Dress Responsibly

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

 I  constantly contemplate the concept of responsible dressing and a person's clothing choices ecological impact. Have you ever thought about your social responsibility as it applies to your personal style choices?

Did you know? The average US citizen throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles annually.

While the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that the textile recycling industry recycles approximately 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) each year, this only accounts for approximately 15% of all PCTW, leaving 85% in our landfills.

The U.S. EPA estimates that textile waste occupies nearly 5% of all landfill space.

Americans generate about 25 billion pounds of textiles in one year. On a global scale it equates to approximately 114 Billion pounds per year. 

Something has to be done.

When I created my Vintage eBoutique: Evolution Vintage it was not just about re-styling fashion's past current. It was also about dressing responsibly. Fashion's past has provided us with glorious and unique fabrications, trims and adornments that are unavailable today or widely unused. I could not imagine letting these clothes sit in a landfill or dingy thrift store and never have a chance at a second life. We all deserve second chances, right?

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

Dressing responsibly has little to do with Vintage per se, but more about being fashionably creative. You can give your old clothing new life by using minor stylistic changes to re-vamp your wardrobe before tossing it. For example, remove the sleeves from that black dress you have been wearing for years in fall/winter and re-style it for Spring/Summer with that little touch and appropriate accessories.

OR

Donation is also another fabulous way to give your clothing a second shot. Give to a local charity shop or to friends you know will wear them. I choose thrift stores that support my local community and associated programs, where I live it is Achievement House. It supports people with intellectual disabilities by providing vocational training, education and tangible jobs.

There are several ways to dress responsibly, up-cycle and re purpose your clothing to avoid the textiles in the landfill. The direct recycling method is to wear Vintage.

I also recycle / re-style Vintage jewelry, trims and fabric's into fabulous cocktail rings and hair accessories via EVOLUTION REWIND

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

ALL of these rings used to be Vintage brooches that were broken or had issues. They have been, restored and  re-styled into fabulous contemporary rings and NOT wasted! (All rings pictured are available via Evolution Rewind)

The stigma of "previously loved clothing" needs to be removed from out culture if we are every to shrink or eliminate the numbers cited above.  I always think of this scenario, The fast fashion at say a giant retailer like Froever21, who knows how many bodies the shirt you just purchased has been tried on? not laundered in between. Technically the garment has been previously worn.

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

The clothing offered to my clients via Evolution Vintage are professionally cleaned and ready to wear. They have a history in fashion and in the life of someone else. They are all hand selected by me anticipating their abiliy to be re-styled into a conetmporary woman's closet.

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

Check out Super model Amber Valetta in her web series "Driving Fashion Forward" - this episode is called "UPCYCLE" It is inspiring and a great reminder of the world we share and our global duty to contribute to the solutions and not the problem.

Do you dress responsibly? 

Tell me how in the comments.

Let Your Plate Save Your Planet

Happy Earth Day Everyone!! Today is a time to reflect on the impact our daily choices have on the planet which we all share.  Every day we make choices which either reduce or increase our carbon footprint. Have you ever stopped to consider the environmental impact of what you choose to put on your plate?

Did you know?

* A Worldwatch Institute study from 2009 found that that the meat, egg, and dairy industries (Factory Farming) now contribute up to 51% of greenhouse gases worldwide! 

*Factory farming produces more than 3 times the greenhouse gases of all transportation worldwide ( their contribution is 14%). That is more than all the trucks, cars, SUV's, trains, and plane's in the WORLD COMBINED!

*37% of those gasses are from Methane (YES from Cow Manure) - this is 23 TIMES more than the impact of C02 on Global Warming.

* According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and groundwater in 17 states has been permanently contaminated by industrial farm waste.

* The average American already consuming more than 200 pounds of meat per year, the choice to support industrial farming is devastating from an environmental perspective, exacerbating global warming and jeopardizing a plentiful food supply for future generations that today we take for granted. (Farm Sanctuary)

There are SO MANY facts to support the destruction and devastation that factory farming and supportive industries are having on our planet. 

So when you sit down to dinner, consider the 200 pounds of another species flesh that you consume in a year and what effect this will have on the earth you will leave to your children, grandchildren and other innocent members of society after you are gone.  Eating meat is a CHOICE and not a necessity for health or survival. Many in the scientific community believe human's are natural Vegetarians

What Can You Do?

*Stop Making Excuses for Eating Meat and Animal Products and get Educated.

*Leave meat off your plate: 

*You can save more water by not eating one pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year  (Full Article)

*If every American skips one meal of meat per week and chooses vegetarian foods instead, the greenhouse gases savings would be the same as taking half a million cars off US roads (Full Article)

Try it today in honor of EARTH DAY! Try No Meat or Animal Products (Eggs, Cheese, Milk). Get creative in the kitchen tonight!

MEAT IS NOT GREEN: