Digital Media

“Sustainability” has become a commonly used word of late as concerns about global warming and peak oil become more widespread. The word sustainability might bring to mind hybrid cars, energy-efficient appliances, water-saving technologies or local produce. Less likely to come to mind are the clothes we wear. However, the insecticides, herbicides and fungicides used to grow cotton, in addition to synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, which are made with nonrenewable materials, make our choices in clothing as important for the environment as other sustainable choices.

Concerns about the environment have meant changes in attitude for consumers. Many are switching from clothing made of materials such as conventional cotton, polyester and nylon to clothing made out of organic cotton, hemp and even recycled materials. I want to look at the reasons people are buying sustainable clothing. I also want to see how materials such as organic cotton, bamboo, soy and hemp, and recycled materials, can become something people can wear.

Teresa Remple, owner of Bellingham company Texture, designs and creates her own clothing using organic cotton, hemp and Lycra. I want to follow Remple through the process of creating her clothing to see how raw material becomes clothing at the farmer’s market. I would take photos of the process. I would also record audio to use with the photos and interview Remple to better explain the process. I want to take a broader look at the attitude toward sustainable clothing by talking with people at the farmer’s market to find out if and how they became interested in sustainable clothing. The change from conventional cotton to organic cotton is likely a difficult transition for some people to make because organic cotton tends to cost more.

I don’t know of anyone in Bellingham who uses recycled materials to make clothing, but there might be a company in Seattle or Vancouver, B.C. I know there is a company in Portland, but I’m not planning a trip there anytime soon.

My project would explain what options are available for sustainable clothing, why they are sustainable and where someone can find their own sustainable clothing. This is a fairly new topic to me so I expect to learn a lot in the process as well.