Sustainable fashion: the next Uruguayan step
By pierre-nicolas chambefortprensa@m.uy
On April 14, 2013, the Rana Plaza collapsed, Unedifice in Bangladesh where a clothing factory that worked for large international brands such as Primark, Mango or Benetton was located.It results in the catastrophe: more than 1,120 dead and a fashion industry that is given the terrible working conditions of its workers.Eight years after, the situation has not changed much and according to a survey of Oxfam Australia la Asociation, nine out of 10 workers declares that their salary is not enough to support their essential needs.And this non -esxclusive situation of Bangladesh.
In China, India, Turkey, Pakistan or Taiwan, who produce most clothes, workers live in more than prison conditions, without any labor law.The Fair Wear Foundation analyzes that the worker of the worker in the factories represents 0.6% of the price of a clothing, while the warehouse takes 59%.It is a more than uneven industry and El Sector represents 3,000 million dollars.
In addition to the terrible social aspect of fashion, textileindustry is also a catastrophe for the environment.Indeed, it is the second most polluting sector in the world after oil.
A garment contaminates throughout its defabrication process.To begin with, 10,000 liters of water are needed to produce a cotton unkilo, when the fabric does not come directly from oil, such as the polish, the most produced canvas in the world, which also needs many chemical substances in its manufacture.
During the manufacture of the garment and the stage of Lostantes, many toxic and dangerous subjects are used for workers, the ecosystem and us, users.Special pieces such as jeans need numerous washes and treat them with sand to give them a good color, which increases the environmental cost again.But once the clothing reaches the art, pollution does not end.Every time we wash our clothing, synthetic fabrics release plastic microfibers so small that used water treatment plants cannot recover them and end up in Elmar.This pollution seems invisible, but represents 500 thousand deplastic tons, equivalent to 50,000 million plastic bottles.
And to finish the life cycle of a clothing, when Yano is used and thrown (after having stayed months at the bottom of the closet, by general).The waste that represents the clothes thrown is about 92 million tons every year;Figure even more terrible when it is known that most of this clothes have not been used more than a couple of times and that thessuelos will contaminate without a recycled chance.Thus, for example, near Uruguay, in the Atacama disaster in Chile, non -biodegradable silk clothing coming from all over the world are scattered in giant illegal spills.In high hospital, near Iquique, 39,000 tons of clothing form mountains of Recycling Hope.And to this whole process, all the comings and turns in the world necessary to transport the raw material to thephabric ones, to the stores and the garbage dumps must be added.
Above all, textile is a very changing industry that brands follow the law of the new fashions that create themselves.Fast-Fashion employees, such as Zara or Nike, pushing consumption, artificially reducing the life expectancy of trends to paralyambiate their collections every year, taking advantage of the process presented above that allows to produce very cheap and poor quality clothes., the consumer buys amount of clothing with disastrous effects, which is going to open very quickly and pull because it was damaged prematurely.
Photo: freeimages
New alternatives
The fashion industry continues in this way of a satelling that is not viable for its workers, for the planet and in certainly consumers.The good news: a lot of people are not agreed with this manufacturing method, and the alternatives to fast-fashion, such as sustainable marks, are developing.But what is a sustainable brand? And how to recognize it?Let's try to answer these questions with the example of Uruguayan brands that offer an alternative to the Fast-Fashion.
Comfy: The model student
Comfy is the story of a mother and a daughter who, although only the first pages of her book have written, is full of promises.The brand only has one of months and, nevertheless, meets all the requirements of a sustainable brand.
Fashion is a family issue for Rossina, 28, who since her adolescence designed dresses that Maria, her mother.She messed that there is no more familiar noise than "the coser machine that was always underway in the house."Therefore, she does not surprise much that, after the Liceo, Rossina begins to study design before crossing the Laplata river to start her career in Buenos Aires.
While working for brands as a black label, he learned the foundations of the creator's profession, such as the different tissues and their specific qualities.However, she also became aware of the different ecological impact of fashion."She was polluting, [...] we literally threw new plastic in the trash," she recalls. So she decided to see Uruguay and make her dream come true to set up a brand that she defines sustainable and ethical.
Comfy's objective is to offer a decrease and elegant clothing using only natural and ecological fabrics such as Elbambú or organic cotton and manufactured in Uruguay.To this sustainable aspect, the side that Rossina calls ethical is added, that is, the social, and respect for Lent that manufactures her clothes for a "good mental health of all the actors of the process."
