Designer clothing and t-shirts for wake, skate, snow and surf by nosymbolrequired
Being Green
A short time ago, we had a search throughout the internet for other companies who are also trading in organic cotton t-shirts and fair-trade clothing. Firstly, to make sure that we are doing a better job than them, and secondly to check our prices, the same as Tesco’s or Asda would do. Surprisingly we found a company that managed to price a pair of jeans at 160 pounds, because they were selvedged organic cotton denim, and their normal organic jeans were coming in at around the 80 pounds mark. Added to this, their t-shirts and jumpers were more expensive than ours aswell, and we found a problem. Being environmentally friendly should be a choice, which is open to all, not just the exclusive rich people. However, saying that, there should also be the choice open to people with far too much money, that they can also buy overpriced “designer” clothing, which passes the ethical test. Its their money, and its better that they spend it on ethical products, than anything else.
Although, the problem did highlight that a discussion was required on how to choose green clothing (without spending far too much of your hard earned cash)
1) The most environmentally friendly clothing is the clothes you already have in your wardrobes. These have already cost the Earth to manufacture and are already being used. They do not require any more material extraction, shipping, retailing, advertising etc etc. They will however require washing, and this is possibly the highest eco-burden that clothes can give. So, wash your clothes on a cooler wash, saving energy and a few pounds over the year, take care of the clothes you already own first, and learn how to sew.
2) Design for a generation, not for a fad. We like this thinking here, don’t just buy things as they are the latest and greatest fad, but buy sensibly with fashion that will stretch over the test of time. For example: my wardrobe contains a plain grey jumper, that although isnt environmentally friendly manufactured, I have had since I left school. This would be in the region of 17 years ago (please don’t work out how old I am!), and the jumper is still going strong. The jumper was designed to last the test of time.
3) Design to be worn and abused. This also goes for the jumper example above, my jumper is manufactured in such a way, that it just excepts abuse. I can wear it mountainbiking, snowboarding, ultra marathon running or splashing around in the mud at Glastonbury. It washes remarkably well, doesnt tear, rip, wear out, need repairing, need dry cleaning or anything else. It was manufactured to last the test of time.
4) But lets say you don’t have clothes such as these in your wardrobe, and actually do need to buy new clothes. Here we can still save a bit of money and the environment. Firstly, don’t buy new. There are a remarkable amount of charity shops around which will be happy to part with good quality clothing for next to no pence. There are even shops online that will resell designer evening wear for a fraction of the original price, so you don’t have too look like your wearing your brothers hand-me-downs. And, if you are just bored of the clothes you have in your wardrobe and fancy a “new look”, why not take a look at some “swishing” websites. Here you can swap clothes for free with other like minded people, and get that new look you were after.
5) The next port of call is the more environmentally friendly companies out there (such as nosymbolrequired!), who not only sell organic cotton t-shirts that look great, but also can prove that all of their t-shirts, designs, inks, prints etc, are made with the environment in mind. In our instance, even if the clothes are not “environmentally friendly” due to our own imposed technical constraints, such as our technical jacket range, they are fair-trade. Luckily, for us, this has only happened in a few occasions and most of our product range is environmentally friendly AND fair-trade.
6) The next point is one of recycling. What happens when you throw your clothes away? Have you chosen the material of your clothes correctly? Can they be broken down and composted? Here at nosymbolrequired, when you are finished with your clothes (which may be a very long time in the future see points 2 and 3 above!), you can post them back to us, and we will recycle the materials into new clothing. If we cant manage that, we will make sure that the clothes you return are disposed of in the most environmentally possible way, and this could even include being used as fuel to make new products. Remember that cotton has a useable shelf-life of 500 years plus, and we will, wherever possible use this to an advantage.
7) So are all synthetic fabrics to be avoided? Well, we say, yes. But, this is only due to the complicated process of breaking down the fibres of, for example polyester, that is highly energy intensive. However, a product that is correctly designed for fashion / life and is already in the shops, will be better than making from new, with the materials extraction, production, shipping etc. However, make sure you look into the fabric types before buying, and look at how you are going to recycle the garment later in its life, and care for the product throughout its life-cycle.
Now this is getting into an even longer post that we thought it would be, so we will leave it there, with the teaser that you can find out more information yourselves by questioning companies and looking for information on the internet. Happy hunting….
