L: Local fashion

Wool made of British sheep. Clothing made of nettle grown in the Dutch polder. Shoes made in Italy. The European production of clothing and shoes is a niche market. Textile production having been moved to low wage countries in Asia, Africa and South America, very little of our current wardrobe has been made locally. The negative environmental and social effects of this shift have become evident. To name but a few: energy intensive global distribution processes, water pollution, child labor in cotton harvesting, and sweatshops where factory workers earn less than a living wage while working 80 to 100 hours per week.

The gravity of these issues have stimulated sustainable fashion labels to search for more planet & people friendly production processes. At the same time, pressure by Greenpeace, the Clean Clothes Campaign and others have made mainstream fashion companies more aware of the need to consider the environmental and social impacts of their ways of doing business in low wage countries. What’s more, recent developments in Asia, where wages are getting higher and transport costs are increasing, have made these companies consider the benefits of producing closer to home.

In the UK, initiatives like Handmade in Britain and the Campaign for Wool have attempted to stimulate local textile and fashion production. For consumers, local enterprises promise to offer high quality, often unique products with a good story – about authenticity, heritage and sustainability.

In a similar vein, a growing number of Dutch fashion designers have chosen to work with local production facilities. Many of these are (subsidized) sewing studios for disadvantaged groups, including physically challenged men, women with a psychiatric background, immigrants who don’t yet speak Dutch or teenagers who have dropped out of school. The reason why labels such as Ellen Willink, Coverbee, i-did and Ami-e-toi work with these production facilities is not just out of a concern with labor standards in low wage countries and a commitment to enable vulnerable groups to participate in the job market. They also take into account the environmental benefits of producing locally. And the fact that they create unique, feelgood products? For all of us consumers that’s a free bonus.

Z: Zero Plastic Week

As an ecofashionista who’s joined Zero Plastic Week for the second time in a row, I’m up for a challenge. So let’s go beyond the fight against plastic wraps of cucumber, tofu, toothpaste and the like. Because once we take a look at our daily outfits and weekly clothing shopping sessions, it becomes obvious that plastic plays a major role in our wardrobes.

Obviously, the average fashion store is not a particularly plasticfree environment. It’s plastic bags, price tags and clothes hangers galore. The basic step for those striving towards a low plastic lifestyle? Consume less, or go vintage or thrift shopping. And, of course: keep those foldable, reusable shopping bags within reach at all times.

The thing is: a more hidden plastic world lies behind our closets at home. And I’m not talking about those raincoats or fleece vests here. The average wardrobe consists of 50% of polyester items. (The other half is cotton; unfortunately a not so environmentally friendly fabric either). In many cases, natural fibers such as cotton and silk will be blended with nylon or lycra to make them more durable or to give them a better fit. In addition, the availability of contemporary high quality polyesters – which are not as uncomfortable to wear or cheap looking as their predecessors – means that even designer wear can now be made from artificial fibers.

What’s wrong with the abundance of polyesters in our closets, you may ask? The most important issue when it comes to plastic in clothes concerns our washing routines. Every time we wash an item made from polyester, some 1900 plastic fibers end up in the oceans and seas. And once there, the microplastics contribute to the deadly plastic soup.

Even for dedicated ecofashionistas like myself, dressing in style while supporting the fight against the plastic soup is not an easy feat. My search for animal friendly alternatives to leather bags inevitably seems to lead to plastic. For example, slow fashion designer Ellen Willink's bags are made from recycled (plastic) banners. And let’s not forget that even Envirosax’s reusable bags are made from polyesters.

On the upside, anyone who’s seen the images of the plastic soup, and more importantly, its effects on birds and other marine animals, will be stimulated to continue to strive towards a zero plastic life. Because surely, plastic can never be fashionable.