The Hemp Revolution: A Conversation We Aren’t Having
Image Courtesy: Beer and Brewer
Fashion:
noun
a popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behavior.
vogue, trend, craze, rage, mania, mode
Although we all try to avoid it, the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. According to the Lenzing Group, the world's textile consumption was at 95.6 million tons in 2015. One cotton t-shirt is equivalent to 700 gallons of water, enough to keep one person hydrated for 900 days. Companies everywhere are looking for ways to replace cotton with innovative materials and sustainable fibers to reduce their environmental impact. This may lead to sustainable brands being more expensive, however, you can leave knowing your dollar is supporting an environmental revolution. Consumers need to readopt the mindset of quality over quantity and shop in the industry, not of the industry.
Image Courtesy: The Hemp Temple
One material scientists are studying and brands are adopting is hemp. Although marijuana and hemp seeds both originate from the cannabis plant, agricultural hemp contains no tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana that causes a euphoric sensation. Hemp is much different than the textiles we are accustomed to. It can clean the atmosphere by reversing damage already caused, consumes four times as much carbon dioxide as trees do. Government studies have reported that 1 acre of hemp is equal to 4.1 acres of trees, saving forestry and wildlife zones by consuming more CO2. Hemp can also grow in many types of soil, nearly anywhere in the world, and helps rid soil of weeds. Fabrics of the World explains the toxic process to produce textile fiber, saying it consumes "about 2 trillion gallons of water and 145 million tons of coal. If you consider the environmental impact of coal, as just one of the several energy sources in the textile industry, the harmful effects are enormous. Coal is also responsible for air and water pollution, as well as land use and waste management issues." Hemp avoids all of these issues and can, possibly, even reverse part of the damage already caused to our environment by the textile industry.
Afends, a clothing company in Byron Bay, Australia, founded their vision on these principles and crafted the Question Everything movement. The brand is a leading figure in the fight to end fast fashion, and they put together a short film explaining the benefits of hemp and why they're choosing to follow The Hemp Revolution.
No matter how hard we try to purchase 100% recycled, ethically made, zero waste clothing, there will always be some impact left on the environment. And if we can catch those 100% linen pants on sale, they still somehow leave a hole in our bank account too deep to avoid. So, how can we, as consumers, go about life with less climate-guilt?
Disregard fashion, re-awaken style.
Style:
noun
distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed.
Fast fashion is an addiction that forces consumers to continuously invest in a shared identity. The following trends come at a cost much greater than the price tag. What is classified as a fashionable one week becomes unfashionable the next, and is then cast aside, assumed to be waste? Our internal struggles with self-esteem have become a global issue of environmental planetary crisis. It falls on us, as consumers, to make the conscious effort to do better and support an industry that won't destroy our planet in the process.
Our planet is on fire, and instead of posting about what you wore during the heatwave, think about what appropriate attire during our sixth mass extinction could be. As a consumer, there is no way to be perfect, but it is vital to have the intention to do better.
Strike Out,
Writer: Ellie Rill
Editors: Giselle Parks and Savannah Tindall
Tallahassee