I think the obsession associated with getting clothing and other items cheaper has led to an insurmountable amount of wastage throughout the world. With the introduction of sewing machines during the Industrial Revolution, we saw factories appear to make multiple items of the same garment. Since then, clothing has become a lot cheaper, and people treat clothing as throw away items. Let’s buy todays fashion and it does not matter if it is out of fashion next year because its cheap!
When we look at the cost of a couture handmade item, most people can’t justify the expense so gone are the days when you would spend money on a classic jacket that you could still wear in ten years’ time. The sad thing is people collect up their items and put them in a charity clothing bin but a lot of that clothing is them dumped because no one wants it or the quality doesn’t last. As the majority of clothing these days are synthetic, they also take an age to breakdown unlike natural fibres.
When will we wake up and slow down on those purchases, wear an outfit several times more to get our money’s worth or maybe even patch or mend an item that has a broken zipper or got torn? While there is a slow stitch movement bringing back mending it takes time to grow but even if one of us changes our habits each day and spreads the word – then maybe, just maybe we will be able to save the world!
40 in H x 20in W Deconstructed Screen-printed fabric, machine quilted then over stencilled with paint
This is beautiful! I wish I could have watched you make it. Having never seen it done, my brain struggles to put together how this happens.
There are a number of Gen Zers that take this message deeply to heart. My daughter wore her high school clothes through college until they got too tight to breathe in or fell apart. Then she borrowed clothes friends didn’t want to wear. Other than shoes – which get destroyed hiking muddy cliffs, we hadn’t bought her clothes for 6 years. That may be taking it too far, but it is good to know the acknowledgement is there in younger generations.
My love of beautiful fabrics knows no bounds. I’ve already stocked up on far more fabric than I could ever use, yet I keep saving it because it seems too beautiful to cut. Realistically, I don’t think I could use it all up in the quilts I plan to make in my lifetime. I hope the Slow Stitch Movement continues to spread its positive influence, and though I’m joining rather late, I hope to be part of it too.