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Quality Basics. Down-to-Earth Style. 

Fashion For The Earth

Posted on December 10 2019

The way you wash your clothes has an impact on how long they last
The Ethical, sustainable and eco fashion movement has seen a rise in recycled materials.. A new wave of clothing that acknowledges the world we live in.

At Ebony and Chrome, we encourage you to really consider your purchases, where your money is going and how you treasure what you buy.

Ebony and Chrome is proud to support Afends who have made the leap into a Hemp Revolution, a much more sustainable option than traditional fibres. Hemp needs much less water than other crops, and requires no chemical or pesticides. It is a very hearty plant with a very quick growth rate. This is the way of the future in fashion.

Another brand we are proud to support is Wrangler who are focusing on 100% renewable energy powering all their factories and plants by 2025; along with the goal of using 100% sustainable cotton by 2025.

Wrangler's new way of dying their denim is called foam dyeing. This is a change to the way in which the indigo dye is applied to the denim in manufacturing. It uses foam rather than big water vats and chemical baths to transfer dyes, meaning the consumption of water is reduced from 1500L of water per 90m of fabric to just 13L!


Another of our treasured labels, Will & Bear, make beautiful hats, and for every hat sold, 10 trees are planted! Every year, more than 120 million trees are cut down to be used for fabric manufacturing. Will and Bear are trying to restore the balance!


Supporting brands that are making an effort to change is one way to help move towards less waste. 
 
You can also change a few things in your everyday to extend the life of your clothes. Invest in trans-seasonal pieces that can take you from summer into the cooler months of winter. Our Clara Pinafore from All About Eve Clothing is a great example of one of those pieces; the cord fabric is easily worn over a light top alone or layered with a turtleneck, tights and boots for warmth!
 

80% of garment carbon footprint comes from washing and aftercare. If you look after your clothes they will last longer and look good for longer!

When you wash, use an eco friendly detergent and cool water. 

Do you really need to wash your clothes after every wear?

Think about changing from using your dryer to hanging them to air dry.

Store them by hanger so they don’t crease and don’t overcrowd your drawers so the fabric isn’t pushed or pulled. 

 
The ABC’s War On Waste series found that Australians dump 6000kgs of clothing into landfill every 10 minutes.
We’ll let that sink in.
Yes, 6000kg in TEN MINUTES. We are the 2nd largest consumer of textiles in the world, per capita!



If you want to reduce your wardrobe there is a few ways to do this.
Donate your clothes, to Op Shops, to Homeless Shelters, to people in need. There are plenty of people who can’t afford new clothes; your second hand ones will be perfect to them!
Sell the clothes you don’t wear anymore online.
Swap your clothes with someone else, you can do this at swap meets or online or just between your friends and family!
Recycle them. Not at a regular recycling plant. They are not equipped to deal with textile waste. A textile recycler will take your clothes, break the fibres down and make new yarns from them.
Repurpose them. You could cut them down and sew them to make reusable wipes, t-shirt bags, sew into cushion covers. Those tee's can’t be given away or sold, tear up them into strips and plait into Doggy Chew Toys! Frame a print you really like! Get creative; you never know what you might come up with!
Give them away, to animal shelters. They can use old clothes as rags for cleaning up mess or lining shelters for the animals.
Repair what you have, before you go out to replace, why not see if you can patch up the problem?

Don’t add them to landfill! We can all do our small bit to help.
 
“We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly.
We need millions of people doing it imperfectly ~ Anne – Marie Bonneau”
Dec 07, 19   •  By Amy
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