Fashion Forwards?

I heard about a great idea today. Some children in country Victoria Australia, lead by their teachers hold regular meet and swaps to share their unwanted clothing. Children are given a ticket for every number of clothing items they donate and can reclaim other people’s clothes, per number donated in return. It’s such a great idea given children grow out of clothing so quickly. Alarmingly 95 percent of the clothing items donated were by girls because they churn through their purchases so readily. We can thank marketing around fast fashion for this kind of statistic.

There’s a lot of companies entering the damage control stakes when it comes to sustainability. Unfortunately, such concepts are very problematic. It’s possible that changes to manufacturing practices and use of  “recycled” fabrics or more “sustainable” products can have a minimum impact. Most of these companies use heavily derived statistics from, well, no -where in particular and blur the lines of truth to legitimise shopping models and advertising frameworks that still ask people to want more and more and more. The problem is not just in the production of the clothing but in the chain store culture of pushing at people a barrage of advertisements that can, especially for much younger non suspecting people, feel like a rather large dose of mind control.

Looking at production models and use of fabrics alone, some of the new “innovations” in “sustainable” materials I find difficult to understand. There’s some making clothing from Pineapple leaves for example. I suppose it might depend on where the Pineapple leaves come from.  Even more alarming is that most pineapples are grown in Costa Rica where horrible slave labour is in order, even including small children in which case I will buy my boots from a vintage store or save up and have an artisan make them and not have too many boots at all.  Possibly, drought tolerant as pineapple growing is, if grown in ethical ways, it might not be too bad an option but it’s still better to buy second hand. Another idea was one which involved growing algae in labs and adding it to kelp to make fabrics due to its biodegradable nature. I’m assuming at the moment the kelp is sourced from oceans or kelp farms, neither of which really provide a sustainable option. Kelp found washed up on shores is still part of our eco system. Climate scientists predict that many of our kelp forests will be gone with the rise in global warming because kelp relies on cold water to grow. Growing kelp inside in tanks is totally possible and may be an option, however the energy costs in running these tanks would currently be very high. In the future via, clean energy though, it’s perhaps possible. The only issue is; how long do you wish you clothing to last for? I’m sure we’re not talking about walking down the street where one arm falls off your shirt because it’s a biodegradable item after a year and that’s ok because it’s out of fashion now. Does the item last 10 years, 20, 30? We don’t really have any room left for waiting at all. Asian countries have stopped taking the waste from other countries such as Australia and America where they could recycle at a low cost. That’s because THERES TOO MUCH WASTE. It’s probably a better solution than non-biodegradable clothing items like say nylon?  Wait hang on, plastic can be recycled, so too can nylon.  Also some forms of nylon are actually biodegradable and inventing a new kind of fabric from algae and kelp might not be cost effective for H and M given teams of innovators are possibly being paid to make them. It’s possibly an interesting experiment nevertheless but could be a bit of a PR spin at present.

Cotton is the coal of fashion. There is no sustainable way in actual fact to really grow cotton. It takes thousands of litres of water to irrigate crops. It’s a bit like saying we source diamonds responsibly. In both cases there’s a fairly major impact to the environment. Perhaps it’s not so dire as before, but we would be better off too cut back to the bare minimum on such purchases though. keeping in mind the people who sell these brands, such as celebrities are caught in a system of sales that not only pushes at us clothing but also a hankering for big cars, big homes and big parties and even claim to be suddenly “plastic free” while having a few weeks early advertised Fiji water and iced coffee in plastic cups on Instagram or in the Daily Mail.

What is the solution to the great chain store massacre to the environment, to the real environmentalists, the ones actually on the ground chugging away at some wonderful greening the earth projects. I don’t think we have a clear answer just yet in a collated collective way. That’s where my head is going, pulling all the many threads together from those who have investigated the area of climate change from a real scientific base in the most non contradictory of ways and who are legitimately wanting to fight the war on waste rather than providing band aide solutions. Here’s my list (just where fashion is concerned) and given I’m possibly just an ordinary gal who is not an Economist, Scientist or Environmental expert, I’ve done a bit of reading around those who are, so I feel inclined to the following list.  In order of priority, this is how I’m making sense of it all.

