Why a blog?
Feeling strongly impacted by all of the things we hear about regarding our planets’ health and that of its’ inhabitants, it was natural for me to embark on a zero-waste journey. I buy very few new clothes, and when I do, I chose to support businesses that I am particularly fond of for their commitments: local production, natural and organic materials, designers with whom we’ve engaged in animated conversations about ecology.
To create a business that makes new products with new materials (even with them being eco-friendly) made me feel conflicted in response to my perception of the world and my personal commitments.
I analyzed this inner conflict from every possible angle until I came up with a decision: I love this work, I love the people I work with (from my clients to my suppliers) and I think that encouraging people to move toward more local and sustainable fashion will help us take a step toward a more respectful and safe future for the environment.
Photo : Morgane Clément-Gagnon
It’s important to put words on what is happening to us and to find solutions to produce better, therefore live better. The goal here isn’t to be “perfect”, but to aim for “better”. I’m not one to think we’ll simply stop producing, but I definitely think we can do it more ethically. We can do it better by supporting local producers, by educating consumers on what they buy, by obtaining proper information on the products we buy, by buying less, but better quality and by buying with a practical vision, not a superficial one. Solutions exist; all we need is to ask ourselves the right questions and to work together…because I’m positive that to shift toward positive change we need to act collectively.
What I love about my work, as well, are the educational aspects. I like explaining what is going on in the production, why an option is better than another, what they involve, why buying organic cotton is better than virgin cotton, etc. That being said, the idea of a blog came along rather naturally.
Photo : Morgane Clément-Gagnon
At the start of 2020, I felt like sharing my thoughts based on a fabulous text by Hester Lacey, discovered in the Viewpoint Colour Issue #07 – Preloved[1].
This text had me awestricken, as it put words on my impressions. Originating from an important and trendy magazine, it proved that these words weren’t only resonating within myself, but within many people in the industry, at a global scale.
Unintentionally, the way we dress or enjoy dressing has always been, in most cases, influenced by fashion and trends.
Of course, ecology is no exception.
Yes, being green is trendy..
What does the future hold for fashion?
Hasn’t the time come for an economic downturn?
Wouldn’t it be time to reverse our interests toward human and planetary welfare rather than focusing on masse production and the accumulation of goods we don’t really need?
We could give one billion arguments that clearly demonstrate that our future on this planet is compromised if we maintain this pace. Finding examples of evidence is easy: going green is no longer a choice, but an imperative on which our survival relies.
More and more alternatives are being brought to life. Amongst them, new more “eco-friendly” materials, Circulose, Recover, Roïca… they are highlighted in displays like Première Vision without us actually questioning their true “eco-friendly” nature.
Words such as “biodegradable”, “organic” and “green” are overused and have lost their primary meanings. The planet would need a worldwide agreement to avoid using these words out of true context in order for them to reclaim their essence.
Amongst these alternatives lies recycling.
Sadly, not everything can be recycled, especially most clothes. Recycling has its’ limits. It puts a Band-Aid on a problem without healing the wound. Recycling is energetically and financially expensive and must not serve as an excuse to excessive consumerism.
I firmly believe that none of these materials or solutions will be able to save the future of fashion without us fundamentally questioning how we produce and how our consumerist society encourages us to spend endlessly.
There are plenty of environmental initiatives taking place, but are they enough? Have we already gone too far? Wouldn’t the solution simply be to stop? To do better with what we already possess?
The most alarming part is that the number of clothes produced between the years 2000 and 2014 has doubled (without the increasing population actually doubling, itself).
Photo : Tissu 100% coton biologique en processus de décomposition - 1 année
"The fashion industry has all this creativity which is currently being used to fuel capitalist system. Why don’t we use it to solve problems and save ourselves instead?”
Sara Anold of XR
That being said, we could use all this creativity and channel it toward a better world. Solutions waiting to be activated are within reach.
Repair – Learn (or relearn?) to fixe the clothes we like instead of throwing them away.
Reuse – Why buy a new something that we already possess? Why not reflect and find solutions to use them differently?
Reflect – Think about the carbon impact of the clothes we’re wearing. Rebecca Burgess, in her amazing book, Fibershed, proves that its’ possible to produce wool with a carbon neutral impact.
Rethink – Rethink the clothes life span in a circular way rather than linear, by considering the way it was created, but also the way it is disposed of, recycled, degraded.
“The new watchwords are not only repair, reuse, remake and reduce but also rethink… and refuse.”
Hester Lacey
[1] Viewpoint Colour is a magazine about trending colours, sustained by the company Pantone. It contains designer and company articles and references about up-to-date subjects in the fashion world. It’s a tool in the creation of new collections.
