Beth Fiteni

Fair Trade and What It Means to You

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I had the fortune to be able to attend the 15th International fair Trade Summit in Lima, Peru this past month, along with members of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, and gained a deeper understanding of the importance of fair trade certified products. Products that are produced with a Fair Trade certification mean that care is taken to ensure workers are paid fairly, working conditions are humane, no child labor is used, and environmental sustainability is factored into production. They are usually “artisanal,” hand-made or in small batches. Some common fair trade products are coffee, chocolate, and sugar, as well as clothing, jewelry, rugs, and handcrafts. Guests brought beautiful examples of all of the above from all around the world! Quite incredible to see.

Several conference workshops focused on climate change and the impacts to farmers producing the materials needed to create Fair Trade products. The Cool Farm Alliance spoke about their Cool Farm Tool – an online greenhouse gas, water, and biodiversity calculator. One workshop I attended had a lively debate on whether all Fair Trade products should be organic, with arguments on both sides—while most people would love to see all products produced using materials that are certified organic, sometimes it is not practical depending on market conditions, and this can sometime be due to the cost of certifying and maintaining farmland organically when it comes to food products, for example. The topic of upcycling (transforming unwanted materials into higher value items) and circular economy (an economic system aimed at eliminating waste) were discussed in terms of ways to reduce waste in production, and also issues of race and class in international trade—who is producing for who? Is the system truly fair?

We visited a Fair Trade Certified pottery shop, a chocolate factory making candy from jungle cacao, and a textile weaving company. All incredible to see. When you see the work, time and detail that goes into making items, and the faces behind that labor, it gives you a much deeper appreciation for the products they produce. The final leg of our journey led us to the magical heights of the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu and many sightings of llamas and alpacas, the fur of which is used to make a plethora of Peruvian textile products. Overall an unforgettable experience that taught me never to take hand-made items in our stores for granted. You can make a difference -- what we buy does matter—so always look for the Fair Trade symbol whenever possible. #FairTradeSummit

Scientists: There is No More “Life as Usual” in Averting Climate Change

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, commissioned by the United Nations and made up of thousands of scientists from around the world, releases its climate assessment reports every 5 years. A new report was issued last week stating that the earth is likely to reach 1.5C (2.7™F) warming sometime between 2030 and 2052. It would be worse again at 2C and higher temperature rises.[1] One of the report’s key messages is that we are already seeing effects through increased extreme weather, rising sea levels, coral reef bleaching and shrinking Arctic sea ice. However, effects of further warming will be noticeably different from today.

To limit warming to 1.5C we need to cut global emissions by about 45% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. This would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Any remaining emissions would need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the air via Afforestation (planting new trees) and reforestation (replanting trees where they previously existed). Examples of needed actions include:

  • Shifting to low- or zero-emission power generation, such as renewables;
  • Changing food systems, such as diet changes away from land-intensive animal products (meat);
  • Electrifying transport
  • Developing ‘green infrastructure’, such as green roofs, and improving energy efficiency by smart urban planning, which will change the layout of many cities.
  • Switching from fossil fuels such as coal and oil could avoid 100 million premature deaths through this century.

A ‘whole systems’ approach would be needed, meaning that all relevant companies, industries and stakeholders would need to be involved. While transitions towards lower greenhouse gas emissions are underway in some cities, regions, countries, there are few that are currently consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Meeting this challenge would require a rapid escalation in the current scale and pace of change. It is all-hands-on-deck time!

For the full report, a summary, FAQs, and more information, see http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/

[1] For instance, by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C. The likelihood of an Arctic Ocean free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with at least once per decade with 2°C. Coral reefs would decline by 70–90% with global warming of 1.5°C, whereas virtually all would be lost with 2°C.

“Unveiling Fashion”: Addressing the Hidden Problems of Waste, Environmental Sustainability, and Labor Issues One Garment at a Time

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George Washington University, Washington DC, Sept. 29, 2018

 

Even after years of hearing and writing about sustainability issues in the clothing industry, I still shudder at the enormity of the problems. But, I also feel inspired by the innovative thinkers who are helping to solve them, some of whom were at the Unveiling Fashion event I attended on 9/29/18 at the George Washington University Textile Museum, run by the DC Sustainable Fashion Collaborative. (I was happy to be a sponsor and raffle off the Green Wardrobe Guide!) It is extremely gratifying to see how interest and solutions are growing in the field of fair, eco-fashion! From the amazing expert speakers, I learned these 15 surprising facts all clothing-wearers should know:

