"Life Cycle Assesment" for textiles

I liked this list even though I rarely if ever buy new clothes......from the FIT TEXTILE/SURFACE DESIGN SITE
I am always happy to hear more awareness in mainstream industries.

Deb Johnson's last slide after her lecture on Life Cycle Assessment at FIT's Summer Institute: Sustainability in Fashion & Textiles
http://fitnyc.edu/21994.asp

...I think the word behind someone's head is "make".

It's funny I should stumble on this today.  I don't have access to FB, is there anything more you can share?  It might be too old.  

I was looking at my wear around the house hoodie.  It's the first sweater (and big project) I ever knit and I was trying to find the blog entries about that.  It turns out, that was two blog hosts ago.  Before I switched to myspace (now gone).    It outlasted two digital mega-empires.

Alas, it's so ugly now and is starting to go at the cuffs, that it's time to retire it.  Worn for at least 10 hours a day, over 150 days of the year, for nearly a quarter-century.  THAT is how long a sweater should last!  

I think there's a missing question: "Can it be repaired/altered?" or "Would you continue to wear it if it were repaired?"
Some garments get discarded for what would be "trivial" repairs. Other garments are made so poorly that repairs aren't possible, or unlikely to be worthwhile.
There are some premium brands that do repairs, but it seems like yet another luxury, to be able to be without it while that happens...

I just re-repaired a pair of work pants (only two years old) that had split in the crotch. My hasty handsewn repair held for a few wears/washes, but then lost some stitches and tore again. So, I did a machine repair, zig-zag stitching over all my hand work as well as back and forth over the area to really secure the patch to the pants all over. It's not pretty (contrasting thread, crooked lines) but it is a pair of work pants, with other holes and stains, so I don't care.
I did a similar repair to some bib rain pants that split down the side of the leg. There was a rivet where the two front panels met at the bib? but not where the front and rear panels met at the side?!?! I overlapped the tear slightly and backed up with another piece of fabric and covered with waterproof rubber tape. Then both waist seams reinforced with some nylon webbing. Again, not pretty, but functional.

Another question: "Could this be made into something new? or given a second life?"  (besides rags, but that's legit too.) Growing up, denim jeans always became cut-off shorts (sometimes hemmed) once the knees had been shredded. This is still the failure mode for most of my jeans, split crotch being the other, although the brand I have used for twenty years now hasn't done that... I have a large stash of out-grown and/or knee-less jeans that are waiting for re--incarnation. I have a dozen more that have already been broken down into "legs below the knees", "large pieces without holes", "removed back pockets", and "removed zippers". I'm planning to make myself some pouches and bags, inspired by Adam Savage's EDC bags, that fit my needs, maybe some tote bags as well.

I sheepishly admit... I've asked friends to give me their worn out jeans because it's so easy to salvage the pockets and usually the back of the calf area as raw material for useful projects. Yes, I get the odd funny look, but I can live with that!

I buy very few new clothes. I sometimes buy at thrift shops, but it's getting harder to find natural materials in shapes that fit me (I hate those low-waist pants - I'm not that shape any more!) Lately, I've been taking damaged t-shirts and using them as raw material for other projects.

I wish I'd understood more of this 20 years ago, but better late than never!

What Judith's list *doesn't* include are: How are you going to wash it? (kind washing increases lifespan)
How are you going to dry it? (I rarely use a dryer - either I *need* to shrink something, or there's some sort of crisis -  I think everything lasts longer if you dry it naturally, after all, where does dryer lint come from?)

What timing!  I just finished listening to the audiobook Fabric of Civilization, which is both informative and entertaining, and also gives one hope for more "environmentally friendly" clothing to come (the last couple chapters really get into current textile engineering research regarding this.  The funny thing is - I only checked out the book because I am a quilter, and thought it would be nice to listen to while I was piecing.  (Any woven cotton clothing in this house that is no longer fit to be worn still often has undamaged parts good for quilting, and undamaged (stained is ok) fleece makes decent batting).  I am currently sewing thru nearly 30 years of accumulated fabric stash because I have reached the stage of decluttering even that part of my life... Get it sewn, trade it, sell it, give it as gifts.  Tonight's job, though, is repairing some wool sweaters that have holes, because I live in wool all winter long, usually $5 cashmere or merino wool sweaters from the consignment store - they are fabulous for staying warm doing the animal chores, and who cares what I look like when I'm doing those?  The chickens sure don't...

I really enjoyed Katrina Rodabaugh’s books on mending and creating. Pretty inspiring for keeping clothes going! I buy very little and get attached to old clothes so I really appreciate her information n “visible mending”. Thrift and creativity!

I like that wearing torn jeans in public is so accepted now! People never know that I actually wore the jeans long enough to make these holes rather than me buying the latest fashion trend! Hahahahahahaha Many of my clothes items are older than many of the friend's kids or even the newbie clerks at the store. Like one of you said, the livestock don't care!!!

Pam Kennedy wrote:I really enjoyed Katrina Rodabaugh’s books on mending and creating. Pretty inspiring for keeping clothes going! I buy very little and get attached to old clothes so I really appreciate her information n “visible mending”. Thrift and creativity!

Our library has one of her books, so I put a request in and Hubby will pick it up tomorrow.

I suspect my mending is more practical and less a fashion statement, but I'm sure I'll enjoy looking at the pictures!

Dk Jacob wrote:I like that wearing torn jeans in public is so accepted now! People never know that I actually wore the jeans long enough to make these holes rather than me buying the latest fashion trend! Hahahahahahaha Many of my clothes items are older than many of the friend's kids or even the newbie clerks at the store. Like one of you said, the livestock don't care!!!

I don't like 'torn jeans' that are made and sold with the holes in it. This fashion is só fake!
I do like mending and repairing. And even when a piece of clothing is 'beyond repair', there are still parts that can be used as 'fabric' (for quilts) or as 'rags' (for cleaning).