There is a tear in the armpit of Orsola de Castro's sweater. Raise your hand in the air so I can see it: a piece of pale skin is sprouting from tomato-red wool. This "memory gap", as De Castro describes it, tells the story of the jumper's long life. It belonged to her cousin, then to her daughter. "It's a very old Benetton from the time when Benetton was still made in Italy . You can't see it in Zoom, but it's really beautiful yarn, "he said, his arm still in the air.
The 54-year-old is an activist, speaker, former designer and co-founder of the non-profit Fashion Revolution movement. With the publication of his book Loved Clothes Last, he has also become something of an anti-Marie Kondo. She advocates radical maintenance, not clutter. "The only antidote to the throwaway culture is to keep it. So I'm an obsessed babysitter, "she says.
His book is full of surprising facts about the impact fashion has on the planet and its people. It's "just as much about repairing systems as it is about mending clothing," says De Castro.
Some people like to save pets. I started putting away clothes and never stopped. There is a purpose. Not only is it aesthetic, it's deeply moral in many ways.
De Castro grew up in Rome. At 16, she moved to London, graduated from high school and then had the first of four children at 18. She has been making clothes for years, first with a small line of recycled hats, then with printed textiles.
Mainstream fashion's attention came in 1997 when she founded the From Somewhere brand, which specialized in salvaging knitwear that was considered irreparable. Liv Tyler and Nicole Kidman were among the fans of their lazy cashmere cardigans, which were adorned with tight crochet seams.
"Some people like to save pets. I started putting clothes away and I never stopped, "he says. His design process was initially creative and unethical. There came a Eureka moment when he was "climbing piles of rubbish in a warehouse" to find riders with holes in them. "I said, 'Okay, I'm not just pregnant, I'm recovering," he says. "There's a goal. It's not just aesthetic, it's deeply moral in many ways." "
De Castro and Carry Somers , a former Estethica designer, founded Fashion Revolution in 2013 after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh , in which 1,135 people were killed in the collapse of a textile factory. De Castro calls it "the worst" I have "ever" told you.
Fashion Revolution is already represented in 92 countries. It develops parallel to the general awareness of the climate crisis and the inequalities of global capitalism. In fashion, sustainability is a necessity, at least on the surface. But the horror stories that surfaced during the Covid-19 pandemic: allegations that Pakistani workers earn just over 30 cents an hour to make clothes for companies like Boohoo ; Apparel makers in developing countries, hit by homelessness and starvation as brands cancel orders, have shown that injustices remain entrenched.
De Castro sees parallels between Rana Plaza and Covid: "He highlighted the terrible character, so I think there is a way that many of the real sustainability issues can be addressed. We have a moment to act, but unfortunately we will forget about it again.
Developing a long-term mindset is one way of being part of the movement. Here she explains how to do it.
Be careful what you buy first.
"Your first habit should be to turn clothes over and read the label," says De Castro. Learning a little about fabrics can help. For example, "polyester sheds millions of microfibers," he says. "It was found at the bottom of the ocean and on Everest. Every time you wash a piece of polyester, approximately 500,000 microfibers are released. How do you buy polyester? You're buying something that doesn't need to be washed frequently. You don't buy polyester underwear; You are buying a polyester coat that you can learn to clean with a sponge. ""
Wash less often
Over-washing can send clothing to a premature grave. "Before the washing machine, washing was very hard and tedious," he says. "Women would do anything to avoid having to do the family laundry, and the level of invention of how the laundry can be delayed is itself literature. So bright: everything with a sponge, spot cleaning, sun bleaching. ""
Many of these techniques, says De Castro, are easier than you might think: "Most stains can be removed with a quick damp sponge." He also recommends that you test a worn item of clothing thoroughly and, if possible, put it back on the shelf. It is also important to read the washing instructions. "We all knew that cotton could be washed, but wool shrinks. It is wisdom that we had and that we have lost and that we still need.
According to De Castro, this is just as important for fast fashion as it is for designer clothes, as price is not always an indicator of longevity. In their experience, a sturdy Main Street bra, if handled properly, is likely to last longer than the most delicate lacy underwear. As stylish as your pants are, they recommend stocking up on some water and hand washing after a bath or shower.
