{"id":19,"date":"2019-07-19T11:39:07","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T11:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grad.journalism.torontomu.ca\/doubletap\/?page_id=19"},"modified":"2019-08-12T20:48:20","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T20:48:20","slug":"designing-for-impact","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grad.journalism.torontomu.ca\/doubletap\/designing-for-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing for Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Walking around the mall today is no longer what it used to be. There are many stores producing and selling clothing that is made unethically and unsustainably. Unfortunately, customers are still attending to the corporations needs because of the lack of awareness regarding this issue. Places such as Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 are constantly packed with consumers buying trendy clothes and are contributing to a greater fashion crisis in the world today.<\/p>\n

Fast and fad fashion has been around for a long time, but times have changed, and many start-up organizations are beginning to implement a sustainable fashion model in order to save the environment from short term, wasteful garments.<\/p>\n

The world is in the midst of a fashion crisis. Our clothes end up in landfills after a fleeting visit to\u00a0our closets. Garments from fast and fad fashion conglomerates have a short life cycle and end up piled up in landfills all around the world.<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0Toronto Environmental Alliance<\/a>, a not-for-profit organization working to promote a greener place for Torontonians said, Ontario generates 500,000 tons of clothing and textile waste every year, with the number growing rapidly. Many people have reported that they do donate clothing but 85 per cent of used textiles end up in landfills instead.<\/p>\n

In several countries governments are taking action to address the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. For instance, in the United Kingdom, MPs have a report commissioned on June 2019 calling\u00a0for fast fashion retailers to look at their impact on the environment and their working conditions. Some recommendations, as stated by\u00a0The Independent<\/a>, include; \u201creforming tax laws and requiring firms to contribute towards the clean-up costs for waste garments.\u201d This, however, has been rejected by the government.<\/p>\n

The United States used to discard their recycling in landfills in China and Hong Kong, but about half of the plastic could not be recycled because the items were covered in food and dirt. The West turned Southeast Asia into one large dumping ground which created a recent outrage catching the world off guard. China has now placed a ban, discontinuing the U.S. from dumping their recyclables in their country but this has placed a strain on other countries as the U.S. tries to find other locations to dispose their waste in. This unfortunately is taking place in countries that are already piled with garage.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0Guardian<\/a>\u00a0investigation in 2019 discovered \u201chundreds of thousands of tons of US plastic are being shipped every year to poorly regulated developing countries around the globe for the dirty, labor-intensive process of recycling. The consequences for public health and the environment are grim.\u201d<\/p>\n

In our consumer culture today, we are constantly exposed to mass sales, cheap fashionable clothes, and mindful marketing techniques that lure us to think in a buy-now mentality.\u00a0 According to Neil Patel, a columnist at\u00a0Marketing Land<\/a>,\u00a0a daily publication that covers all aspects of the digital marketing industry, says the psychology behind the buy-now act is due to impulse buying. It states that \u201cif you want customers to \u201cbuy now,\u201d you should ask them to do so\u201d and there is a high chance that they will. The article states that 80 per cent of Americans made impulse purchases in the past year.\u00a0However,\u00a0the Recycling Council of Ontario<\/a>\u00a0states that the average person throws away 37 kilograms of textiles annually. 9.5 million tonnes of clothing end up in landfills every year, where most of it could be reused or recycled.<\/p>\n

Social media platforms play an important role in raising awareness about issues like this, but they also promote our consumer habits. Platforms such as Instagram is a place where sellers are building brand sales. It is a hub where millions of people see a lot of photographed content, making it a perfect place for companies and brands to advertise their goods.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Balance Small Business<\/a>\u00a0is home to experts who provide clear, practical advice on entrepreneurship and management,\u00a0states that \u201cthe annual environmental impact of a household\u2019s clothing is equivalent to the water needed to fill 1,000 bathtubs and the carbon emissions from driving an average modern car for 6,000 miles.\u201d Furthermore, if the average lifespan of our clothing was extended by three months their carbon and water footprint would be reduced by five to 10 per cent.<\/p>\n

Even though 58 per cent of people are donating unwanted items, not many are embracing the ability to reuse their items.\u00a0According to a recent report by Value Village<\/a>, 13 per cent say that it is easier to throw things out, 12 per cent are not aware of where or how to donate or reuse their items, eight per cent do not donate or recycle because it is inconvenient, and eight per cent think it takes too much time.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sustainable clothing does not have a singular definition. A lot of elements play a part in producing, delivering, and receiving an item which could make something unsustainable. But the\u00a0Green Strategy<\/a>, a company that develops\u00a0sustainable strategies for fashion and apparel companies,\u00a0has tried to create one clean definition of sustainability and they define it as:<\/p>\n

\u201cMore sustainable fashion can be defined as clothing, shoes and accessories that are manufactured, marketed and used in the most sustainable manner possible, taking into account both environmental and socio-economic aspects.<\/p>\n

In practice, this implies continuous work to improve all stages of the product\u2019s life cycle, from design, raw material production, manufacturing, transport, storage, marketing and final sale, to use, reuse, repair, remake and recycling of the product and its components.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition, fashion companies should contribute to encourage more sustainable consumption patterns, caring and washing practices, and overall attitudes to fashion. (Green Strategy, June 2014).\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”142″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Upcycling old and used tires are a new and eco-friendly way of using an item that can negatively impact the environment, when incorrectly discarded, and recreating the material to create a fashionable and trendy item for consumers to purchase. Many believe that cars are affecting the environment due to the release of gases into the air but not many think about the effect the items that make up a car has on the environment. Some effects that tires have on the environment are leaching, landfill overcrowding, fire risks, and pest threats.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has a tire management program that educates the public about the effects of tires on the environment. CalRecycle shows people different ways to recycle tires in order to prevent environmental impacts from materials that are recyclable. Some information on their website includes; when tires are left in landfills it breaks down and releases chemicals that are carcinogenic and mutagenic, meaning that it can cause cancer and gene mutation. Pests are able to breed in tires that are left in landfills which eventually spread diseases to the greater public. Tires are highly combustible, if they are exposed to fire, they release a lot of toxins into the air and it is difficult for the fire to be controlled.<\/p>\n

