Tag Archives: FAO

Sew 232 – Cheap disposable clothing, not

repair and renovate garments to extend lifeSome clothing has become so cheap and available in the 21st century that it is effectively disposable, with most items worn only once or twice before being discarded.

This cheap fast fashion, like cheap fast food, satisfies an immediate need to dress for the day – but the true social, ethical and ecological impact is not yet understood.

We know the world wastes about one-third of the food it produces and we are only beginning to grapple with clothing and textile waste.

FAO data on fibre apparel use shows we now consume clothing at three times the rate we did two decades ago. Since 1992, global population has increased by 25 percent and textile consumption by 80 percent. In 1992, we each used 7kg and that increased to 11kg per person by 2010 – with most of the increase being synthetic fibres, derived from petroleum. Synthetic fibres that are cheap, readily available, ultimately unsatisfying and disposable.  Continue reading →

Sew 224 – Opshopchop coat of colour

Upcycled wool jumpers become coat of colours“Uh oh, this is not going quite as planned” … is a frequent thought when you take scissors to garments. Expect the unexpected, let it lead you to creative original solutions and don’t give up until you have a wearable result.

Upcycling is a creative discipline that requires a combination of time, skills, confidence and desire to produce something unique from rejects.

Natural fibres now make up only one-third of modern clothing according to the FAO – the rest are made from synthetics which are mostly pure petroleum.  Continue reading →

Sew 203 – Where clothes come from

Jane Milburn wears upcycled jumper-skirtDuring the past decade there has been growing interest and awareness in where food comes from, how it is grown and what are its nutritional and sustainable values. We’re alive to fact that we are what we eat.

In a similar way, there now is growing interest in where clothes come from, who made them, what they are made of and whether they are ethical and sustainable – because we are what we wear.

Skin is our body’s largest organ, so the clothing we wrap it in influences feel, comfort and interactions by osmosis. Natural-fibre clothing free from contaminants and toxins must be best. The benefits of natural fibres are eloquently summarised by Wildfibres UK.  Continue reading →

Sew 96 – Creative inspiration

upcycled silk history skirtIt is affirming to be around people who value your work, as it was for me yesterday meeting many wonderful women of threads at the Australian Textile Artists and Surface Designers Association Queensland social day.

Upcycling existing clothing is not new but many have lost the skills and confidence it requires or are not prepared to spend time and effort in doing so. We all have different priorities and are at different stages of life, but textile artists, designers and quilters, get what I’m about.

A common first-world problem is wardrobes bulging with clothing – we often keep stuff we bought in previous years and (on average) we each go on to buy another 11kg of clothing every year, according to FAO fabric apparel statistics. Multiply that by 7 billion people in the world and you begin to appreciate the impact clothing habits have on global resource use and ecological health. Most of the rejects end up as landfill.

Av consumption is 11kg of apparel fibre per person per yearTo demonstrate what 11kgs of clothing looks like, I boxed up some cast-offs (thanks Sally) photographed right.  To show fibre types, the synthetics nearly fill a 50-litre storage box, the cotton about half a box and the wool, linen and cellulose fibres are about one garment each.

In the front of this photo, there’s a measuring stick distilling the FAO figures from which I’ve calculated that on average, each person in the world is each year consuming 6.6kg synthetic, 3.74kg cotton,  400g cellulose fibres (eg viscose), 200g of wool and 150g flax/linen. In reality, the world is drowning in clothing. You almost can’t give it away except to third-world countries where most first-world cast-offs end up, leaving skill-displacement and disposal problems in their wake. Continue reading →

Sew 94 – Repair rather than toss

Repair wool socksBeing mindful about consumption – of food, energy, clothing, technology, sweet stuff – leads to outcomes that are best for our selves and our world.

A recent Rabobank calculation found that every minute there are 158 new mouths to feed (and dress) in the world and that by 2050, on current trends, there will be just 0.5 hectares of land per person on the planet.

From my own research last year, this graph (below) from a FAO World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey visually demonstrates the rate of fibre use increasing by 80 percent in two decades. The report is written from a consumption perspective on recession impacts but I interpret it as an overall warning because per capita consumption between 1992 and 2010 increased from 7 to 11kgs per person per year. Continue reading →

Sew 51 – Jeans to rara skirt

jeans to rara skirtLinen jeans becomes rara skirt by chopping below zip, extending skirt and adding frill made from off-cuts.

Reusing and resewing from existing clothing is an easy way to upgrade/revive/extend your wardrobe and I’m on a mission to do that for better or worse for 365 days this year.

Why? One reason is the ecological impacts of constant consumption. Society’s endless chase of new clothing consumes resources at the production end (water, energy, nutrients and/or petroleum) and results in pollution at the disposal end (dumps, leaching and/or methane).  Continue reading →