Interesting article on disposable fashion

[McVolke]

A very eye opening article. Of course I'm aware of the sweatshops and terrible labor practices and I had no idea clothes are being used like tissues. In my opinion that kind of behaviour shows so little regard for someone's hard work. I grew up in hand me downs and thrift-store clothes. I did have some new clothes but not many. When my son was little his entire wardrobe was 2nd hand and then got passed on to yet another baby or toddler. He's now 13 and growing so fast and we don't know anyone a couple of sized bigger than him, and I just don't see many thrift/2nd hand stores in our area. When I say not many I guess I really mean none. Right now I'm trying to learn how to sew, or at least successfully win a fight with the sewing machine. Instead of buying material I'm using old tableclothes from my husband's grandmother. Don't anyone panic, they are not in good condition i.e. stained and faded. Even my sewing machine is second hand

 

[nostalgic]

Im seriously waiting for the new trend, adhesive clothing. No sewing, but the clothes are glued at the seams. Won't last longer than a paper towel. Now that would be something!

They already do! Victoria's Secret seams their stuff this way... just had to share

 

[sheeplady]

Have you looked at TM Lewin?

That is wonderful, thank you! Around here it has gotten harder and harder to find my size, so I'm buying more and more online. I don't like that I can't inspect things from online, so it is helpful to get a review/ recommendation of someplace.

Their whole mantra is if it lasted longer than a washing it's lasted too long. It's disgusting. People know value only through name brands, not actually quality of construction/fabric/wear.
LD

I was talking to my mother about this. I rarely wear jeans now, but my jeans last fewer years than when I wore only jeans. Normally the zipper used to go before the fabric wore out, now there is a hole in a pair of jeans I just bought three years ago (and only wear maybe 15 times a year).

I just don't see many thrift/2nd hand stores in our area.

I think the quality of the thrift stores depends upon the quality of clothes in the area. For instance, where I live, you don't see really high end stuff. There are consignment shops here, but they get most of their stuff from the big cities (New York and Boston). It's hard for me to find my size in these places, as I'm apparently too small compared to most people that live here- and therefore either give to the thrift shops and/or buy from the consignment shops.

 

[lareine]

Isn't viscose essentially fabric made from paper? Is it derived from cellulose from woodpulp, or am I thinking of something else?

I think you're right, but at least viscose is washable. The RD article that I remember said we'd use actual paper for garments, sort of like disposable napkin fabric I suppose. Wear once, throw away!

 

[Tatum]

Wow, this thread makes me feel better about the habits I have developed over the last few years! Anything with a hole that I can't mend easily, for example, becomes something to run around the house in, or garden in...after that, it graduates to painting clothes. if I haven't worn something in a while and I can't figure out how to work it into the rest of the wardrobe, to the thrift store it goes.

I must say that buying vintage has given me a new way of looking at clothes, to the point of being picky, but I'm fine with that. I'd rather have a few really nice things than a lot of clothes that I am afraid are going to fall apart!

 

[Lily Powers]

I've been trying to convince my husband that when his tshirts are more hole than cotton, it's OK to use them for washing the car!

Puzzicato, I'm shocked to learn that you are married to my boyfriend! I suppose I should be happy that he stretches the dollar cost... stretches it for years, in some cases.

Intriguing article. I no longer purchase RTW because of the quality, the country of origin, the over-saturation on the market of certain fashions and the prices. In regards to vintage reproductions, I have to admit that while a design may be appealing on it's own, to see a rack stuffed with the same, identical dresses is quite a turn off. My purchases now are mostly online and they are garments to which I'm attracted and wear. Fashion is all about the clothes of the moment and style is more about the person, which is how I view (and am inspired by) many FLers.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They already do! Victoria's Secret seams their stuff this way... just had to share

Glued seams on underwear?? That sounds monstrously uncomfortable, unless the underwear isn't actually meant to be worn...

 

[Puzzicato]

Puzzicato, I'm shocked to learn that you are married to my boyfriend! I suppose I should be happy that he stretches the dollar cost... stretches it for years, in some cases.

That is definitely searching for the silver lining!

 

[Lusty Haze]

Oh my word, that article is shocking. The girl who just left all that clothing on the floor? (Mind you, if that was me, I'd probably run away out of embarrassment for shopping in Primark haha).

I can't say I've ever been a 'fast fashion' kind of gal. I was buying faux fur coats from charity shops at the age of 8 (and subsequently being bullied for it at school!). I hate throwaway fashion - I've always been the kind to buy things that are classic and suit me and will last for years. I hate throwing things away, I do it when I have to, begrudgingly!

