In recent times, the “green movement” has become a concern
for the apparel industry. As we develop better ways to conserve energy, we are
still not taking into account the concern of materials that we use for our
designs. At this time there has been debates as to whether using synthetics is
healthier for the environment then using natural materials. Cotton has been one
of the leading materials used within this debate.
The two major parts of this debate involve the fact that
organic cotton uses a great amount of pesticides and water during production;
where as the synthetic cotton would help eliminate crop rotation, the loss of
useable crops to natural born predators, and would be more cost efficient. One
of the positive things for the organic cotton is that it allows for multiple
job opportunities and changing to a synthetic option would decrease the job
opportunities exponentially.
In conclusion, as an apparel major I feel that changing the
materials of the clothing would not necessarily change the garments quality,
but could help to change the environment in which we live in. This can be
demonstrated through the book Sustainable
Fashion and Textiles by Kate Fletcher in the following ways: it reduces the
use of pesticides and the use of fresh water that as I have previously
discussed in past blogs we are in desperate need of as it has began to diminish.
Hi Chayla,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said in your opening. What all goes into the making of materials has not been of importance until more recent times. Cotton being one of the most popular materials, it would be a of advantage of people in our industry to spread the word to the consumer; providing more up to date information about textiles that are healthier for our environment. Including information from the video Charline Ducas from Textile Exchange and possibly going further into a discussion of how the environmental factors come into place when making a specific choice between natural vs. synthetics would strengthen your argument towards the use of synthetic materials. Your post was very well written and you made a lot of good points.
-Amanda
Hey Amanda,
DeleteFirst, I want to apologize for the font as the blog post itself is not supposed to have this style of writing since it might make it harder for you to read it clearly. Second, Thank you so much for your help! I will keep that in mind as I write my next blog.
Hi, Chayla,
ReplyDeleteI like how you concentrated heavily on cotton seeing as that is one of the major fibers used today. You gave great information about the production of cotton and how it effects our environment. I think you could of also focused on polyester to provide more information about synthetic fibers. Also, you could of used information from the video to strengthen your argument and provide examples of better production methods that we could use. Your post was well written but and you did provide some good information on the problems caused by the production of fibers like cotton.
Emily
Hey Emily,
DeleteThank you so much for your help! I will use your advise as I post my next blog. I also want to apologize as the font of the blog can be somewhat difficult to read.