Although now the brand does not need much workforce, Rossinay their mother already have everything thought about themselves., "An exceptional talent" Paracocer.They can "truly choose their prices", with the objective of "empowering those women."
The most important thing for Comfy continues to find new ways to become even more sustainable with the followinglema: "We are as sustainable as it can be."For example, Rossina said she would enchant "sending his electrical bicycle orders," although he still does not have the bus to the bus.However, she said smiling that "at the time it is" will.
Don Baez: 52 years of sustainability
Entering the boutique Don Baez is to enter the world of elegance combined with simplicity.After meeting Claudia, the brand's ladderman, one quickly understands that her store, whom he was for our talk, is in her image.
Don Baez is, once again, a family story, since it was his father who created her in 1959. Since then, her daughter has taken over, accompanied by adds and her collaborator, Ana, with the aim of offering clothes fromquality paratodas ages and all body types.The particularity of Don Baezes that is a brand that has been sustainable since its inception, although it was not very common at that time.The sustainability of the brand is very clear, everyone clothes is from Uruguayan wool, and the production process (wool cleaning, fabric, clothing) is totally local.
In addition, all the wool used is natural, without adding any dye, which saves a lot of water and avoids unnecessary pollution. This is added a deep disgust due to waste.Claudia says that "nohay wasted; everything is recycled to the fullest."The word binds to the action with the small wool shells made with the latest fabric pieces, definitely too small to be reused in a predate, and that are hanged as decoration in the bags.Above all, Don Báez's stable aspects is found in his desire to never push the counsuum, because the best thing for the planet is always not consuming.
There is only one collection a year, there is no sales period and the pieces lead "more than 10 years" for some.
Finally, Don Baez is the proof that it is possible to produce the animals. Indeed, for several years, numerous students have splashed into the world of fashion in relation to the treatment of sheep. One of these scandals is Mulasing, which is a technique that eliminates the skin around the tail of merinas sheep to avoid myiasis (presence of fly larvae under the skin), which is specially peak for animals. However, it is a traumatic operation for Elanimal, which is carried out without medical supervision or anesthesia, and the cure process lasts several weeks, which causes great suffering. In addition to the mulesing, the shear of sheep is very often performed in aterible conditions, where animals are battered, beaten and sometimes seriously injured. This behavior is systemic in Australia and China, which are the world producers of wool and whose wool is used by the great marks of brands. However, Don Báez achieves, by using only woolly, where mullsing is prohibited, not to encourage this system. He Claudia explains that he regularly visits his wool producers, where animals divide ideal living conditions, and also attends the scare, where sheep is respected.
Babila: the "Slow-Fashion" to improve
"I don't know if I can help you, I don't define Babila as a sustainable one."Those were the amazing first words that told me, the founder of Babila, just after greeting us.And, in the effect, although Babila is not a totally sustainable brand, it offers a acternative alternative to the Fast-Fashion with its vision of "Slow-Fashion."
Based, Lucia is an accountant, and, although she always bequeathed fashion, she had more passion for entrepreneurship than to design clothes.She SinEmbargo, at 29, she decides to go to Spain to follow an MBA and learn the direction of a fashion company.It is in Europe that she becomes familiar with the new issues of sustainability of fashion and she understands that "the exclusive is no longer luxury, but the only thing and the artisanal."
Upon his return to Uruguay he buys organic cotton fabric from India with Fair Trade certification (a recognized “certification”) and begins to make clothes made in Uruguay.Babila today has been years old, and it is a Slow-Fashion brand rather than sustainable.For Lucía, sustainable development has three aspects: economic, the most important siemonder viablely;Ecological, tried to reduce the most of the production of production, and social, respecting all workers.
The ecological aspect is the most complicated to achieve for Lucia, and it is precisely why it is not defined as sustainable.It has an organic cotton made, but also uses polyester, which is not a natural fiber.However, this is not an election, but more an obligation to not lose money.According to Lucía, it is not yet possible to have a totally sustainable UNAMARCA without using any synthetic fabrics and other continuous processes.She explains that "the market for sustainable clothing is still small."However, she assures that at the time she becomes possible, Lhaham will immediately.
Babila uses ecological processes, such as cotton and organic dyes, and also intentions to the extent of its possibilities to have zero waste, but it is not a priority, but a plus.
Then, the main objective is to make quality clothes, respecting workers parasalir of current consumption logic.So to speak, a Slow-Fashion brand.
The issues that sustainable fashion raises
Although many brands are being created with the ambicion of changing the fashion industry, or at least to give an alternative to the large brands of Fast-Fashion, for the interviews conducted, the fashionable fashion is not yet very developed.
