Episode 1: The Fashion Industry - Third on the List for Environmental Impact

First off, thank you! Thank you for giving me the time and in turn our planet the time. Trust me, I get it, sweet lord another blog. Oh, and she's found her hippie dippie alter ego, good luck.

Well, either we continue to ignore this ticking time bomb and continue to walk through fields of daisies hoping the mountains of waste will sort themselves out, or we can realize our planet’s problems are our own.

Let me explain the purpose for this blog:

My why - awareness for this topic is critical. As consumers we have the power to help direct and shift this industry. Fashion is not the problem it is the WAY fashion is created that is the problem. I am not urging you to stop shopping, nor to make you feel bad about the items you purchase. We all get that retail therapy itch, and that sudden urge to fill that Miranda Priestly, upper east side loft, boss a** type lifestyle. But let's be real, its 2020 and we've been hit by a pandemic. Bird box has suddenly become closer to our reality than Devil Wears Prada. So if not now, then when? Let's stay aware and stay informed it is honestly the least we can do for this oasis of a planet we live on.

Before I started my reworking company, Last Shot Apparel, I was flying blind. I’m going to be honest, I did not think twice about how my garments were made or what material they were made of. As long as they were priced accordingly and I liked it enough it was coming home with me. Simple as that. But what if I told you that cotton T-shirt you won from last season's championship cricket tournament will take 200 plus years to decompose? Honestly, if watching a video is more up your alley, take the 7 minutes. And if by now you're thinking I just said goodbye to 2 minutes of my life I'll never get back... see for yourself I promise those will be the best 2 minutes you've ever wasted.

So now that we're all on the same page... when I say "Something New - Something Needed", I mean the fashion industry sits in third place among the worst industries (in terms of negative environmental impact) with “general production of goods”... third place. I’m talking it has the farming industry laughing, forestry and land development not even close. The fashion industry has a spot in the top three right after transportation. You guys already know the impact our planes, trains and automobiles have on the planet. But how much do you know about the T-shirt you’re lounging in right now and its impact on our environment?

When I say "needed", I mean for any mainstream clothing company whose one purpose is to produce and sell bulk clothing (without naming names..), there is not one type of the fabric-producing process that is sustainable and eco-friendly. Disregard any plastic water bottle running shoes or fishing net leggings just for one second. Not to say these are not needed, save the damn turtles please. But tickle my fancy - you’re in your favourite “go to” apparel store when you’re in that retail therapy, pay day mood, wardrobe update mentality. This store is selling something you want that is reasonably priced and in-style. You buy an entire new summer wardrobe... oops. You are feeling good, new clothes, new you. But what did buying an entire new wardrobe “cost”? And I don’t mean the total dollar value of your purchase. I mean what country had to have their air polluted, soil contaminated and water supply diminished? And when that jacket you bought gets discontinued or a specific style goes out of fashion, and the company decides they no longer have any use for certain fabric, where does the end of the fabric role end up? What landfill does it get shipped off to?

These are the types of questions I want to answer with this blog. My why is to bring awareness to the role the fashion and textile industries plays when it comes to environmental impact.

I would like to mention, this blog is created through my personal research and experience as a business owner in the fashion industry. My sources vary and I will always recommend to do your own research to form opinions on this topic.

I will leave you with this; by being unaware, or misinformed for that matter, we are underestimating the power we have as consumers.