Category Archives: sustainability

Sew 321 – Suiting yourself

Television presenter Karl Stefanovic wore the same suit every day for a year to make a statement regarding the way female presenters are judged on appearance and dress.

A fringe benefit of Stefanovic’s experiment is he demonstrated how long clothing lasts and how little we need for utilitarian purposes.

An average suit weighs about 1kg – yet the global average consumption of clothing is 11kg/person/year (up 80% from 7kg/person/yr in 1992) according to the UN Food and Agriculture global apparel fibre survey (pg 2).

Imagine the sheer volume of clothing that is sitting in wardrobes, cast aside after one or two wears, shed into charity shops or dumped into landfill? Tens of thousands of tonnes of clothing every year. Continue reading →

Sew 320 – Greed before need

Greed before need is the headline on David Penberthy’s column in Western Australia’s Sunday Times newspaper today about the level of unnecessary consumption in our society.

This unnecessary consumption leads to 70,000 tonnes (70 million kgs) of cast-off clothing being shipped from Australia to developing nations each year and sparked this 365-day Sew it Again project, which is reusing and refashioning pre-loved clothing as an alternative to always buying new.

Penberthy was writing about phone upgrades and said many of us have convinced ourselves that luxuries are necessities.

“We have embraced a big-bang approach to shopping which is a world away from the gradual acquisition which marked more frugal and disciplined past generations … The basics for a young couple starting out are not defined by shelter, transport and utilities but have been extended to include a television which simply must be 40 inches across and web-ready, the latest phone for every member of the family, and three meals out a week because of the rapidly dying art of peeling a carrot or a spud.” Continue reading →

Sew 319 – Climate change front + centre

United States President Barack Obama said combating climate change cannot be the work of governments alone – we all have the power to imagine a new future, get involved and make a difference.

Obama issued a challenge for nations to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a memorable speech at The University of Queensland ahead of the G20 Summit in Brisbane saying ‘we cannot forget the need to lead on the global fight against climate change’.

Obama said Australia and the United States are big greenhouse gas emitters – and both countries have to step up. Failure to act would mean increasing temperatures, more extreme and frequent storms, longer droughts, more wildfires and threaten the natural glory of the Great Barrier Reef. “This past summer worldwide was the hottest on record – no nation is immune and every nation has a responsibility to do its part,” he said.

Continue reading →

Sew 318 – I believe

I believe in creative, individual dress that doesn’t exploit people or the environment.

I believe we can extend the useful life of existing natural fibre clothing by mending, adapting and refashioning them to suit ourselves.

And I’m living what I believe every day this year by posting resewing, repair and refashion projects as a way of demonstrating ways we can individually reduce our clothing footprint.

Today was difficult because my sister Jo and I finalised our late brother Paul’s estate – including his Mercedes Sprinter Van, right. Thank you to those who have helped along the way. Losing a much-loved younger sibling makes us think a lot about our purpose in life and how best to spend the limited time we have on Earth. Continue reading →

Sew 317 – National Recycling Week

It is National Recycling Week – a Planet Ark initiative developed to bring focus to the environmental benefits of recycling and stimulate behaviour change by individuals and communities.

There are many recycling events planned including some clothing swap parties. It is likely that textile recycling will come further onto the radar in future as society comes to grips with the extent of waste and pollution generated by current clothing habits.

With the Sew it Again project this year, we are demonstrating ways that existing clothing can be recycled through refashion. Continue reading →

Sew 315 – Creative second-hand combo

In this era of conspicuous consumption, it is refreshing to come across people from all walks of life who deliberately make thrifty choices and consider secondhand-best whenever possible.

At a check-up with my dentist yesterday, Bruce asked me what I’d been up to since I last visited, I told him about Sew it Again and that the upcycled outfit I was wearing (right) had cost me less than $2. He was completely with the program. Bruce said he loved fossicking through second-hand clothing stores and that his med-student daughter had upcycled his wife’s wedding dress for her Year 12 formal outfit. Fabulous thrifty values, reusing what already exists instead of always buying new! Continue reading →

Sew 314 – Linen tops the list

The casual crinkled look of linen is naturally beautiful. I have a crush on linen which I’ve written about before and believe it to be the most sustainable of all natural fibres. Just machine wash, shake and hang to dry and wear as is – and if you want a nice even crinkle, give it a short tumble-dry. I haven’t ironed linen for years – saving lots of energy and effort.

There is a sign (right) in one of Brisbane’s fabric stores (Spotlight) promoting the casual wrinkled look as being the way to wear linen these days. Hooray – hope it leads to more people wearing linen because based on the embodied energy information outlined below, linen is the most energy efficient fibre available. I’ve sourced this table from the O Ecotextiles website, which used an academic study done for the New Zealand Merino Wool Association as its original data.

Continue reading →

Sew 309 – Mr Darcy in background

Nearly a year ago, I wrote this career-change summary: Jane Milburn is an agricultural scientist by training and an issues-based communications consultant by practice. Sew it Again is a journey into creativity, empowerment, thrift, sustainability, ecological unhealth and wellbeing – woven with threads of childhood, professional expertise, networks and nature. During 2014, Jane is making a daily practice of upcycling garments from her own and others’ wardrobes as a way of sharing a creative way of dressing.

The decision to sew a fresh seam in life coincided with three children making their own way in the world (sad but good too, freeing up space and time) doing postgraduate study (Grad Cert Australian Rural Leadership) and the loss of my youngest brother Paul in an accident (a reality check about the finite nature of life).

So here I am, sewing every day – on one hand as a protest against the fast-fashion churnover of clothing that is leading to waste and exploitation of natural resources and people – and on the other hand demonstrating a creative way to bring home-sewing into the 21st century. This Sew it Again year is only possible thanks to my lifetime partner, chief backer and supporter Mr Darcy, my husband. (See our wedding photo right). Continue reading →

Sew 307 – Most clothes now synthetic

My home city of Brisbane, Queensland, is in the final stages of planning to host the largest ever gathering of world leaders in Australia’s history with The G20. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said this year’s focus will be on building a stronger world economy – because economic growth means more jobs, higher living standards etc.

This is juxtaposed against the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which says human influence on the climate system is clear and growing, with impacts observed on all continents. The latest report says continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of widespread and profound impacts affecting all levels of society and the natural world.

Climate change is not on the G20 agenda. Despite the fact that there’s a link between continued economic growth (read consumption) and emission of greenhouse gases, particularly in Australia where coal is our second-largest export earner and underpins our economy. Continue reading →