Sustainability in Fashion- Lecture

Today we had a lecture all about sustainability in fashion, I have found that this has stuck with me and made me think about what I do. I know that I am very good at making sure I get the most out of garments as I can, and once they no longer serve a purpose I make them into something else or use the fabric as scrap. I Found it very interesting to know what happens to the garments that we put into the charity clothes banks, as I thought that the clothes were given to poor people in Africa and other poor regions of the world or for relief after natural disasters. ​

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Natural Fibres

All renewable

• biodegradable
• Doesn't last as long as synthetic fibres.
• ​not very durable

Image from http://blog.irelandseyeonline.com/the-future-of-knitwear-growing-trend-for-natural-fibres/

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Synthetic Fibres

Image from https://indian-b2b-marketplace.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/various-advantages-of-synthetic-fibres.html

• man-made (coal, oil and plastic) 
• fossil fuels
• non renewable
• last a really long time 
• very durable

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Regenerated Fibres

• plant based but chemically treated
• viscose(wood pulp)
• more sustainable than synthetic

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I found todays lecture really thought provoking about how we treat the world. I found it interesting to see just how much clothing gets thrown out, but I was happy to see that it when it goes into the clothes banks it goes to Africa to be sold so that the people can make a living. I enjoyed learning about the different types of fibres, this is something that I am going to continue researching, as I want to be a sustainable as I can when I am designing and making. When we were learning about other fashion company’s sustainability I was very disappointed by the lack of information on a lot of their websites:

• Joules- they only tell us that in their distribution centre in Corby they use and economical boiler system to heat the building.
• Superdry- In my opinion this was one of the worst, this is because they want to make sure that all of the cotton they use is organic however, they want this to be the case by 2040, which is too far away, a lot of damage can be done by then.