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 Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:42 pm
The slow—though seemingly sure—death of the American textile industry is something that has bothered me for quite some time now (for one reason or another). Now, more often than not, the work is shipped to countries where there is very poor environmental regulation. The job of regulating these things frequently falls to the manufacturers themselves—or even the design companies that hire them. Since the concept of “going green” usually seems expensive, nothing is done to protect the environment. Instead water and energy are wasted, and water and air are polluted all to make us fabric for our clothes.
With closets and clothing production at an all time full and clothing prices and longevity at an all time low, it’s important to focus not only on quality of clothing, but also the impact of our consumption.
This is something that’s been on my mind for awhile, as someone ecologically-minded and who really likes clothing. However, I am broke and it’s easy to fall into the mass-production, imported trap. So, I’ve started making my own clothing from thrifted clothing—the really terrible stuff that no one would wear. And when I do buy new stuff, I look at where it is made and also at the quality. For me, it’s quality over quantity.
So now I ask you lovely folks:
Do you look at where your clothing is made?
Do you feel that the textile industry, as it is now, has problems?
What are your clothing shopping habits?
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:54 pm
Something I honestly never think about...huh.
75% of my clothing is thrifted though, 15% are jeans or under garments bought from department stores which are usually American brands, which usually translates to a sweatshop somewhere. The other 10% is hand made. Knit or sewn and I usually don't look past the fiber content.
But now I think I'll be looking more closely at brands and their practices. 3nodding
I don't pay much attention to the textile industry, though I should since I study theatrical costuming...
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:48 am
I buy mine most of the time from goodwill when I can.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:34 pm
Every bit of my clothing comes from freinds who have given/traded me clothing, was homemade from scrap fabric,or was bought at the local Good Will or Wags to Riches, a local charity based thrift store that gives half of all it's proceeds to the dog pound. I am a thrift a holic, and buying brand name retail priced clothing is a complete waste.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:38 pm
Do you look at where your clothing is made?
not normally
Do you feel that the textile industry, as it is now, has problems?
yes
What are your clothing shopping habits?
thrift stores
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:23 pm
✿
I mainly buy my clothes on eBay, second-hand or at op-shops.
I've recently started to collect 1950s clothes which were locally made back in the day.
I only rarely buy my jeans and sometimes dresses new, when I like to spoil myself~
✿
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:05 pm
We went down to Seattle the other week and stopped at the Seattle Outlet Mall.
Wow. It's huge and it was busy. I bought a bunch of really inexpensive clothes, I cut the tag off the one I'm wearing, but I think it's either China or Bangladesh. I look at the tags, but I don't think there's much I can do about it. I need clothing and the clothing I can buy is made oversees with cheap labour. I don't buy a lot of clothing, heck; I have clothes that are over five years old. I'd like to start making my own clothing, though I'm not sure if that will be any better as I don't know where and how fabrics are made.
I definitely think the industry, as are many, are needing a serious overhaul. The factory conditions are abysmal.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:16 pm
You're right, most of the readily available fabrics in average fabric stores are made in similar conditions to the clothing you can buy in an average chain store.
But you can at least get better quality. The fabrics are generally of an ok quality, but the sewing in low-cost stores is abysmal, if you look at things like construction of pieces, and seam allowances etc. They basically cut the fabric to minimize waste (good in theory) but that often affects the drape and shape of the garment. They also have the tiniest seam allowances, and I've found they often use a low-quality thread too! It just snaps in two with a little tug.
So making your own might cost a little more at the start, but then you don't have to replace it as often, because it's just better made.
Pro tip: Try to find sheets at a thrift store or garage sale. You can cut around the tiny holes that cause people to toss them, and it's SO much fabric. I made a full circle skirt dress to ankle length from a king sheet. From a probably $5 sheet and less than a spool of $2 thread. Well, and a zipper, but thrift stores have those cheap too.
You can also try posting to freecycle, I got my big stash of miscellaneous fabrics from an elderly lady who was done with her sewing days.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:08 pm
Tell me about it. I've bought cheap shirts and they end up all twisted. I've had decent luck with seams staying seamed, but most of my shirts aren't cut properly and thus are twisted. (Oh, and it's sometimes difficult to find shirts that don't show off my stomach.)
Thanks for the pro tip. I never thought of doing that. Right now my sewing really consists of rectangles, so the old sheets would work good for my cat n** toys. 3nodding
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:38 pm
pirhan Tell me about it. I've bought cheap shirts and they end up all twisted. I've had decent luck with seams staying seamed, but most of my shirts aren't cut properly and thus are twisted. (Oh, and it's sometimes difficult to find shirts that don't show off my stomach.) Thanks for the pro tip. I never thought of doing that. Right now my sewing really consists of rectangles, so the old sheets would work good for my cat n** toys. 3nodding Yup. You could probably make...what...100, 200 cat toys with a king sized sheet? lol We made a cat toy last week actually, shaped like a fish and stuffed with crinkly paper. They hate it. They don't even touch it. One licked the tail where we sewed in two cat treats, but they refuse to play with it or break it, as they were intended to do.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:58 pm
rilsin-b Yup. You could probably make...what...100, 200 cat toys with a king sized sheet? lol We made a cat toy last week actually, shaped like a fish and stuffed with crinkly paper. They hate it. They don't even touch it. One licked the tail where we sewed in two cat treats, but they refuse to play with it or break it, as they were intended to do. Oh my. I just realized with my new sewing machine, with the reverse, I don't have to hand stitch the toys closed anymore. My hands cramp up a lot so I don't like making the toys. Now I have no excuse to make them. xd I make mine with cat n**. I grow (though I harvested some from a hotel's garden last year) it and clip off the spent flowers, dry them if needed. I've been using old jammie bottoms for the inside, which I just sew a rectangle with the flowers stuffed in. I then make a bigger rectangle from sturdier fabric, stuff the smaller rectangle in along with some fill and sew the bigger rectangle up. The cats go NUTS over it. I actually sent some toys to friends and their cats went and dug into their purses to pull the toys out. Fresh toys here will be wet with slobber in a few minutes. If it's not too creeptastic, I totally have no problem making a few for you and mailing them. It'd be in the fall when I have my 'n** done and dried.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:04 pm
Gotta love the catnip toys. I tried growing some, but mine never sprouted. Or possibly they ate the seedlings before I saw them... They're fine though, tons of toys. I had just been teaching my husband how to sew and wanted him to make something that had some 3-dimensional reasoning to it but was still small and quick. I think the paper stuffing might be freaking them out, too crinkly maybe. I'll have to try a different filling, I just wanted it to be something I wasn't worried about them making a huge mess or eating if they got it open.
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 3:15 pm
Found this in my RSS feed: http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/2013/06/20/Bangladesh-Safety-Pact/ Quote: It's not desirable for western firms to withdraw from Bangladesh, he said. Instead, he argued, retailers should use their influence to promote improvements in safety conditions, which are "in everyone's interest." "Apparel brands, retailers and manufacturers have an important role to play by adopting responsible sourcing practices in global supply chains," reads the statement, "including performing human rights due diligence, negotiating commercial terms with suppliers sufficient to provide for safe, healthy workplaces and a living wage, establishing robust oversight of their suppliers, and disclosing information on supply chain practices and outcomes."
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