  1. 1 in 6 of the world’s laborers work in some aspect of the fashion industry, and 80% of garment workers are women. A recent NY Times article highlighted how some big name luxury items are often produced by people earning $2/day. There is modern slavery happening in garment-producing countries, and female workers are threatened with violence if they attempt to unionize. Fashion Revolution ran a campaign called Who Made my Clothes? to pressure companies to institute better transparency. They also have a program to offer clothing swaps and promote upcycling at high schools.
  2. Fashion industry = 5-10% of global greenhouse gases
  3. There are now “sewbots” that can sew basic clothing together like sheets and socks, which may bring big change to the garment industry.
  4. There is a product called Guppy Friend that helps take polyester microfibers out of your laundry.
  5. Household waste has grown overall 6% since 2000 but textile waste has increased 71% in that time, due to “fast fashion” (or “junk food fashion,” as one speaker put it) that keeps us buying cheaper goods that don’t last.
  6. Only 1% of textiles are re-made into new fabrics. 85% ends up in landfills. Thrift stores can only handle about 20% of donations so 80% end up being shredded into “shoddy” for seat cushion stuffing or sent overseas where it disrupts local economies.
  7. Though product producers and distributors like Amazon create a lot of packaging and shipping waste, they are not responsible for dealing with the waste – municipalities are, which means more taxpayer dollars spent for hauling and disposal. Re-Thread DC is an initiative to collect and repurpose disposed textiles to reduce waste. DC has passed a law that producers must take back at least 10% of the products they sell for recycling. There is a great economic development opportunity in materials re-use…
  8. India has banned genetic engineering of food crops, but that does not apply to cotton. One Indian farmer trapped in a cycle of expensive chemical use commits suicide every half hour.
  9. 52% of organic product shoppers are millennial so this is not a trend that is going away anytime soon.
  10. There is a “Regenerative” movement that is going beyond organic to focusing on replenishing depleted soil so it can better sequester carbon; soil from which our food and clothing fibers are grown.
  11. Stretch fabrics like Spandex are hard to make in an eco-friendly way and often cannot be recycled.
  12. Some textile dyes can be made using seaweed.
  13. Vogue magazine Australia, just hired a sustainability editor – (which is a big deal for a magazine that usually promotes many not- eco-friendly products)
  14. Greenwashing – sometimes stories told about products are misleading- one speaker said sometimes Guatemalan women may give up their handwoven textiles for a few dollars to put food on table, only to have them resold in the U.S. for hundreds because they are traditionally hand-made items.
  15. Idea: To help customers shop sustainable items, couldn’t Amazon have a sort function based on various standards such as Fair Trade?

So what are shoppers to do? There is no perfect answer right now, but as I said in the Green Wardrobe Guide—don’t buy what you don’t need, shop in thrift stores, seek out plant-based fabrics with natural dyes, and mend, donate or swap your clothes so they hopefully get another life. Do your homework and ask questions—consumer demand brings about change!!

Kudos to the DC Sustainable Fashion Collaborative! If you want to know more about the above, here are the groups to follow that are making a huge difference towards a more sustainable, equitable world:

5 Gyres

Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator

Fair Trade America

Fashion Revolution

Fashionista

Fibershed

Free the Slaves

Goodweave

Green America

Guppy Friend

Lady Farmer

Metawear – Founded by author and ecopreneur Marci Zaroff

RRS Recycle

Textiles.com

#unveilingfashion #sustainablefashion #5Gyres #BFDA #FairTrade #FashionRevolution #Fibershed #FreetheSlaves # Goodweave #GreenAmerica #GuppyFriend #LadyFarmer #Metawear #MarciZaroff #Recycle #Textiles #Green_Wardrobe_Guide

Microfiber Pollution From Our Clothing – in our Food?

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Microscopic views of microfibers
Microscopic views of microfibers. Photos: Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB

Many of us are becoming aware of the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean. But did you know that when you wash your synthetic fleece top, it may be releasing tiny fibers of polyester (which is made of plastic), into your wastewater, which can then contaminate water bodies?[1] A 2016 study found that microfibers (less than a millimeter in length) are being found in oceans as well as land, from the bottom of the Indian Ocean to U.S. farmland. Results found that when synthetic jackets are washed, on average 1,174 milligrams of microfibers are released from the washing machine. “These microfibers then travel to local wastewater treatment plant, where up to 40% of them can enter into rivers, lakes, and oceans (depending on local wastewater treatment conditions).”[2] The Global Microplastic Initiative points out that microplastics do not break down, and can bioaccumulate, affect cell function in fish, and can move from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Microfibers have been detected in “table salt in China, in arctic waters, and in fish caught off the coast of California.”[3]

So what are some solutions?

  • Purchase biodegradable fabrics such as cotton, hemp, and linen
  • Seek better quality spun fibers that don’t shed as much as low quality clothing.
  • Washing machines:
    • Should have a lint filter.
    • Front loading machines tend to cause less shedding than top loading machines.[4]
    • Use a colder wash setting. Higher temperature can damage clothes and release more fibers.
    • Dry spin clothes at low revs. Higher revolutions increase the friction between the clothes.

