Trash as clothing

Have you ever considered wearing a dress made out of tires? It would be quite  different and the dress would be a tough thing to sew together – you would need a pretty strong and hefty sewing machine in order to accomplish that task – so most likely the response from most people would be a no. Yet, it is a unique proposal that makes one wonder… In our easy-come, easy-go society, where after buying groceries from the store and carrying home in the paper bag, or consuming that store-bought sandwich wrapped in plastic wrapping, we simply throw the paper and plastic into the recycle bin (some unfortunately still throw it in the trash) and go about our day without an afterthought to what we have done. Pretty quickly, with so many people doing the same thing, the recycle bins fill up and the trash items spill over and we are faced with an environmental problem, which could have been prevented had we not been so wired to constantly consume.  

But, taking into consideration that our society is already prewired to overconsume, what if we could make a few positive tweaks to change our situation for the better? Instead of recycling all of the items we could put them to use. I honestly would find it hard to wear a dress made out of tires, but one made out of old ties craftily put together, or old pieces of fabric artistically patterned to create a dress or a skirt would definitely be something I would not say no to. What about you?

If you would like to see more pictures of trash being worn as a piece of clothing, check out Avantgarb{age}, The Art in Wearing Trash, a collaboration between an Argentine designer Aidana Baldassarre and photographer Caitlin Kelly.

Is fur green?

By Fidan Karimova

Have you heard of the saying that fur is green? Well, neither had I until I found out about the Fur is green campaign by Fur Council of Canada – a Canadian non-profit federation representing people working in Canada’s fur sector. The following are the four reasons the campaign provides in support of the “fur is green” statement:

1. Fur is eco-logical: Unlike synthetic clothing, which is made from non-renewable resources such as petroleum, fur is made from renewable sources, since animals reproduce every year.
2. Fur is durable and recyclable: The council argues that if the fur garment is well taken care of, it will remain in the owner’s possession for many years. It is one of those pieces of clothing that passes from many a generation to generation – like a good Chanel garment.
3. Fur is biodegradable: Real-fur is a biodegradable material and thus, even with the tanning process of fur, eventually the material will dry out and then it can be used as compost for the garden.
4. Fur processing is earth-friendly: Fur tanning can usually be accomplished by using very harmless materials, such as salt, water, alum salts, as well as other resources. On the other hand, the production of synthetic materials is carried out via chemical reactions require high temperatures and are more likely to release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.

The fact of the matter is that the idea of fur being green would be much more acceptable on a planet that holds less than 6 billion people and with people that are very aware of their environmental actions. With our over-consuming society that likes to buy clothes to wear for approximately one or two fashion seasons, fur does not seem like a viable option. Furthermore, in order for it to become a possible solution, one of the major changes that would have to take place is the horrible mistreatment that animals undergo for their fur. Things such as caged life, electrocution, tanning of animals while they are alive, would all have to be eradicated.

Textiles of Rajasthan

By Fidan Karimova

Jaipur is the largest city in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is best known as “The Red City” since everything in the city is built from red stucco. Aside from its fascinating architecture, walking around the streets of Jaipur you can observe many sewing machines, textiles, and people dyeing fabric. The textile industry in the state of Rajasthan (10% of the state population is employed in the textile industry), as well as the country as a whole is of major importance, both culturally and economically. The cultural importance is the preservation of years of textile industry knowledge, whereas the economic importance is the availability of jobs for people.

Nevertheless, there is a downside – an increase in the textile industry correlates to an increase to environmental pollution. Consequently, the Sustainable Textiles for Sustainable Development project was launched in Rajasthan to tackle that concern. This four year project, which was launched in January of 2009, is aimed to improve both the environmental issue, as well as the working conditions of the textile workers, since the average income in the state of Rajasthan is below the national average and the high percentage of people in the area employed in the textile industry.