 

[Amie]

I buy throwaway fashion all the time, only I don't throw it out.

 

[nosferaturoams]

Oh my, this is scary! I feel better about myself now XP, I've been shoppin only at thrift stores lately. Eveb my graduation dress will be from a thrift store. Thank you so much for this article! I will be keeping this in mind from now on.

 

[sheeplady]

I buy throwaway fashion all the time, only I don't throw it out.

I probably do too- I'm not sure that I could tell the difference. It's not like there is a remarkable difference in quality.

I mean, technically, a lot of what I buy (mainly used- thrift and consignment) IS somebody's "thrown away" fashion. Better than putting it in a landfill, but it was still discarded by somebody, and we can't tell the reasons they gave it/sold it to the place where we bought it.

 

[Drappa]

Another article on the same topic:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1387419/Obsessed-fleeting-trends-seduced-bargains-weve-bought--new-book-says-adds-clothes-style.html#

 

[Drappa]

Another interesting article in today's Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/12/to-die-for-lucy-siegle-review

By now, most casually informed shoppers know that cheap fashion is something none of us can afford. We're aware that the nimble needlework of children has been found in high street shops, that seas have died satisfy our cotton addiction and that sweatshops are far from being a thing of the past. But according to Lucy Siegle's new book, this is just the thin end of an unsightly wedge. "Big Fashion" has become unsustainable and if you hoped you were doing your bit by avoiding Primark, you need to think again.

As well as being this paper's ethical living columnist, Siegle is a reformed fashionista. Her wardrobe, dubbed "fashionably overweight" by one expert, offers a bulging index of high street fashion fads from the past two decades. The story of its greening comprises the latter third of this book, but first, she leads us off on a tour of the industry's seamy side, totting up the real cost of trends such as It bags and "cheapskating".

There are conversations with Cambodian garment workers, visits to factories in Bangladesh and west Africa and tales of forced teen labour in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. Human misery seems endemic at every point in the production line, from the alarming suicide rates among Indian farmers to young seamstresses forced to take contraceptive pills.

Social injustice is just one of the skeletons lurking in fashion's closet. There's also the industry's devastating environmental toll to consider – rivers flowing denim blue, the uncertain legacy of "Frankenpants" cut from GM cloth.

Animals don't fare much better. You'll have to trust me when I say that nobody of vegan sensibilities will want to hear about the sorry end met by silkworms – 1,500 of the little critters for every metre of fabric.

I'm ashamed to say I picked up this book feeling just a little bit, well, smug about my wardrobe. I'm a frugal shopper, waiting for the sales to buy pieces whose cuts and fabrics suggest they'll last more than a season or two. With a bit of rummaging, I can even produce an LBD that I still wear occasionally, almost 20 years since it was bought for my teen self in a Laura Ashley sale.

I was feeling downcast by the time I reached the end. Not much of the cotton I own is organic or fair trade, and what use is a "made in Italy" label if it's attached to a pair of heels which have been made by migrant labour with leather whose creation is helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest?

The unspoken purpose of the "quick fashion hit" is to race out of fashion or else fall obligingly to bits, sending its buyer back to the store for more. But our bulimic passion for fashion is symptomatic of a broader malaise. Disposability, instant gratification, the idea that impulses are there be indulged, regardless of impact – these sentiments permeate our lives.

Siegle doesn't really pause to consider this. It's anger that keeps her marching on through the dense data she has amassed. On the final page, however, she allows herself some love for a garment. Dropping off a bag of her old clothes with the designers at Junky Styling in London's Brick Lane in the East End, she returns a couple of days later to reclaim a made-to-measure cocktail dress.

Sustainable fashion has a hair shirt image, but while I'm less convinced about the matching cummerbund and bolero, I believe Siegle when she says that her dress is sophisticated. Only she knows that it is made of the first suit she ever bought. This ex-suit, she says, offers a chance "to recreate the joy I first found in clothes".

 

[Jasmine Jolene]

I admit I buy Primark and other disposable clothing. However, I take good care of my clothes and have had some items for years.

The main reasons I buy high street and super-cheap are 1) price - I simply do not have the funds to spare; 2) my never-ending battle with my weight! I really resent paying good money for something that I vainly hope 'will be too big' in a couple of months. This is a ridiculous way to think I know but I can't help it. 3) I have two small children and one on the way so buying decent clothes that could be ruined by someone's dinner being thrown on it (I'm looking at you son!) just isn't on.

I don't buy vintage because as much as I would like to, I am far too big I am getting married in a year, and will be working furiously post-pregnancy to get into shape, hopefully this will give me the boost I need!