Around two years ago, during the isolation of the pandemic, Go Wakimoto, like many others, found himself re-evaluating his life priorities. The ex-Nike executive had been in the corporate rat race for ten years and wondered if that was how he wanted to continue the next twenty to thirty years of his life. He concluded that he wanted to figure out how to leave the world a bit better than how he found it.
At the time, his son turned one, and he and his wife were finding themselves neck-deep in clothes, either in the form of hand-me-downs from friends, or new clothes, both of which his son quickly outgrew.
Go Wakimoto with son Jackson. Loop Apparel
Wakimoto said the clothes he outgrew ended up in buckets to give to friends who might have kids in the future, second-hand stores, and Goodwill. However, the more research he did, the more he realized how many of those clothes usually end up in third-world marketplaces or polluting the environment in landfills.
“[I thought] why isn’t there a simpler, more sustainable solution for parents where we can give back whatever clothes no longer fit?” he said. Then he thought, “Why don’t I do that?”
He proceeded to found Loop Apparel, a Denver-based sustainable circular kids’ clothing brand. Launched in December 2023 and delivering nationwide, the company currently carries T-shirts in several sizes, made with ethically sourced organic cotton and dyes. Parents can buy one of these shirts, and when their kid outgrows it, return and exchange it for a size up for a cheaper price.
What they return will either be cleaned and resold to a new family, also at a discount, or recycled with one of its partners to avoid ending up in the landfill if it’s too damaged or soiled for re-use.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, each year around 85% of all textiles thrown away in the U.S. end up in a landfill or incinerated. Globally, an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste is created each year, with more than 3 billion articles of children’s clothing included in that number.
As clothing decomposes in landfills, it releases methane into the air, and the toxic chemicals and dyes in the fabric can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater. Synthetic clothing also sheds microplastics into the environment, and toxic additives like PFAS, both of which have now become ubiquitous.
When synthetic clothing is incinerated, it also produces toxic emissions and ash that can affect nearby communities.
Fashion waste is also exported to several developing countries, like the Global South — especially in parts of Africa, particularly Ghana, where it is causing tons of pollution and injustice in communities that are building their houses on mounds of unsanctioned trash, much of it textiles.
Fashion on the whole is also one of the world’s largest polluting industries, with its production responsible for 10% of total global carbon emissions.
Wakimoto said that while he didn’t think much about fashion’s impact on the environment while working as a marketing director at Nike, he did learn a lot about supply chains, how to design apparel, and how to find the right manufacturers.
When he initially came up with the idea, he reached out to a friend in Amsterdam who works at the B Lab, which is a global nonprofit that certifies B Corps, or Benefit Corporations that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. He asked if she knew anybody in the B Corps network who could help make kids’ T-shirts.
One of the contacts he was given was To the Market, a woman-owned platform that connects to ethical supply chains and sustainable sourcing, which has a network of suppliers around the world. They also helped design the T-shirt from the tech side, before providing a supplier in Dhaka, Bangladesh that is WRAP Certified (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), meaning that it is made with ethical fair trade labor. The clothing is also certified for being 100% organic cotton.
Using organic cotton was important to Wakimoto not just for kids’ health, but also for environmental health.
While textile production itself is extremely water-intensive, using around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, conventionally farmed cotton is also especially water-intensive. It takes 2700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt, which is enough water for a single person to drink over three years.
To increase production to fulfill demand, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are also often used to increase inputs, which damages soil and pollutes the groundwater, while also creating risky conditions for farmers.
Wakimoto outlines some of these details in the company’s blog alongside the benefits of organic cotton, such as how it produces 46 percent less carbon dioxide, and utilizes 91 percent less water, while safeguarding waterways from pollution.
He’s also written about microplastics and why choosing circular fashion helps eliminate waste and pollution, allows products longer lifespans, and is less extractive.
Writing the blog, he said, is important because he felt that in order for people to be interested in the brand, they needed to be made aware of the negative impacts clothing has on the planet, and how Loop can provide a potential affordable solution.
Though Loop carries only T-shirts right now, Wakimoto hopes to eventually expand into more kids’ essentials like sweatshirts and sweatpants. The expansion of the company, however, will also need to come with more awareness, and Wakimoto said he feels there are still many people lacking knowledge of the impact the fashion industry has on the planet.
He added, however, that when illuminating these issues he hopes to strike a delicate balance between educating and making sure people don’t feel guilty or overwhelmed — he just hopes to inspire others to be more kind to the planet.
He also said he doesn’t want to presume to have all the answers. “You know, we’re just trying to do something 1% better every day.”
The post New Kids’ Fashion Brand Aims to Keep Outgrown Clothes Out of Landfills appeared first on EcoWatch.
https://www.ecowatch.com/loop-apparel-sustainable-fashion-ecowatch.html
Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/
Green Living
Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action
Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.
The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.
Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:
- Finding a Northwest Passage to the Sea
- Turning the Tide—How Land and Water Shape Our Climate Future
- Learning from Captain Scoresby’s Ten-gallon Fir-Cask
- Earth Savvy?
- Let the Ground Keep Falling Rainwater
- The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.
The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/
Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!
Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.
[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.
Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.
The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.
Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles
Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000
Size Range: XS – XL
2. Pure Magnolia
Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics
Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD
Size Range: 0 – 28
3. Lost in Paris
Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.
Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made
Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options
For More Slow Fashion Content:
4. Wear Your Love
Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.
There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made
Price Range: $680 – $1,700
Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements
5. Larimeloom
Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.
Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes
Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€
Size Range: XS – XL
6. Sister Organics
Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.
Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model
Price Range: £125 – £390
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing
7. Indiebride London
Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.
The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made
Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700
Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)
More Resources For Your Eco Wedding:
10 Secondhand Wedding Dress Sites for the Eco Bride
7 Ethical Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement and Wedding Rings
17 Brands with Conscious Dresses (great options for bridesmaid dresses in here!)
The post 7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
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