A man is walking in front of a pile of discarded clothing three times his height.
Online you can now snatch up a Remy Rag Chair for $6,800. A bit steep, you say. But maybe it’s the least you can do for the planet.
The above image is from last month’s Atlantic about discarded clothing: “Ultra-fast Fashion Is Eating the World.”
Here are some points made by this article:
- There’s a fashion company that offers fresh styles twice a week, driving competitors that are “slower” out of business.
- The fashion industry stays competitive by producing cheaper, less durable clothing made from synthetic fibers.
- Americans believe that clothes should be cheap, abundant and new.
- Americans buy a piece of clothing every five days, on average.
- It’s estimated that the fashion industry generates 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions. The United Nations says it accounts for 20 percent of global wastewater.
- The human toll of fast fashion is inestimable since prices are kept low through labor by systematically exploited workers.
And what role does social media play in all this? No surprise here: the more we use social media, the more time and money we spend shopping on line.
One teenager who used to buy tons of clothes and promote them (paid by the clothing line) on social media matured into a pre-med student who 
now makes stylish clothes out of what she already has. Re-purposing! She says: “Secondhand clothing and thrifting is so hot right now.”
That’s good news. Now if we could just figure out how to make the Rag Chair in the garage, with some friends helping. Maybe Rag Chair parties could become hot.
What if every small town and neighborhood had its own environmental artist?
Environmental art started in the ‘60’s.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
artamaze by Katherine Hilden 