Learn more in the Green Wardrobe Guide.

#StopTheMicrofiber #GreenWardrobeGuide #Ecofashion #NoMorePlastic

[1] How Microplastics Cause Macro Problems for the Ocean

[2] Microfiber Pollution and the Apparel Industry

[3] Are We Eating Our Fleece Jackets?

[4] What Do We Know About Tiny Plastic Fibers in the Ocean

85% of Textiles- That’s What We Waste

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At the recent Textile Waste Summit in New York City, there were fashion designers creating patterns that produce fewer fabric scraps, the NYC Department of Sanitation talking about their Donate NYC app to find clothing collection bins around the city, and nonprofit organizations helping to educate and create markets for recycled fabrics. It was all to address a major area of waste—textiles.

According to the NYS Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR)’s Re-Clothe NY Campaign, the average NY resident puts 70lbs of clothing, shoes and other textiles in the trash each year (it’s an average 80lbs/pp nationwide). That adds up to:

  • 1.4 billion lbs of clothing and textile waste per year in NY (NYSDEC)
  • 15 million tons wasted annually in the U.S. on whole.

Almost all fabrics can be recycled – pure fabric fibers can easily be recycled into new fabrics, and fabric blends (meaning those that combine cotton with polyester, for example) are a bit more difficult to recycle because the materials must be separated out, but it can be done. Unfortunately most of this waste is put in landfills, some is incinerated, and some is used to make car seat stuffing and insulation materials.

What is the best option for consumers? Only buy what you need and make it last. The second best option is clothing donation. Clothing that is clean and wearable can be donated to various thrift stores for resale such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. Anything that does not get sold within a certain time period is usually sent to developing nations for their second hand market.

For more info see:

Hear my radio interview with Dan Lilkas Rain of NYSAR here.

Live in NYC?

Apartment buildings with 10 or more units can sign up for refashionNYC, a partnership between NYC and Housing Works that provides convenient, in-building drop-off service for clothing, accessories, and textiles. Free donation bins available. NYC has a goal of zero waste to landfills by 2030! #0X30

Eco-destination Malta: 3 places to help you live a green lifestyle, Maltese-Style

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During my recent visit to Malta I got to visit three places that are helping the Maltese to live a greener lifestyle.

Peppi Gauci
Aquaponic system (fish below)
geodesic dome

 

 

1) Permaculture Research Foundation Malta, run by Peppi Gauci, maintains the Bahrija Oasis. After passing via a small path through a stand of bamboo, one enters a beautiful area transformed from previously unproductive land into a peaceful, lush and self-sustaining green sanctuary. Based on principles of permaculture which embrace nature as its prime example of design, Peppi and his team grow fields of vegetables organically, and grow plants via aquaponics– plants grow over a small man-made pond–as the plant roots feed on the waste of the fish, the fish feed off the nutrients provided by the plants. The Bahrija Oasis site is solar powered, and there is a system of composting toilets also called “humanure” toilets, which do not use any water and produce compost that can be used on ornamental plants. The site features circular geodesic domes which are used for meditation and meetings. The Foundation offers retreats and training courses for those wishing to learn by this inspiring example.

 

Paul Debono

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Vincent’s EcoFarm is a certified organic farm in Mgarr. I visited while in Malta, and it was a real treat to see the large variety of beautiful plants growing there including numerous vegetables, herbs olives and red Gellewza grapes, which are indigenous to Malta. The farm has a mobile trailer for chickens who naturally fertilize the soil with their droppings, and are not killed– they are left to live out their natural life. People can come to pick up vegetables and preserves on a daily basis. The farm is owned by Gloria Camilleri (who drives an adorable electric vehicle), and is named after her father Vincent. The farm is operating a beautifully decorated, modern yet rustic bed and breakfast, and hosts healthy eating and yoga workshops.

 

 

 

 

 

3) D Street – Dressed by Nature ecofashion store in Sliema features stylish clothing made from eco-friendly, plant-based fabrics including organic cotton, Tencel (from eucalyptus), and bamboo. Owned by a young Italian woman, there are clothes for both men and women, for work or casual, and there are even socks and hemp shoes for sale. Items are made in Italy the US and other countries and are fair-trade conscious.

More Green Malta tips: There is a Vegetarian Society of Malta and a growing number of healthy eateries, such as The Grassy Hopper and Gugar in Valletta. Health food stores such as Casa Natura in Sliema and Good Earth in St. Julian’s help support a healthy lifestyle. While most local farms may use pesticides, as part of the European Union, Malta does not allow the growing of genetically modified crops, and GMO products are labeled. And, Malta was the first country to ban the use of the chemical Glyphosate (Roundup)!