Fashion Revolution Week 2020: What's In My Clothes?

I’m surprised more horror stories aren’t written about clothing. Maybe because it looks so benign, hanging there in neat rows in a shop, arriving on your doorstep carefully wrapped, or sitting inert in your wardrobe. Or maybe it’s because we don’t like to scratch at fashion’s shiny facade. As well as horrifying tales of garment worker exploitation, there’s the environmental destruction to think about. After all, have you ever really considered what’s in your clothes?

We all think of cotton as a traditional, natural fibre. But cotton’s dark history of human exploitation and misery also started to include ecocide in the mid 20th century as DDT was sprayed onto cotton crops to kill the bollworm. Rachel Carson chronicled the devastating effect on wildlife in her book Silent Spring in the early 60s. Cotton is also an incredibly thirsty crop, and attempts to divert rivers to irrigate large cotton fields in Uzbekistan have transformed the Aral Sea, once the world’s largest inland sea and a thriving location for nature, fishing and tourism, into little more than a salty dust bowl.

A fact that really shocked me is the amount of water it takes to make one cotton garment, so much so that I had to emblazon it on one of my works of wearable art - 2700 Litres. On this shirt, every sequin represents one litre of water. That figure includes water for irrigating the cotton, processing the fibre, dyeing and finishing the garment, but that’s a lot of water. XR Hammersmith and Fulham also illustrated this beautifully during their Boycott Fashion event in Lyric Square - with nine rainbow-coloured bathtubs. Unfortunately I don’t have room for nine bathtubs in my hallway, so it had to be something small but visually arresting instead. 

Since clothes started to be mass produced in the mid 19th Century, we haven’t managed to do a great job of dyeing them safely. Fortunately we’ve stopped using arsenic as a green dye, but research carried out by Greenpeace as part of their Detox Fashion campaign, published in 2012, showed that brands were using azo dyes that contain cancer-causing carcinogens. Other tests revealed nonylphenol ethoxylates or NPEs in water systems, which are widely used in cleaning and dyeing processes. These chemical compounds are toxic to aquatic life, persist in the environment and biomagnify. Commercial fabric dyes contain mercury, cadmium and lead, and in many textile manufacturing areas around the world, the rivers running past dye houses and tanneries are the only source of water for drinking and washing for local people. 

Stories of dangerous dyes from days past inspired this horror-themed blog post a while back, and the creation of an arsenic-victim Halloween costume. But it’s a horror story that persists to this day and affects millions of people worldwide. 

Polyester clothing now accounts for over 60% of garments made worldwide. What many of the owners of those garments might not know is that polyester is made from plastic, a product of the petrochemical industry. The carbon footprint of a piece of polyester clothing is more than twice that of a similar piece of cotton clothing. And polyester clothing is also creating a global water crisis of its own - microfibre pollution.

When we think of plastic in our oceans, we might be thinking of the images we’ve seen in Blue Planet 2 - plastic bottles and containers bobbing about, bags or fishing lines caught around sea birds and turtles, or the scraps of broken-down plastic in an unfortunate fish’s stomach. But there is another hidden problem - the microfibres that are shed from synthetic garments every time we wash them. Too small to be trapped by filter systems in water treatment plants, they end up in the oceans where they add to the plasticky soup being consumed by sea creatures and eventually, us too.

Again, the figures are mind-boggling, as emblazoned on my second piece, 700,000 Fibres. Individually, these microfibres are far too small to see. But when you start to think of the amount of polyester clothing each of us owns and how often we wash those clothes, it starts to become a global problem. Research by Friends of the Earth has shown that 83% of water contains microplastics. That includes bottled water and drinking water as well as rivers and oceans.

