purchase however, there are many, many alternatives out there, ethical or otherwise to match both budget and conscience.
Comment by julie — November 29, 2008 @ 9:37 am