Area Artists, Artisans, Retailers Target Fast Fashion, Cheap Clothes

Two years ago, my plastic jellyfish were discovered in a gallery by a local reporter.  The reporter, Pem McNerney, tracked me down and we talked at length about the problem of the plastic bag (see that article here:  Turning Trash Into Treasure.)

Very recently, Pem and I talked again, but this time the focus was on textile waste - what it is, why it is a problem, and how some local creatives are proactively responding.    

Here is an excerpt of the Guilford Courier (Shore Publishing, Madison, CT) article, published on October 2, 3019.  Thank you so much, Pem, for helping to raise awareness of this important issue.

Area Artists, Artisans, Retailers Target Fast Fashion, Cheap Clothes

 

Marsha Borden was among those cheering loudest when the state of Connecticut enacted a single use plastic bag fee in August, and when several area towns including her hometown of Guilford went a step further still by enacting an outright ban on plastic bags.

As an artist and teacher who uses her work to help educate people about environmental issues, Borden uses materials like plastic bags as part of her medium. Now that the fees and bans are in effect, she says there’s still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to plastics. Even so, she has her eye on a new target: textiles.

Working with upcycled textiles is a big area of interest for me right now,” says Borden, of Guilford. “This fall, I’m teaching workshops, locally and in New Haven, that help others learn how to repair and reuse the clothing and other textiles they already have, rather than throwing them out and going out and buying new stuff.”

As with plastics, Borden is on the cutting edge of a movement, one supported by scientific evidence that shows buying lots of cheap clothes just to discard them months later damages the environment, harms human health, and violates human rights.

How so?

Let the December 2018 issue of the journal Environmental Health count the ways: “Approximately 85 percent of the clothing Americans consume, nearly 3.8 billion pounds annually, is sent to landfills as solid waste, amounting to nearly 80 pounds per American per year...In the two decades since the fast-fashion business model became the norm for big-name fashion brands, increased demand for large amounts of inexpensive clothing has resulted in environmental and social degradation along each step of the supply chain.”

Reversing the damage being done by fast fashion will take time, effort, and education. Artists and artisans like Borden are happy to help with the education part, making upcycled and recycled clothing a sought-after part of art shows and a staple for some area retailers, who not only like being part of an environmental movement, but love the repurposed clothes because they’re cozy, fun, and soft. And they also love them for the stories they tell.

A New Purpose

Borden makes rugs with old curtains, creates wearable accessories with worn-out T-shirts, and mends old sweaters and jeans, giving them new life, she says.

“Rugs, drink coasters, necklaces, scarves, curtains, flowers, garlands, and table runners, to name just a few,” she says. “I use T-shirts, table linens, jeans, men’s dress shirts, sheets—really, anything I find that needs a new purpose and a new lease on life.”

“It’s all very accessible to everybody,” she says. “It’s environmentally conscious because you are keeping things out of landfills, and it’s fun, because you can create really cool, unique, one-of-a-kind mashups for yourself and your home.”

Here is the link to the full article:

Area Artists, Artisans, Retailers Target Fast Fashion, Cheap Clothes 

And as always, thank you for reading!