What's fashion got to do with climate? - A flawless look at the details


Cotton and silk are natural fabrics but,

If the fabric used is synthetic, then everything about is linked to fossil fuels.
v  Polyester (synthetic) full name, polyethylene terephthalate is derived from petroleum, coal.
v  Nylon is basically plastic fibres, or polyamides.
v  Acrylic is polymers of polyacrylontrile (plastic)
v  Synthetic latex is made from petrochemicals.
v  Rayon can be semi synthetic, when cellulose from plants is strengthened by other chemical processes.

Natural fabrics are mixed with synthetic ones to enhance durability, to make them water and tear resistant, hard to crease or maybe elastic.

Another way fossil fuels come in is that during the making of these synthetic fabrics, chemicals such as NaOH (Sodium hydroxide) or carbon disulfide (CS2)are used. Both come from fossil fuels.

Heat and steam used in the cloth-making process comes from fossil fuels.

In some cases, forests are destroyed so that the land can be used to grow something else. Cotton is one of those crops that take up forested lands.

Friendly reminder : Trees and all greenery help mitigate global warming. They absorb CO2. That means if they are gone, we are just making it hotter for us. And we’ll stew in our clothes, expensive or not.

Pret-a-porter[1] or ready to wear clothing is targeted mostly at ordinary working folk who wanna look good and presentable. It is made to set sizes.  It is also mass produced which means it has a large carbon footprint basically because of the sheer quantities of items being made.

Avant-garde[2] is runway fashion, typically not for everyday wear. It is the most creative, radical and lively form of design. This type of fashion might every now and then be modified and adapted to make fashionable clothing for everyday folk. Because it is not worn en-masse, it has the lowest carbon footprint compared to the rest.

So you see the fashion industry has quite the carbon foot print[3], a hardly fashionable thing, not to be celebrated.

Turn over the page, let’s look at it now from a different perspective. Nowadays, plastic is used to manufacture basically everything. Computers, phones casings and coating, paints, dishes (utensils), chairs, carpets, pen casings, upholstery, coffee cups (very famous with Americans), bottles, low cost polythene bags and basically anything and everything you can think of.

We always want to have the best and the latest design. If it’s high end then the more the prestige. And get it, we must.  Manufacturers take advantage of this and use all manner of fake and misleading advertising to make you effectively destroy the planet you live in.

Plastic is derived from fossil fuels, petrochemicals to be exact. According to the US Energy Information Authority, plastic in the country is made mostly from natural gas.

Plastic is non biodegradable[4] . That means that it doesn’t naturally break down when discarded into the environment. It thus becomes a problem for centuries for the inhabitants of this planet, especially helpless ones such as animals. Plastic in the form of microfibers or actual polythene is washed into the sea and kills sea life because it cannot be digested. Fish also swallow the plastic micro beads and are caught and used as human food. The menace moves up the food chain.

Makeup, for the lovers of living art and all things beautiful, let’s talk about the products you use on your face and body. What are the ingredients in lotions, creams, moisturizers, concealers, primers, toners and all that jazz for the face beat? Most products are touted as having this or that miracle ingredient, from nature’s own clinic, herbal this and herbal that, rare plant, miracle cure for acne, best for flawless skin etc.

Did you know that most of these ingredients come from rain forests like the Amazon[5] and other tropical forests? This means that a tree had to be axed (pun fully intended) or a plant, critical to the ecosystem[6] had to be harvested in massive quantities so that whatever miracle ingredient could be extracted.

Palm oil for example is the main component in lotions. Palm oil trees are grown in huge plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia who are the biggest producers followed by West Africa. These plants are however planted in areas where naturally occurring peat[7] reserves, mangrove and tropical forests have been cut to make way for the more commercially valuable palm oil.

That also means that a lot of greenhouse emissions are released from deforestation and degradation of land.
Greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming/climate change.

So, are your items of clothing classics? Are you a classic girl? Are you a young OG[8]? Do you love, value time defying pieces? Are them pieces going to outlive you? Do you follow fads and trends? Do you use and dump or are you faithful to your old is gold pieces?

Are you going to pass down your wedding gown to your granddaughter?

Are we going to hold your jacket with affection and reminisce about our swanky grandpa? Or maybe your waistcoat will be in a museum of living art, or on display as a wax figure or mannequin in glass, to be viewed by generations after us.

For young people, and I’ll repeat this, the fate of the planet is in your hands, it is up to you to take care of this planet because it is your home, for the long run. 

In French, they say  ‘Sauvegarder’ -  to keep safe, safeguard. The English equivalent is to conserve. ‘Elémentaire, mon cher Watson’ . It’s simple logic.




[1] Mass produced clothes, off the assembly line. Not made to measure.
[2] A French word meaning ‘those going before.’ It’s usually very experimental fashion.
[3] The amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas equivalent, that a deed/act or entity releases into the atmosphere.
[4] It can’t be broken down by microorganisms or by exposure to the elements.
[5] The biggest rainforest on Earth, found in South America
[6] An ecosystem is the unique interaction of all living things and natural elements like wind and rain in a particular area
[7] The very first step in forming coal, usually vegetable matter about to be compressed into rock
[8] Slang for a young fellow who is both street and book smart. He/she knows how to get things done quick fast.

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