They have explained that the sector "is a baby who begins to say his first words."However, the change must also come from the consumer, for its knowledge about these issues, but also on its way.Indeed, the way of consuming must change the paradigm parapose from an excessive logic to another based on the need.This applied to the fashion world would no longer buy for example 10 basks, pollutants and of poor quality, but only three more expensive, perode better quality, which will last longer and more sustainable.
Now, this is easier to say it than to do it and Porariums reasons. First, clothing is an important part of the expression of the personality of each one and it is not easy to reconcile the taste with reason. Perocambiar towards a responsible consumption mode does not mean changing everything from one day, but progressively moving towards another direction. Then, consumer educational must also go through the knowledge of the actual effects of the fashion industry. If people know the consequences, they will change their mode of consumption. In this way, Claudia, by Don Baez, me explices that she spends a lot of time with her customers to explain the deployment mode and the story behind her clothes. But Lucia's observation, from Babila, brings skepticism: "For the vast majority, the sustainable is not apriority." To change this, several possibilities have been evoked for interviews. Lucía proposes a great advertising campaign, "as there was sexual diversity," for example, to sensitize the population. Conclaudia we have also talked about the possibility of teaching in schools on this issue. The sure thing is that everyone agrees to say that theiniciative must come from the State and that it is a topic too important to be served, especially in this world context in which each country seeks some solution to reduce its environmental impact.
Education must also show that a clothes are not visually different from a "classic."Thus, Rossina de Comfyme explains that many people think that sustainable clothing is synonymous with a very visually marked unestil, which actually makes no sense because the Desir has nothing to do with how to produce.
In addition, education must also continue for brands brands.What the three brands presented are common is that we really know what a sustainable brand is, but they also know what it is not.They are conscious, especially in the case of Babila, of the professionals they have to do.This situation is not a generality, such as Lonota Rossina: “It is necessary to educate a lot;Some think that only if you use fabric are sustainable, but it is to forget that a classic contaminating classic. ”
In this way, many brands plan to be sustainable and communicate about their hypothetical sustainability without really knowing how it is defined.Another very common example: to think that making the preparation of the local level is sufficient to respect the workers.But this is omitting the entire fabric manufacturing process itself.If the workmen who have cultivated cotton and those who have manufactured the customer and live in terrible conditions on the other side of the world, make them garments in Uruguay and guarantee Uruguayan workers, Buentratos is not enough to be considered ethical and sustainable.As Rossina explains again, it is a duty for the brands of really understanding the manufacturing process and committing to inform yourself and improve to server, honest towards the consumer.
To follow, one of the important sustainable Lamoda issues is accessibility. Indeed, this type of fashion has a more important price than the other garments, which inaccessible to an important part of the population. This shows when I ask what is the profile of the typical client during the interviews. However, the price is not the result of a vollunt of marginalizing, but in a manufacturing mode very far from being industrialized. Thus, Lucia explains that "there is much lower production, which increases the prices." The same observation does Rossina, who also wonders what she means expensive: “Something cheap can be expensive for the planet; What price is a clothing cheap? In short, it is true that the superimposable clothes is more expensive than a basic and is a problem that should be involved if the ethical alternative wants to become universal.
Little guide parasaber how to choose your clothes
Finally, tips in case you want to know if Unaropa is sustainable:
- Analyzing the price. It is true that a high price does not guarantee at all sustainability, but a very cheap garment is not.If you pay an 800 pesos shirt, it is very probable that there was an important cost about the workers or the planet.
- Look at the composition of the dress.Natural and organic fibers are the best for the planet and his body.
- Look at the defabrication place.The manufacturing country gives a good indication on the devoid level of workers.Eye, it is not always true.There are factories in Chinao India where workers have rights and good conditions.To verify what type of factory it is, ask the seller or visit the brand's store.If there is no information about the manufacturing mode, it is not an argument of sale and that it is very likely not to be sustainable.
- Search for lascertifications.There are many like "Global Recycled Standard", "Gots", "Oeko Tex 100", or "Fair Wear Foundation" and each one has its propio.They guarantee that the information about clothing is true and not solomarketing.
Photo: Gots
Pierre-Nicolas Chambefort is a French student of Sciences-PO, French University of Prestige of Political Science that focuses his studies in Latin America.He is currently doing an internship in Montevideo Portal as a complement to his tertiary studies and knowing the reality of our country.
By pierre-nicolas chambefortprensa@m.uy
Montevideo Portal