Plant management
De Castro's favorite quote is: "Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, but everything is transformed," he attributes to Antoine Lavoisier , one of the ancestors of modern chemistry. "The fact that there is no 'remote' is a chemical truth, not an activist stunt," he said. "With every evacuation, things are dumped in a landfill or in an incinerator." These landfills are often found in countries "where the regulations are much less stringent and therefore toxic substances are likely to be broken down more harmful". Ordering often means dealing with someone else's life or land. ""
Try a moth bait
Keeping a sacrificial lamb, old sweater, or ball of yarn in a fabric that moths will love, keep chewing in your closet while keeping other fabrics intact. You have to experiment with fabric, says De Castro. "I don't know if moths are regional, but camel wool does it for my moths. Shetland is a different one ... wow, they love Shetland! I feed my butterflies like my cats. ""
Hide your clothes
"I have a game that I play with myself. I hide things for a long time. I put it in a bag and put it under the bed, "says De Castro. "I hide things that don't suit me, either because your body, your mind or the trends are changing."
She says that when she opens it, after about five years she often "loves it indescribably". "Two years ago I rediscovered a skirt, I can't remember hiding it at all. Now I use it all the time.
Beautify your blemishes
De Castro likes "pareidolia": recognizing faces and shapes in clouds, stones and other objects. He does it with stains. When their children were young, they found shape in the stains on their clothes and "drew" around them, creating patterns with embroidery.
Another tactic is to creatively hide points and holes with pegs. "I always have two or three in my pocket. If there is a stain, I can temporarily cover it up. "He's got a jacket that looks 'military' with its snaps that cover the moth-bitten lapel." It gives me a lot of confidence. I feel like a properly decorated person when I wear it.
In his book, he advocates Bor, the Japanese art of mending jeans, in which layers of scraps of fabric are used as stains and secured with visible stitches. It's not because she's an expert (she doesn't have jeans and points out the many tutorials on YouTube), but because "the first time I saw Boro jeans, I thought, Oh, it looks like aged denim and the connection was instantly made. "You wonder why people buy distressed jeans, especially when the process of artificially wearing them is often terrible for the planet when you can experience them instead and appreciate their elegant decadence.
Do not recycle
It's tempting to think we can recycle our wardrobes, but De Castro warns against it. Amateur recycling, he says, often creates more waste. If you don't like making mistakes while learning complex techniques, his suggestion is, "Do what you are good at, but if you don't, I firmly believe that people should do their jobs."
If you don't have the skills but can recycle some lining in your wardrobe - "Maybe two of your mother's party dresses that aren't your taste or style; How about we put them together and remodel them into something? - Recommends finding local fashion students or tailors to bring a new piece of clothing to life.
Rethink donating to a charity store
Most charities cannot sell excess donations. Many garments are sent overseas, she says: "Often in Africa, Haiti or Europe from the east , where they have lost their textile skills due to excessive waste ... we don't, we throw.
She asks him to explore other ways first. She prefers to donate items to friends and family who will use them. When you donate, "think of it as if you were selling something." Take a torn hem or clean and polish your shoes. Remember, you should only give something for the charity to benefit from. You really have to be competitive with yourself. Think, "I want to see this in the window!" Inferior quality textiles could be cut up for use as kitchen towels or taken to a textile recycling bank.
Standardize repairs at all costs
Buying natural fibers and sturdy clothing is financially difficult for many people, while those who are short on time may be reluctant to look for charity shops, cleaning stains, and sewing. Even so, de Castro insists that his manifesto for longevity is all-encompassing: "The idea that cheap fashion doesn't justify the solution is appalling.
"These are the very people with limited financial resources or limited time for whom longevity should have been invented," he says.
His ardent desire is for the repair already offered by some brands like Toast to go mainstream but often at a price that is out of reach for most. She envisions a world where there are repair stations in Tesco stores in Penneys. It would help busy people and it would also mean "we would see and understand the culture of repair".
One thing that can be done is to write to governments and companies that ask about such innovations. "100% of the population wears clothing, so we as consumers have a responsibility, but brands and governments have an obligation to make them as sustainable as possible," he says. "We need the social intervention of the brands that have already made such fortunes with us. Now is the time to give something back." - Guardian
Orsola de Castro's Loved Clothes Last is published by Penguin Life
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire