Did you know that it takes up to 10 different batches of indigo blue to dye your jeans? – Charline Ducas, Textile Exchange video.
Synthetic fibers made from petrochemicals have recently gotten a bad reputation as being extremely harmful to the environment because they are made from non-renewable resources and they take massive amounts of energy to produce.
Natural fibers are known as breathable, renewable and biodegradable, and comfortable to the skin. Natural fibers such as cotton, wool, hemp or bamboo, just to name a few, have been thought of as being less harmful to the earth but they are harmful in their own ways unless we can start to grow things organically. Cotton uses the most water and use of pesticides and wool has pesticides either injected or poured onto the wool just to give a couple of examples of the harm to our earth.
We need to learn to slow our consumption of having the new and best thing out there and let nature naturally grow the resources that we need because per Chapter One, Material Diversity, it takes a large quantity of water and use of pesticides in order to grow cotton, a natural fiber. Pesticides are harmful in that they pollute our drinking water and cause harm to the environment and we all need water to survive. Pesticides also account for 50% of the total cost of cotton production and per Charline Ducas from the Textile Exchange video, we all could be more clever, use less of what we think is necessary, and clean up the mess produced.
Charline Ducas has specified that only 1% of cotton is grown organically as of now, and their mission is “to inspire and equip people to accelerate sustainable practices in the textile value chain.” If we can get the farmers to grow materials organically, organic natural fibers are the way to go. They may not last as long, but they will take their course and can biodegrade and not pile up in a landfill. Per the Material Diversity, organic production can be seen as a set of agricultural practices and a tool for social change. Also the use of rainfall to grow cotton would be beneficial to the healthier soils and less demand on the water infrastructure, but the rain-fed cotton also tends to be of poorer quality. After the fibers are grown organically, there are going to have to be some changes met in the process from with the use of chemicals and recommendations for dyeing.
One of our greatest challenges mentioned in the Material Diversity chapter is that we need to become skilled at knowing and practicing sustainability. I believe that natural is the best way to go because it will biodegrade and use less chemicals to make. There definitely needs to be some changes made in our usage of natural fibers and more people like Charline Ducas to make people aware of what we can do to help and be more responsible to our earth. She talks about how we need to be environmentally better, and find eco-efficient ways to produce and provide products in order to support the transition to a greater sustainability.
Maegen,
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to read about what Charlene Ducas had to say, because I was unable to watch the video. I appreciated the way that you explained and paraphrased her views on sustainability.
At the beginning of your post, you mentioned that synthetics from petrochemicals were extremely harmful. How do you feel about the use of plant fibers such as corn or agricultural waste being used to make synthetic fibers? Would this be an acceptable alternative to petroleum synthetics?
You also mentioned a lot of negative environmental impacts associated with natural fiber production, such as water and energy usage to maintain the crops, and pollution from pesticides. How can we really know if the environmental negatives associated with synthetic production are greater than the negatives associated with growing natural fibers?
I enjoyed hearing your perspective on natural fibers, and I am also finding that it is very difficult to figure out what is really sustainable! There are so many things to balance out and consider when investigating sustainability.
Beth after reading your interior side, I would be for using plant waste and agricultural waste to make carpets or fabrics that we are harsh on, but not for the apparel aspect. I think we should reuse and recycle but in an environmentally friendly way. For cotton, I think that we need to do more organic cotton growing because approximately 1% of cotton is organic and growing organically would not be as harmful, but we will have to find alternative ways to grow plenty of it. And yes, I think that for everyone to be eco-friendly will require a lot of research to find the best solution!
DeleteOrganic growing does sound like a good way to reduce the harmful effects associated with growing natural fibers. I can also see how apparel and interiors products have very different requirements in terms of durability and wear, and so the most sustainable solution for each industry will be different.
ReplyDeleteMaegen, I could not agree more on your post this week. However, I believe that the apparel industry needs to use synthetic fibers a little more for better style longevity and being more durable. I can see that natural fibers are extremely important to the fashion industry because of all the new trends and fashions that come out on a daily basis and people throwing out their clothes that are no longer in style. In this instance you would definitely want natural fibers. But I can also see people who hate to shop or do not care much about clothes wanting to have their clothes last longer and not wear out like most natural fibers do. I totally agree with you when you said that organic is the way to go though. It will reduce the harm natural fibers produce but will still be an issue for those people wanting their clothes to last for many years to come. It is a continuous battle that no one can seem to figure out. The trend, "doing more for less" that Ducas talked was my favorite because it put into perspective just how much water, energy, and chemicals went into jeans and how unhealthy that was for our environment. No one really thinks about that until someone tells them. Therefore, the word needs to get out how these fibers help environment and how they do not.
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