Clothing is political

Women's loincloths swing on clotheslines to face the Burmese army. Demonstrators wear Pussy hats fuchsia pink to demonstrate against the Weinstein affair. Serena Williams wears a black tutu designed by (the late) Virgil Abloh to play an international match. These are some recent examples of the power of clothing to take a stand on a societal issue. Adolescents know this well, who adopt looks very different from those of their parents, to continue growing. Second-hand clothing buyers too, who prefer clothes already worn and in very good condition rather than new clothes produced in a fast fashion industry, destructive for the planet and the quality of life for those who live there.

Textile and food, same fight

At the house of Patagonia, the job is also to act to protect the environment, biodiversity and the human beings who live on this planet. Based on its experience of organic cotton production and the systemic effects it causes, Patagonia offers new models of food production, for example free-range hens which produce good eggs, help us rediscover the taste for eating well and contribute to maintaining healthy pastures that capture carbon and regenerate biodiversity. Developing systems on a multi-local scale to automatically regenerate our production and consumption is this type of intervention strategy that also inspires us in the textile sector at TCBL.

Unbrokenground on YouTube

Recycling carbon monoxide into polyester ingredient

The startup Lanzatech invented a new process which makes it possible to capture carbon in the air (from a polluting company for example), to have it transformed by bacteria into ethanol, from which monoethylene glycol, one of the components of polyester, is extracted ( up to 20%). Zara tested it with an evening dress Lululemon for yoga outfits and We for running shoe foams. It is a recycling solution that reduces pressure on the planet's fossil fuels.

www.lanzatech.com

Fashion consumption tomorrow?

Spending long periods of time living and working at home has accelerated the awareness of the futility of some of our expenses. Budgets clothes have reduced, under the effect of the reduced need for variety, formal outfits or designer clothing to wear in a performance situation. This de-consumption has already been observed numerous times during the crises of the 20th century. century. There are two opposing opinions about what will happen next. For some, conspicuous consumption will rebound, like the Dior phenomenon which followed the deprivations of the Second World War; for others, de-consumption will last, which will encompass both strict de-consumption (buying less) and ephemeral – sustainable consumption strategies (buying, wearing and reselling/bartering).

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