Combating Climate Change One Jacket at A Time
Not many people out there can say they knew what they wanted to do as a profession at age 5. My grandmother had been a seamstress, my mom had made all our costumes growing up, so I was completely surrounded by sewing and making clothes from scratch. I started making clothes for my Barbies and my Beanie babies around 6 or 7. I wasn’t big enough to use my mom’s sewing machine, so everything I made was hand-sewn. I didn’t learn to sew with a machine until college (shocking I know! I’m sure my grandma was horrified!)
The clothing and apparel design has always been a part of my life in one way or another. When I got to college to start my degree in Apparel Design, there were a few required classes that completely changed my view point on the fashion industry and opened my eyes to the reality of climate change. The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions annually. This was a hard pill to swallow for a kid who grew up idolizing designers. It was a sharp wake up call to me, and got me questioning my chosen field, and how I would be contributing to so much environmental destruction.
The reality of the fashion industry perpetuating climate change is not just the physical product being created, but transportation, fabric content, raw materials, manufacturing waste and packaging. All steps in the design, production, logistics, marketing and shipping need to be taken into consideration to limit carbon emissions.
Ways to Start
Limiting the amount of virgin raw materials
Recycled, reclaimed or scrap fabrics
All natural materials (soy wax, cotton, wool, linen etc.)
Recycled packaging (I often reuse packaging!)
Limiting the use of plastics
Encouraging sustainable behavior in consumers
Buying sustainably made pieces that will last
Buying less, but investing more in better pieces
Reduce over-production and returns
Minimize carbon emissions in production
Less water usage
Less production waste
Sustainable energy
Renaissance Woman’s Objective
Creating art and fashion should not be at the expense of destroying the planet. With that in mind, I am striving to create our jackets with materials that are either reclaimed fabrics, leftover materials, scrap fabric and second-hand materials. This is a slow process, and each jacket takes a few weeks to make. Because they are made with scrap fabric, each jacket is completely unique and one of a kind. Because they’re made from 100% natural materials, these jackets and jackets will get softer and better with time.
My goal is to use 100% recycled materials for shipping and packaging, with absolutely no plastics. It’s time we revive traditional artistry for the modern times, and save the planet while we do it!