I wish I could tell you that there is a quick fix for all these problems - a perfect fabric with no environmental impact, a magical dye that leaves no chemical residue but is colourfast and never fades. Unfortunately we live in a complicated, messy world and there are no quick fixes. Sustainability-minded manufacturers are gradually starting to switch to fabrics, dyes and processing that have less of an impact on the environment, but once again we need to keep asking the big brands to change. If we all ask #whatsinmyclothes we’ll hopefully end up in a situation where no one has to worry if they are drinking the residue from some freshly-dyed fabric, or scraps of the yoga pants they washed a while back.

Your clothes are out to get you: a Halloween horror story

Hello, dear reader. I hope you are wearing your most comforting clothes, because I bring chilling tales from the realm of fashion, both past and present. Our clothes are meant to make us feel good, but sometimes they can do quite the opposite. Don’t seek refuge in your wardrobe if you feel scared, because your clothes are out to get you...

Highgate Cemetery is known for its unique and unusual monuments to the dearly departed, but one headstone stuck in my memory not because of its grandiosity or because it was the last resting place of someone noteworthy, but because it was the only one to record the cause of death.

Emma Wallace Grad

second daughter of

George Hebden Grad

Born the 20th August 1827

Died the 20th October 1845

In the 19th year of her age

From the effects of fire

Her dress having accidentally ignited

ten days previously

What a horrible way to go. The year of her death gives some indication as to how this could have happened; in the mid 1840s fashion dictated very full skirts supported by several petticoats, which could all too easily have swept too close to an open fire. The less sympathetic among us might scoff at how vanity led this unfortunate young woman to become a literal fashion victim, but the truth is that our clothes have been a source of deadly danger for centuries, and still are. 

One doesn’t have to stray far into the realms of fantasy fiction to come across a piece of jewellery with mischief on its mind. The timeless appeal of precious metals makes them the perfect way to beguile a hapless protagonist, whereas clothes feel more ephemeral; would Gollum or Bilbo have been inexorably drawn to an old sweater? Of course the reality is that the gold and silver we favour for jewellery is inert, unchanging, whereas clothes change with us. They adapt and react to our bodies, sometimes in ways that can actively cause us harm.

In an episode of CSI: New York, a young bride drops dead at the alter. The murder weapon? Her wedding dress, illicitly procured from an undertaker and sold as secondhand. The formaldehyde used to preserve the body had seeped into the dress, and poisoned its new wearer. It seems an unlikely scenario now, but if we travel back in time to the 1850s, poor Emma Wallace Grad could easily have been the victim of a different kind of fashion fatality. New chemical dyes were all the rage, but bright green (also popular as a shade for wallpaper) was made from arsenic, which reacted with the warmth and moisture of the wearer’s body to become an active poison. Is it a coincidence that Victorian women were stereotyped as weak and sickly when they were surrounded by toxic substances? 

Examples of clothes that actively wish their wearer ill are surprisingly few and far between in fiction; probably the best-known example are the scarlet pointe shoes that are the undeniable star of “The Red Shoes”, the ballet where the shoes force the unlucky wearer to dance herself to death. But our clothes don’t need to be enchanted with evil spells to cause us harm, or even death. Dancer Isadora Duncan had her life cut short by the long tasseled scarf that was her style trademark: it caught in the wheel of her car as she drove away and... well, perhaps you can imagine. 

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has felt personally victimised by a benign-looking item of clothing. Anyone who has hobbled home after wearing a poor choice of footwear for an event, or experienced the singular sensation of being stabbed in the rib cage or armpit by an escaping underwire might recognise the feeling. After wrestling the offending item of clothing from your body, you stare at it in annoyance and disappointment. “How could you?” you think. “I liked you!”

You might think yourself immune to any fashion-based health hazards. If you wear comfortably fitting clothes, avoid dangling accessories, and ensure your clothes are well looked after, you might think yourself immune. I hate to break it to you, but your vigilance is in vain. Every time you (or anyone else) washes clothing containing polyester or other synthetic fibres, tiny plastic microfibres find their way into our water supply. Friends of the Earth estimate that 83% of our water is contaminated with microplastics. Unwittingly eating old bits of someone else’s clothes isn’t something we’d dream of doing under normal circumstances, yet here we are. 