Vintage, vintage vintage / Swap and Save for Big Business

Buy vintage, shop vintage, don’t be ashamed to re-wear other people’s clothes, all the cool kids are doing it. There’s already enough clothing in waste and vintage stores to cloth, most of the world for a long time as it is. A lot of it is now sitting in landfill because, while second hand stores are thriving big chain stores are still the huge competition and a lot of the very rich business people of this world are reluctant to add a fifty fifty split of vintage to new clothing. They really just need to be prepared to profit but possibly not quite as much. Who knows though, it could actually be more cost effective If some of those companies themselves offered a swap and save aspect. The swapped second hand items could most definitely be resold.

 Self-Control when buying clothing

Rather than buying lots of clothing, especially on line at prices so low one cannot imagine proper wages are really being paid in due, don’t give in to the spin. Buy reasonably. Just because you can buy three t-shirts because they are 11 dollars each, don’t. Inject money into the economy by spending differently. It’s hard to know how and where? Lots of café’s, leisure activities, markets, festivals, gardening and more are a better option than going to a shopping mall a lot or buying up big on the internet. The online world of advertising is making young people a bit frivolous and actually a bit sad. Clinical studies are indicating a direct harm to young people’s body image because of the rise of Instagram and including model prototypes of the perfectly toned, tall, tanned physique that are an advertisement for fashion and pop culture. Many young people are living in debt even before they are 22 years old.

Cottage Enterprise.

Contrary to popular opinion there is money to made in cottage industries that offer a more sustainable model. Some of these industries are well suited to regional localities and have room for growth and connectivity via the internet.  Given our cities are bursting at the seams it’s a good option. The reason why people often fob these kinds of models off as “not high money spinners” is because the market place is monopolised by big business not because there’s no money in it at all. They often get swiped from the floor before they even begin because a large store moves on in and creates competition that is very hard to beat. Politicians talk about the great small business versus big business vote card policy every time there is an upcoming election.  In fashion, there’s no reason why small manufacturers with lower emissions or even hand crafters focusing on using reclaimed fabrics, can’t be happening in a small way but in lots and lots of places. Yes, the garments can’t be made as quickly and as cheaply, especially in the early stages of a business being set up. A “chain store” that is still operating under the cottage industry model is a solution though. I think we just can’t hold onto massive chain/sweatshop products in the way they are currently manufacturing goods, because, though they are looking at their materials more, the manufacturing outputs via pollutions are still very high and we really need to be looking at community models moving forwards even for the sake of our mental health. It’s strange to think we might need to almost go “backwards” to some degree, to the good old country town feel, in order to move “forwards’ with greening the earth, connecting to each other, loving one another and being truly proud of our efforts and who we are hanging out with.  A lot of costs of course are hidden under the umbrella of economic money shuffling. There’s a heck of a lot of money that is being paid out in mental health and in health in general. Feeling loved and proud and happy is a good way to stay well, it’s not always going to work, but often it will. Just one example too.

Lace Overdress made From Old Curtains. 

Make your own Clothes

Our grandmothers or great grandmothers or even grandfathers did it. It’s fun. It’s something you can do with any piece of fabric, new or reclaimed from another old garment, a pair of curtains for example. Join a knitting collective, any age, it’s cool for all people these days. You can even do courses in making your own shoes which would be great fun and a great business to run or be a part of.

Design Clubs that operate as a Business or Community Engagement Activity

This is a bit of a fun idea which would involve people coming together in clubs to make clothes for one another with skills or a readiness to learn. The activity would involve clothing being made to each person’s story, tastes, body shape or inspiration from others. It might involve watching movies about fashion and its history as a point of interest and inspiration too.

Limit your Social Media Use

Have one set time a day to engage in social media or even use social media every second day. Everything in moderation is a good piece of advice. Connect to the people who are making you feel inspired to be active with your mind, heart and body in ways that are healthy and realistic. Try not to be ashamed of your choices. Stay strong in your resolve to be a greenie and critically analyse what it is you are seeing and being fed via the internet.

I’m not being rude. We are in for a rude shock though unless change happens quickly in the most uncompromising of ways.