According to reRubber<\/a>, a company that promotes green practices in the rubber industry states that \u201ctires are scrapped at a rate of 1.1 tire\/person\/year leading to over 300 million tires scrapped per year. Landfill space is becoming more and more scarce as tires do not biodegrade and have significant negative space.\u201d However, tires are 100 per cent recyclable, which means that the global implications of reducing tire waste includes, improved socioeconomic justice, reducing landfill waste, reducing carbon footprint, and creating a safer society.<\/p>\n

Christal Earle was working at a garbage dump in the north coast of the Dominican Republic in 2005. There, workers told her about the difficult work that goes into sorting garbage dumps. Earle recognized the tire pile ups and the available breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Pools of stagnant water trapped in the rubber tires, made these a natural breeding ground for mosquitoes. Earle has an adopted child in Dominican Republic due to this infestation. The birth mother of her adopted child had died from dengue\u00a0hemorrhagic fever which is a disease she got from the garbage dumps. Her daughter was unable to come back to Canada with her, and this is where she had her light-bulb moment. After recognizing the number of tires in the garbage dump and the fact that her daughter was unable to leave the Dominican Republic, Earle decided to start her own company based there. In 2005 Earle launched Brave Soles, a foundation that upcycles tires to make shoes and accessories. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, upcycling means \u201cto recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item: to create an object of greater value from (a discarded object of lesser value). Brave Soles have upcycled 1,150 tires so far and plan on increasing that number. To keep their customers in the know they have live information on their website showing the process of their production and the end result of a consumer\u2019s purchase. Brave Soles uses Instagram as one of their leading platforms to gain consumer traffic and a place to advertise their products.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=”119″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/Rt2iLwV7Jgo”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Chic Made Consciously is an accessories line founded by Cassanda Ciarallo. She was an employee in the corporate world then she got tired with her routine and decided to travel and backpack around Southeast Asia. There she met a woman named Dana, she made accessories from repurposed tire inner tubes and was fascinated with her work. Later, she was invited to spend a day making these accessories. Ciarallo learned about the unfortunate circumstances of tire waste in Ubud, Bali and recognized it was a global issue that needed to be addressed. This is when Ciarallo decided to spread a message about the importance of slow fashion by offering people fashionable accessories that are upcycled and designed to last a long time.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”120″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/xK9JwKsNumQ”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As consumers we are purchasing goods and items very often to accommodate our current lifestyles. A recent article from\u00a0Forbes<\/a> states that \u201cthe U.S. apparel industry today is a $12 billion business and the average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\u201d It also stated that the money used towards purchasing these items were not spent due to consumer needs but wants, thus seen as wasteful. The Bureau says this is because \u201cin 1930, the average American woman owned nine outfits. Today, that figure is 30 outfits \u2014 one for every day of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0VICE<\/a>\u00a0we are consuming five times as much clothing as we did in the 1980s and disposing 13 million tons each year. Jeans are items that tend to last longer in our closets, but their environmental impacts are significant. It takes up to 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pair of blue jeans. In the United States it has been calculated that once the jean item has been bought it takes 300 gallons of water to clean them over their lifetime. Blue jeans use synthetic dyes to keep them blue which is polluting the waters.\u00a0 Jessica Frankel, a Ryerson University fashion student, is the founder of Twinge Apparel in Toronto. On April 5th 2019, Frankel showed her clothing line to a wide range audience at Ryerson\u2019s Mass Exodus show. Her clothing line caught a lot of traction because she used recycled jean material and plastic bottles to create a trendy sustainable look.<\/p>\n

Her clothing company, Twinge Apparel, was inspired by her passion to help save the environment. When Frankel was younger, she would upcycle her father\u2019s jean jackets and alter them to her liking. Frankel is knowledgeable about the multiple negative effects that jean has on the environment and so she focused her entire final year project on this theme. Twinge Apparel uses recycled jean material to make new and trendy items. She says that jean is an easy fabric to use and recreate to make it trendy throughout its lifetime. She was inspired to create a fashion line that keeps jean trendy and wants to encourage others to wear recycled clothing as well.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”122″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/ytlrCzsIINQ”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tight Knit Syria<\/a>\u00a0is a foundation based in Toronto, Canada founded by Dana Kandalaft. They collaborate with 25 Syrian women in refugee camps around the Middle East. Here they leverage and maximize on the skills who the women already have, including but not limited to; embroidering, knitting, and crocheting. The women make items that are being sold all around the world. The women themselves are placing a price on their work to compensate for their labour. Tight Knit Syria recognizes that \u201cempowering women has a powerful ripple effect, promoting inclusive growth, combating child labour, preserving traditional skill sets, promoting psychological well-being and combating social isolation\u2026and so much more.\u201d In other words, Tight Knit Syria is a business that practices both environmental and socioeconomic practices.<\/p>\n

Kandalaft started this project in 2013 and has seen great improvements in the way women are living their lives and connecting them to others around the world, to work and collaborate with. This gives the women an opportunity to grow and make money for themselves and their families.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”121″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/YKraryPX-Cg”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Walking around the mall today is no longer what it used to be. There are many stores producing and selling clothing that is made unethically and unsustainably. Unfortunately, customers are still attending to the corporations needs because of the lack of awareness regarding this issue. 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