So maybe the reason we don’t tell horror stories about our clothes is that it’s a little too close to the bone. We all have to wear clothes, after all, so to think of all the harm these innocent-looking and inviting garments could inadvertently do is very disconcerting.

Perhaps we need to turn a suspicious eye towards the true villains of the piece: the people at the top of an industry that has turned a blind eye to deaths of workers in its factories for centuries, and given no thought to  the devastation that its poisonous chemicals and harmful materials can cause. Do I believe they are doing it deliberately? No, but I do believe they don’t care, which is somehow scarier, especially when we’d like to think of our clothes as friends, not foes.

So beware the siren song of fast fashion, my friends. If that beguiling bargain looks too good to be true, maybe it is. After all, cheap clothes aren’t really cheap. Someone, somewhere is paying the cost.

Packing a plastic-free holiday wardrobe

Plastics now form a key part of our summer holiday wardrobes, from swimwear to sunglasses. Fabrics made from plastic, like polyester and nylon, dry quickly and don’t crease, and pleather is becoming a go-to alternative for vegan shoes and bags.

Plastic Free July is mainly aimed at cutting out single-use plastics, but if you’re looking to have less plastic in your life generally, get creative with clothes and accessories made from an amazing range of materials. And if you can’t avoid plastics, make sure they are recycled, or reusable.

Here’s my guide to top-to-toe natural fibres.

Paper
Nothing says summer style like a beautiful wide-brimmed straw hat, but if you’re after something a little easier to pack, this visor is 100% paper and rolls up to take up minimal space. It’s also surprisingly durable: I’ve had it for years, despite the fact that it was a high-street impulse-buy by a former colleague who passed it on to me!

Silk
It feels like the perfect summer fabric to me. It’s not without its problems: it’s not cruelty-free as the moth larvae in the silk cocoons are killed (unless you buy peace silk, where the moths emerge from the cocoons before the cocoons are harvested). I’m wrestling with my conscience on this one, but I’m still wearing vintage silk clothes. Charity shops are excellent sources of secondhand clothes made from luxury fabrics at this time of year; someone else’s fear of outfit repeating could be your bargain buy!

Lycocel/Tencel/Modal
A cruelty-free, vegan alternative to silk, that is less damaging to process than viscose? Yes please! Lycocel is the generic name for fabric made from wood, and different brands have been experimenting with a range of ways to use this versatile material. The Sustainable Angle showed Tencel trainers at their Future Fabrics Expo, with every part of the shoe made from wood fibre. It can also be woven into soft drapey fabrics that rival silk, and knitted into a soft jersey that makes brilliant breathable undies.

Bamboo
I’ve raved about the excellent properties of bamboo leggings, socks and knickers in past posts. Bamboo fabric is moisture-wicking so it makes the perfect alternative to synthetic sportswear in this hot weather.

Plant Leather
My Pinatex Po-Zu shoes are perfect in summer weather; the coconut fibre and natural latex insole means my feet are supported but not sweaty throughout the day. If you're stuck in the city and you need to wear closed toe shoes to work (I don't want dressmaking pins getting stuck in my toes!) these flats are more robust than ballet flats but just as comfortable.

Plastic has become an almost unavoidable fact of life, but you can reduce your environmental impact by choosing plastic-based products that have been thoughtfully made, or by making thoughtful decisions yourself.

Recycled plastic
I bought bikinis from Davy J and Auria last year, but there are plenty of sustainable swimwear brands that are now using reclaimed plastics to make their products, whether you’re looking for activewear or something to pose by the pool in.

I blogged earlier in the year about my w.r.yuma sunglasses, 3D printed from recycled car dashboards! Another sustainable alternative is vintage sunglasses; if you need prescription lenses there are companies out there that will swap original lenses for new ones.