The Circus Party

Circus Heart digital art by Nicla Byrnes 

You can have a huge party. You can have a party for two. You can have a tea party, a garden party, a party in the bush or a party at the Ritz (if you’re rich that is). One of my favourite memories though was just a tiny little small party when I was Tiny too, in someone’s home many moons ago. I went dressed as a fortune teller. I could only have been between the ages of four to six, but I think closer to four looking at the photograph, which is strange to think upon, strange because all of us were already full of personality, of dreams and love and hopeful horizons, of pain of potential and of some naughtiness too.

I remember wrapping the gift, a Spiderman toy and a craft kit featuring a boat (if my memory serves me right). Wrapping gifts was such a fun little prelude, all that colour around a happy kind of secret. It barely mattered what was inside though. I didn’t choose Spiderman because I was all that into superheroes. I was into spiders. I loved Charlotte from the animated movies and those all about in the bushlands at the back of our place. The webs were magnificent, so full, so ready to capture the light...artwork. I mean there really is artwork in that kind of creation. Animals are artists. Did our human art come first? No. We were not the original creators at all.

It was a circus theme and I loved the circus. I loved the great trapeze and the flying shapes and the funny grounded bopping around of circus clowns reflecting back to us the laughter, the crying, the silly mistakes, the juggling act.

The party was really run by a young boy a few years only my senior. It was for his younger brother. They were dressed delightfully sweet in a costume a little bit too big and a little bit too small. That was the charm of childhood. We are all still trying to get it right and we still are really. He had taken on the whole undertaking himself which was quite remarkable to me and charming. My costume was very funny. A little girl who came as a trapeze artist pointed that out to me, in not the nicest possible way, but as she was very beautiful and kind of spirited I felt injured but not angry. We were still learning and that’s why I can look back and not feel injured still of course. It’s because she herself didn’t know the back story, the reason I had come as a Fortune Teller. It was because a relation of mine had taken me to the Rocks in Sydney for a special outing. We had entered a beautiful intriguing candleshop. They were all hand made and shaped in magnificent ways, twisted and turning, fashioned as mushroroms or little houses or beautiful scenes. The owner of the store asked me if I’d like a palm reading. She asked me to go off into the world and spread good fortune. It must surely have been at the back of my mind when making the costume from my mother’s nightdress and a scarf and giant brooch.

I remembr a rebellion over the party food not being quite cooked on the inside with little children chanting “we want more” using their knives and forks as a percussive accompinment. I wasn’t so interested in the wait for food that day but on the brother and his determination to provide his little brother with a happy day. There were fun games, pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey and that kind of tradition. I remember being happy and intrigued and grateful for the day.

It must have worn off, the event as a siginifcant memory because years later I was determined to replicate that kind of leadership for my younger sister. I decicded to run the party too, for her and a little swarm of children. I was even more grateful to the one who had promoted this idea in me, realizing how difficult it is to manage a gaggle of screaming, excited, sometimes not perfectly behaved children.

I suppose, sometimes, there’s no shiny award for the invisible influences in our lives. The development of social media can perhaps, especially for younger people, create the allusion and allure of grand followership as a marker of success. It can be but it’s not always the case. Our little memories or little deeds are more linked together than, what at first, meets the eye. I’ve never seen such determination in a little boy to make sure his brother was celebrated. I’m not sure how much his brother appreciated that, hopefully though he did.  I know I did. It’s perhaps, hard to bring the circus to a suburban house. It’s not so hard if your heart is a clown, a trapeze artist, a grand ringmaster or a fortune teller all running about in a mixed up but giving it a good try kind of effort. It was a great party. He did good.

Environmental Protests and the Kitchen Garden Effect

My thoughts on a world where peace wins and equality is possible have grown every year to favour a leaning towards economic models that favour socialist values. This doesn’t mean I’m any anarchist or hater of royals or communist or blindly lead schlep on the back of the next most popular way to advertise a cause while doing a lot of favours to social media outlets, news providers and the careers of famous celebrities or the agendas of politicians. Today many children have decided to strike in the interests of climate change. It’s not a popular response but I’m not all that impressed. It puts me in the boat with some politicians and popular shock jocks who hold views that don’t actually align all that much with me at all in lots of other ways so it’s hard to come out and be truthful but I am because it’s my right to speak my mind, even if not many people are listening.

