Educate Your Shopper by Jacqueline Ryan

Educate Your Shopper

By: Jacqueline Ryan

“As a leader in sustainable fashion, the brand perfectly demonstrates that creativity is linked to sustainability,” states François-Henri Pinault on Stella McCartney. When it comes to sustainable fashion brands, you were commonly think of boring designs that LOOK like you’re wearing eco-friendly items, which aren’t always the most attractive or flattering. BUT, over at Stella McCartney, they use their creativity to do it all and do it all well.

A big issue when it comes to the public’s knowledge on the impact of textiles on the environment, is a lack of knowledge. McCartney’s brand has made an important commitment to educate. After a piece of clothing leaves the store, is when over 30% of a garment’s footprint occurs, referring to washing and drying. It is important to educate others on this aspect, since this footprint can be easily reduced, which in hand will reduce water usage as well as energy.

Did you know that just to wash your clothing, in even “high-efficiency washers,” that 15-30 GALLONS of water is used? Preserving water is important. After this water is used to wash clothing, it is filled with debris like dirt, dyes, etc., that can make its way back into our oceans. Stella’s commitment to reverse this, it is important since it will reduce the amount of harmful water being filtered into our oceans. Consumers must be educated on this, to realize the impact that they are having. Yes, it is easy to know about the harmful effects of using real leather or furs, but not many people think much about the impact washing their clothes has. It is important to spread this information, to continue to circle of fashion responsibility, and extend it past production and before disposal.

This may sound crazy, but after speaking to a friend of mine, she told me how she personally addresses this issue, saving her time as well as reducing harm. She washes some of her garments while she’s in the shower! Yes, as in she brings them in the shower with her. Obviously, she doesn’t do this with an entire load, but it could help you to save some water and quickly wash a shirt or two, then hanging them to dry. Every day, people are starting to get on the bandwagon to becoming more sustainable. New technologies like detergent-free washing machines, denim you don’t wash, and biodegradable underwear.

Detergent-free washing machines use common chemicals instead of harmful soaps. This substance, dihydrogen monoxide, breaks down into different ions then, attracts and retains stains, while the ions sterilize the clothes. Biodegradable underwear is a wear-once idea, that is more sanitary for the wearer, while also cutting back on the amount of laundry that they produce. Lastly, denim you don’t wash becomes one of a kind. The more that you were them, they form their own distressed look, and fit to your body, making them the perfect jeans for each individual who owns a pair. If companies were to include detergent-free washing machines in their factories, while selling these biodegradable underwear, and no-wash jeans, it could reduce both their and their customers impact on the environment, and help them towards their goal of educating consumers on their impact using exposure to these products will make them more aware.

Cited

Clothes Washer. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.home-water-works.org/indoor-use/clothes-washer

Stella McCartney: Change Agent. (2015, March 29). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable/stella-mccartney-change-agent

TREND HUNTER Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.trendhunter.com/protrends/the-future-of-laundry-after-decades-of-the-same-technologies-new-laundry-co