Buy less, choose well
Spending a bit extra on better quality clothes will mean they will see you through several summers, rather than having to go in the bin as soon as the temperature drops. None of us want to spend our holidays doing chores, but it’s worth spending a few moments a day looking after your clothes so you’ll look as fabulous as you feel on a well-deserved break.

• Put on suncream as soon as you get out of the shower in the morning and let it absorb into your skin, that way you should be able to avoid sunscreen stains on pale clothing. 
• Rinse swimwear when you get back from the beach or pool and hang it up to dry. 
• Get a case for your sunglasses and remember to take it with you! Try not to sit on them. 

Do you really *need* a whole new holiday wardrobe? I love a warm weekend when I know it’s finally time to liberate those frivolous dresses from my closet; the ones that are too low-cut, strappy or see-through for work, but are perfect for lounging in the park, or as a poolside cover-up. They remind me of past summertime shenanigans and put me in a holiday mood! Those fun, floaty holiday clothes never really go out of style, so hang on to the ones you had the most fun in, and they’ll be ready for another great summer as soon as the weather is.

How to reduce plastic pollution by rethinking the way we wash our clothes

Reducing the amount of plastic we use seems to be top of every eco-conscious agenda at the moment, and with good reason. Whether we’ve been spurred into action by the shocking footage of polluted seas in Blue Planet 2 or by litter in our own communities, there is no denying that our reliance on single-use plastic has grown into a huge problem. While bottle deposit schemes and a return to more easily recycled food packaging like aluminium or glass are all moves in the right direction, it’s easy to overlook another source of plastic pollution; the microfibres from our clothes.

Synthetic fabrics like polyester and elastane are essentially a type of plastic, albeit in a less noticeable form than a drinks bottle or food packaging. When we wash synthetic clothes, microfibres can be washed out of the fabrics and into the oceans, as they are too small to be filtered out at water treatment plants. This article about microfibre pollution in the oceans will give you plenty of in-depth information, if you want to know more.

Even if you prefer to wear natural fibres (I’m not too keen on synthetics as they are not breathable), they will usually be mixed with elastane for stretch garments like underwear, leggings, vest tops or anything figure-hugging. Elastane replaced the latex-based elastic used in the first half of the 20th Century which was notoriously perishable; elastane’s high performance, long-lasting fibres has saved countless people from the embarrassment of a broken knicker elastic!

For a week of my Wardrobe Diary, I focussed on whether my clothes were made from fibres containing plastic, and the results were quite striking. I wear a lot of cosy, stretchy base layers in the winter and these all contain elastane. Quite a few of my vintage dresses and sweaters are polyester, and I’m not keen on the idea of giving up on stretch underwear in order to go plastic free!

Throwing away clothes that contain fibres we’ve come to rely on for their comfort and convenience isn’t a solution, so what can we do instead? A couple of innovative solutions are available; the GuppyFriend and the Cora Ball.

The GuppyFriend is a fabric bag designed to trap microfibres before they leave your washing machine and enter the water supply. A reasonable load of laundry fits comfortably inside, and it doesn’t affect the way the machine washes your clothes.

The Cora Ball is designed to catch fibres as the clothes move around your machine. I haven’t bought one yet as the GuppyFriend seems more suited to my washing needs. The Cora Ball site advises against using in a delicates wash or with strappy tops or tights, but would be great if you are regularly washing fleeces or other fluffy synthetic items.

The idea of developing attachments for the washing machine itself to do the same job has been raised, and I’m sure there are prototypes in the works, but it’s good to be aware of changes we can make now. In the same way that we are all getting used to remembering our cloth shopping bags or reusable water bottles, this is a small change we can make to our regular habits to minimise our negative impact on the environment. It might not be suitable or feasible for every wash, but if we’re washing our Lycra-based sportswear separately anyway, we could probably pop it in a bag first. Every small positive change adds up to a big impact, and this doesn’t require a radical change to habits or lifestyle.