I think the children have good intentions. I think some of the leaders of that fight are really super kids with a gusto for social responsibility and a fight for life you want to see in teens. We have a major fight on our hands to save this planet and most people are well meaning in their efforts. Being loud isn’t so bad. A strike can be important in the demand for what is good and right. What I find really sad and what I’m offended by with these children is their lack of love for their schools and their teachers. I’ve known some wonderful teachers. They hold a celebrity card in my heart. Some of them forever changed the course of my life and were there as a constant safe place at times where grappling the teenage experience felt overwhelming. I think the protest could have happened during school holiday periods and been advertised widely by news outlets just as effectively without disrupting the institution of education. I also think contrary to popular thought and I will stand by this entirely, that active protest should always involve a concrete participation in change, especially where children are concerned. Could the children, especially those who were picked up by popular celebrities (who are not professional psychologists or teachers) have been encouraged to work with students to head up environmental projects in their schools? Could these projects have been built into curriculum models. With the massive conglomerate of media moguls and million dollar celebrities on the back of these children and their story of striking for climate change (even though they themselves are heavily attached to some of the worst environmental strains such as their links to fast fashion, mining and the cattle industry just to name a few)  have poured money into the school systems to run projects that link professionals in the school to each other and school communities to work together in modelling environmental advocacy .  This would mean they are actually doing something not just holding up a card which is a very easy option and one which means you also miss out on lots of classes, which is a very attractive idea for a child and very tempting. At a weekend protest (or lets just say a weekend or approved school day open to the media celebration) footage of such projects could have been televised and promoted, teachers, principals and students would feel part of the change.  This kind of focus is of course hard to do  given their are tight laws around school's not presenting political alignments so instead of the word "protest"  perhaps a peaceful coming together of project based learning with an environmental focus, that was televised might have been really better than a one off stunt.  Teachers cop a terrible time as it is. The rate of pay compared with some other professions is relatively low considering the seeds of tomorrow lie in their fingertips. Principals in Australian schools are facing increased experiences of attack and harassment by parents some of which have led to suicides. It’s a very serious issue. The idea of promoting a disregard for educational settings can affect the public perception of schools and teachers. It also will cost schools a lot of money. It’s not costing the people who caused the issue anything! It’s actually making money for them. It makes the students look silly. It makes the students look like puppets to the rich and the famous of this world. I don’t like to see children misrepresented. I don’t like to see teachers  misrepresented either.

When I was a teacher I would often be up till 2 in the morning on a regular basis planning lessons, making materials and completing assessment of the children. Absences cause a major disruption to that carefully planned process of providing for children. It’s also fair to say that it also could have created a social divide for children in those schools of parents either allowing the children to go or stay, a sense of feeling left out at the event of their parent’s decisions. I’m more into inclusion models. It also proves a safety risk for children and for the schools who would find it very hard to monitor absences to make sure the children were even in fact at the climate change rallies. That’s because, for the most part, schools care about their kids so much.

I would like to have seen both schools and children involved in investigative journalism projects, visiting big business, meeting the heads of mining companies, televising those, creating stories about what’s actually happening. I would like to see more televised examples of children in their schools, whether they be alternative settings or government schools or private schools sharing the ways in which they are actively making a difference. Why might this not have happened in favour of a huge rally? Have a think about that? Truth be told we don’t have time for many many weeks of inactive protesting. We need to get everyone down to the business of doing, so doubling up on doing and protesting and working together with those who can educate and present the change is vital.

When Jamie Oliver brought in the healthy garden effect and school lunch program overhaul, though it was closely linked to some commercial networks I don’t always feel inclined too, it was at least part of a slow steady change that involved schools, students teachers and the media working together. Sensationalism is short lived and sometimes harder work that happens with consistency  and sticking with project based community models is effective. Community development models work and make everyone feel needed and wanted. Its  quite  a transformative effect. 

One has to be very careful of where the Truman show is actually happening to them. I’ve never been on that show. It can feel like being an outsider to step away from that kind of world because those with the most power, most wealth exude popularity and a chance to be well known. I’d rather be less well known and stay true to my own weather channel that points me to where I know the right path is.