Combating climate change - clothing

[watervole]

Yesterday saw temperature records broken all over Europe.

Scientific certainty on the man-made causes of climate change is now well over 99% .

We are an a very big, heavy ship and it is set on a course that will be very difficult to alter.

All we can say, is that the sooner we start to change that course, the better our chances of not crashing into the hypothetical iceberg.  The later we make changes, the less effective they will be.

Global temperature rises are not being driven by just the CO2 we emit this year, but by that plus ALL THE CO2 WE HAVE EVER EMITTED.

Most people reading this will never see lower temperatures in their lifetimes.  We're fighting for our children and our grandchildren.

Our children, if we're really lucky, will see temperatures stabilise in their lifetime.

Our grandchildren, if, and only if, our generation take action now, may see a reduction in temperature, if someone finds a way to take CO2 out of the atmosphere in large quantities.

Remember that planting trees will only absorb the CO2 emitted by cutting down those trees in the first place.  It will not remove the CO2 from fossil fuels.

So, who's ready for lifestyle changes?

Let's tackle clothing for today:

It's estimated that clothing accounts for 10% of the world's carbon emissions. That's because the production of clothing is very energy intensive and the supply chains are very long, with clothing being shipped all around the globe.

Now add in the environmental cost of washing all those clothes and the plastic fibres released by laundering poly-cotton, nylon, polyester, etc.

Now add in the problem of disposing of all the millions of garments that get thrown away every year - most of it is impossible to recycle and goes straight to landfill.

Can you reduce your own impact?

Why not try and see how long you can go without buying a new (second-hand is allowed) item of clothing?

I'm aiming for a year. The last new item I bought was last August, at Purbeck folk festival.  All I've bought since then is a second-hand pair of trousers, two scarves from a charity shop and a second-hand waistcoat for my sword dance costume.

I have a wardrobe full of clothes.  Apart from the occasional item of underwear, I really have all I need for all round the year for a long time to come.  All I'm expecting to buy in the foreseeable future is a pair of linen trousers - linen being a relatively environmentally friendly fabric and cooler to wear in summer, and I need something to protect my legs from insect bites when I go walking on the heath.

Comments

[feng_shui_house]

I used to make shoes for my teddy bears! ;^) That was easy because they don't walk very much, and so gluing reclaimed leather for soles worked fine.

I just remembered, I had saved instructions/patterns from various Native American re-enactor sites which included methods of making moccasins. I should try that (way back, I used to buy used leather clothing at the thrift store, so I could use that). Should be able to make gardening-suitable footwear, at least. :^)

[watervole]

Moccasins may well be a good idea. I've made a moccasin-style sole for a pair of hand knitted slipper socks and it worked well. I used leather off-cuts, but used leather clothing sounds a great idea.

Let me know how that works out - I might try it myself.

[feng_shui_house]

Will do! I don't know when I'll be up for sewing, but in the mean time, here's a link to interesting articles/instructions about 19th Century Seminole Men's Clothing. (you can also go down to a link taking you back to the beginning of the site, where there's even more interesting goodies.)

OH! They mention 'Finger Weaving' which you might enjoy reading.

http://www.nativetech.org/seminole/index.php

http://www.nativetech.org/seminole/moccasins/construction.php

[watervole]

Don't think there's much brain-tanned buckskin near here, but it's interesting to see how they were made.

Found a video of finger-weaving which was easier to follow than the instructions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaWtR1OEu74

Interesting technique, but more labour intensive than other historical techniques. Tablet weaving is faster (though it has it's own limitations)

[feng_shui_house]

Thanks for that! Yes, the video is much more understandable. I suspect that there are a number of ways to make it simpler and faster, too.

My arm is much better today, I actually did a bit of drawing. Drew a dog for my Spoonflower shop. :^)

https://www.spoonflower.com/designs/9082164-pembroke-welsh-corgi-wildflower-field-pillow-by-eclectic_house

[watervole]

He's a nice corgi, though I do wish they weren't bred for such excessively short legs these days.

[feng_shui_house]

A lot of animal breeds have been turned extreme by trying to meet show standards. It's a pity. I have thought it might be interesting to make a design showing dog breeds as they were in the original forms before they were exaggerated.

[ranunculus]

I have thought about making footwear, but it always seemed like something that took both knowledge and good tools to do well. That and I've always needed good arch support so moccasins are out!

[watervole]

A friend of mine went on a weekend course to make a pair of shoes. She got hooked and has made a couple more pairs since then.

[ranunculus]

Shoe making and knife making. I'd love to do both... but having thought it through I choose to do other things rather than go down that particular rabbit hole.

[watervole]

I know exactly where you're coming from! So many interesting things, and finite time.