In an era where fast fashion dominates the retail landscape, it's easy to overlook the devastating effects of our clothing choices on the environment and society. Fast fashion, driven by the constant demand for cheap, trend-driven garments, is not only unsustainable but also harmful to workers and ecosystems around the world. The growing awareness of this has pointed many toward the solution: slow fashion. By prioritizing quality, sustainability, and ethical production, slow fashion offers an alternative to the environmental and social destruction caused by its rapid-paced counterpart.
We have all witnessed changes to our land and area in our lifetimes. While there are many causes for these changes, textiles play a surprisingly large role in how we impact our environment. More than just carbon emissions, textiles have a very real impact on our soil, our water, and our land.
It is estimated that every second a garbage truck worth of clothes is being burned or sent to landfills. When you begin to think about that in terms of minutes, hours, and days it's easy to see how monumental the impact of our closets have on our planet. Next time you drive by a landfill, think about how quickly our planet fills up a new mound just from some of our outgrown or worn down pants, shirts, or jackets.
In the U.S. alone, it is reported the average person is responsible for 81.5 lbs of textile waste per year. The real issue is not just the amount of clothes we discard, it's also the material its made out of. With more and more synthetics entering the market to help us enjoy browsing through sale bins and big box stores, the estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste in the US is made up more and more of non-biodegradable materials. Some of those materials, like polyester, can take up to 200 years to fully decompose.
But using natural fibers isn't a cure all. It takes over 700 gallons of water to produce a single cotton shirt. As our communities continue to grow, the demand for clean water grows with it. So even though cotton is a biodegradable material, it still carries a high cost to produce on our natural resources.
So if synthetic isn't good for our landfills and natural isn't good to produce, what's the solution? Well the problem is best summed up when we look at usage. Most clothes we buy are only worn seven to ten times before they are discarded. The problem is not how our clothes are made or where they end up, the problem is we have shifted how we use clothes. Long gone are the days when a good jacket might be passed down generations or a good pair of boots might be worn throughout someone's entire life. Our demand for cheap, low quality goods we buy often and replace often has shifted the entire apparel market.
More than fast fashion affecting our lives directly through its impact on our planet, fast fashion also takes a heavy toll on people's lives. That demand for cheaper and more apparel to fill our closets has led to an increase in subpar working conditions for people all over the world. As manufacturing shifted more and more overseas, labor standards fell.
In countries like Bangladesh, a country you'll see a lot of if you look at the inside tags of your closet, workers make $96 a month. Now while living standards are different country to country, Bangladesh's own government reports someone needs to make at least $300 a month to live comfortably. The issue lies in demand. While demand continues to drive for cheap products, it doesn't matter which country will fulfill it, someone will find a way. And usually to the determent to the people in those communities most vulnerable and likely to take a subpar living standard to get by another day.
In 2018 the U.S. Labor Department found instances of forced and child labor in large garment manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh, China, India, and Vietnam. Again, when there is demand people unfortunately will find a way. And while most of us don't have the time to vet out each brand's supply chain to make the best decision on which is most ethical, there is a key underlying principle that avoids all those problems: buying American made.
Instead of lifting up profits for major corporations by continuing to buy cheaper quality and questionably made apparel, we can support the American makers and trades that are dedicating their lives to delivering a superior product the right way and are supporting their communities while they do it.
Choosing to buy Made in the U.S.A. often has a higher price tag. But that higher price tag changes our system for the better. Instead of buying 100 cheap work shirts over a decade, what if you found 5 that you really loved and held up no matter how often you wore it? Shifting our thinking to quality will slow down our consumption and help us make more intentional choices as well.
Reducing demand for questionable labor helps people. Buying less clothes and of higher quality helps the environment. But supporting American made brands also helps our communities and our economy.
The U.S. textile industry currently produces $1.9B for our economy. Much of which is reinvested in local suppliers and helps created demand for a skilled labor force. And while this number is strong, it is still small compared to a century ago in proportion to our overall GPD. As we push for more demand, we'll find more exciting brands that embrace our heritage and lift up our communities sprout up across the states.
After all, studies show that for every dollar spent, 48% is circulated back into the local economy. Compare that with big box chains, where only 14% is spent locally. There is a multiplier effect when we choose to support American made brands that prioritize relationships with local suppliers and supporting their network of nearby businesses.
Fast Fashion can be a clickbait term. Often we hear the statistics, see the images of landfills and manufacturing floors. For us, the Homefield Advantage is not only about calling out the impact Fast Fashion has on our planet and the people on it, but most importantly, it's about showing the faces behind the brands that this impacts most.
In the coming months, we are excited to introduce you to the pioneers who are investing their lives advocating for American made textiles and apparel. They face monumental challenges, the biggest of all being trying to change consumer behavior.
But we believe when you see the quality and skill that goes into their work, the stories behind each and every stitch and stamp, it will become quite clear why shopping Made in the U.S.A. is better.
That's the Homefield Advantage. Promoting our trades, our communities, and our stories.
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