Status Updates From Sundressed: Natural Fabrics...

“We cannot continue on the path of over-production and overconsumption we've been on, for two reasons. First, the limits of the earth are within sight, and as we are faced with the grim consequences…
The second reason is that we are all tired of owning too much and feeling unsatisfied with the options in our wardrobes. For too long, we've been living with things we have no connection to”

“The foundation’s circular economy for fashion has three pillars. The first is …products should be used more. The second pillar is that products should be "made to be made again" …Finally, after a vigorous, long life of use, repair, and recycling, garments must be composted and returned to the earth… Unfortunately, built-in obsolescence is firmly entrenched in modern society.”

I like how I just keep getting to read about more textiles and fabrics and the bones of the clothes! I don’t think I could have listed off this many for the chapters in the book: hemp, silk, cotton, rayon, now denim is next!

“The fashion industry faces an extremely complex set of problems that touch every single part of the supply chain. To solve these problems and move beyond sustainability, fashion needs to embrace many and varied innovative solutions.“

“Textile waste is an insurmountable problem for the fashion industry because of the volume of clothes being discarded and, much like rubbish made of plastic, this waste isn't going away. Synthetic fibers won't biodegrade, and natural fibers have to be disposed of in the right circumstances…” soooo is there a place that I can send textile waste too???

Carbon model: plants and grass and trees(?) being carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Think of carbon credits people purchase or carbon emissions. Plants pull it out of the air with photosynthesis. Higher carbon in soil = better for the environment. This is a theme, just like regenerative farming

“[Linen] is valued for its sheen, durability, and absorbency. It is stronger than cotton and dries faster. It has a smooth surface that repels dirt. Water makes it both stronger and smoother, so its luster and tensile strength improve every time it is laundered. It is thought to be the oldest fiber used by humans; …prized by the ruling elite… believed it symbolized light and purity”

holy trinity of sustainability–environmental, social, and economic by Hilmond Hui: “farming mulberry trees using regenerative principles, silk production can harness the power of nature to sequester carbon, rehabilitate the soil, restore balance to the community, and improve workers' quality of life. The model… takes care of the local community and landscape, while also being able to produce silk at scale”

I love when some humor sneaks in—“5000 years of breeding have left the silkworms pretty feeble”
The chapter talks about the process of making silk, and the breeding comments come from humans needing to assist the silkworms.

I wouldn’t have expected a book on fashion to teach me the term “regenerative farming”

I would love for a President to create policies to encourage these changes—or maybe pay-out programs for participation

“…[benefits] seem so obvious that it's hard to understand why anyone would still be set stock-ing. I ask why everyone isn't grazing their sheep this way and Massy's reply is matter-of-fact: the traditional power base doesn't want to change and, understandably, they don't want to be told they've been farming in a way that harms the land.“

So stubbornness will kill the Earth.

Lots of odes to her clothing

“But regardless, the same cycles of biology apply, transforming sunlight into plant matter we can harvest, spin, and weave, turning it into beautiful clothes we get to wear against our skin. Clothes that give back to the carth. Clothes that allow us to be sundressed.”

A fashion book with a chapter about farming! The mindset shift is really telling; instead of incorporating techniques to maintain resources, the only concern is the immediate profit. I also started thinking— can we even recreate soil?

“Fashion is inextricably bound to nature, and this shouldn't be lost on us as we try to navigate the complex questions of how to lessen the industry's carbon footprint.”

Buying more clothes but wearing them less. Implications of looking for something to be “stronger, calmer, more beautiful” Clothing gives us self-expression but also insecurities and a signifier of wealth or the lack of

It’s not the authors quote she included Marc Jacobs… but I love the thought: “Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them."

I like the authors inclusion of her favorite, well-worn (positively) outfits. The places it took her and things she experienced. The stories

I love the starting question: is fashion sustainable can it ever be?

“it's worth remembering that before fast fashion, clothes were made to last. They were worn, re-worn, and repaired. Now, clothes are often so poorly made they fall apart, stain easily, and start to smell, so they have to be constantly replaced. This means that anyone who buys fast fashion because it is all they can afford ends up worse off.”

I’ve been slacking hard out lads