Sustainable fashion is often described as an oxymoron, how can something at the pinnacle of consumer driven growth with deeply entrenched “planned obsolescence” ever be thought of as sustainable? Well maybe there is no such thing as sustainable fashion, however as wearing clothes is an integral part of modern culture, it’s something we really need to think about.
There have been some valuable and interesting contributions to sustainable fashion mainly focusing on the supply chain, low impact materials such as organic or recycled, working conditions and even (over) consumption and disposal. However, considering the entire life cycle of a garment, the highest environmental impact is accrued at the use phase.
To focus on the use phase, my research is looking at what happens when people wash less, through a social lens. 31 volunteers and myself all wore the same pair of jeans for three months without traditional laundering techniques, questioning the need for cleanliness.
Below is a short video The University of Melbourne made about my research. Thanks to Ted Yu Shen Chen for his considered comments and Laura Soderlind, Clive Banfield and Rob Cross for such a professional production.
Hi, your roommate Michael sent me and a small group following a mutual Facebook friend having commented on her jeans washing. Here was my take:
This is a current recurring problem for the world over. I’ve prepared this to help us in this. Write this down, people.
The age of said jeans in months (a) + the homie/casualness (h) rating out of 10 – the dress (d) rating out 5 x your alignment to the ‘crusty’ subculture (c) out of 5 – the ‘sniff test’ (s) rating out of 5 – the number of times you have noticed friends/workmates (f) have screwed up their noses and glanced briefly at said jeans. So the formular is: a+h-dxc-s-f.
The resulting number is the acceptable amount of time you can wear a pair of jeans in between washes. If your number is in the negative: Do not panic. This just means you need to get out more.
Good luck in your work. It’s needed.
Cheers,
Ross.
Tullia, I have worn my organic Nude brand dark denim jeans unwashed, at least once a week, for the past year. This is on the designer’s reccomendation. Friends & family are sceptical at the least, usually aghast, when I share this fashion statement with them. While they no longer look crisp, I’m confident that their lifespan will be increased, more than offsetting the extra cost of purchase. Why is it so hard to find organic clothes in Australia?
Cheers Poul