Allow me to preface this all by making it perfectly clear that nothing is perfect. No solution a panacea. And that includes what we are doing at One Golden Thread.
Truth Story: The most ecologically-perfect thing we could do as humans is walk the earth naked, not drive cars, not fly in planes, not dwell in homes, eat plants, and let go of our human ego attached to the ridiculous patterns we as humans have adopted around over-consumption. We would take only what we need. We would treat every thing with reverential respect, being grateful af, seeing what’s in front of us as precious - and that would begin with our most precious resource : Water.
All of the above? Not going to happen. So in acknowledging that every one of us is part of the problem, maybe we humans with sovereign pride can take conscious strides to be part of the solution.
This week is World Water Week. They say, a little education goes a long way.
The hallpass of the century "anti-award" goes to fashion. To appreciate the holy shit of fashion and its impact on water, here we go with two “Did You Knows," spotlighting clothing's catastrophic role in not just water over-consumption, but also plasticizing pollution.
1. Over 90% of clothes in circulation are made predominantly from synthetics (eg. plastics), which contribute to over 50% of microplastics in the Ocean. (Source: Earth.org).
Microplastics seep into our waterways, our drinking systems. In the Ocean, fish see microplastics as plankton. Ingested, their internal eco-system is plasticized, thus we are eating their poisoned constitution.
2. Reports show...
And, buckle up for this new study: Ocean condensation rises, Microplastics become airborne as "Nano plastics". Our unchecked future could include wearing masks - for a wholly different reason.
###
Eco-Cult, one of the fashion industry's leading accountability watch dogs, challenges the fashion industry to change the question from consumption to commitment to a closed loop. This thought leader writes, "Rather than wanting to know exactly how much water it takes to make our clothing in general, we should be asking brands exactly what they are doing to ensure that the water they use gets back into the system safely."
What are we committed to at One Golden Thread with water?
Focusing on nature-sourced fabrics so the materials won't leech into the soil when washed or should they ever be tossed. And working with source partners committed to returning the water used as safely as possible to Earth.
We are not perfect, and are continuously investing in R&D to improve.
On the plus side:
1. Our One Golden Thread material features a majority blend of TENCEL™ Modal x Micro technology and TENCEL™ Modal, an environmentally-friendly cellulose made by Lenzing, a cellulose made from wood (usually regenerative Beech Trees ethically harvested in Europe). The wood grows on a limited amount of land, and it does not require much watering, pesticides or insecticides. Also, a non-toxic solvent is re-used during the manufacturing process, and our partner Lenzing took the heroic strides to have a water desalinization plant in Lenzing Austria where the water used is cleansed and returned to the rivers as fish safe. This wood-based (cellulosic) fiber and the harvest demands a lot of energy and manpower, and also in their commitment to the environment, Lenzing occupies renewable energy to lessen this reliance. TENCEL™ is a trademark of Lenzing AG.
2. When we print, we use water based inks, where the water used is drain safe.
3. Consider the excess plastic that come with the ecommerce packages you receive. Immediately tossed, all that excess packaging clogs landfills and particle breakdown seeps into the Ocean. With One Golden Thread, no plastic wraps your threads; we instead house in a reusable eco-muslin bag, and we ship in eco-enclosures made from recycled card stock. All far more costly, yet the investment is part of our "road to zero waste" ethos.
3. We plant trees through our NGO Partner One Tree Planted. Trees fight climate change. Serving as natural sponges, trees collect and filter rainfall and release it slowly into streams and rivers, the most effective land cover for maintenance of water quality.
And...
We will go further.
Our goal is to move to 100% plant based dyes.
Our fleece product is 96% fully natural fibers, and we are close to pulling out the last remaining 4% spandex from our fleece products. Our jersey products are 100% fully plant-based.
Our belief? The most powerful move we can all do is own less things that we love more.
Receive more of our ethos by clicking on the image below:
We can all do better. Industry, and Individuals.
What might a consideration checklist look like for you?
-
Buy natural-fiber-craft-clothing constructed to last and that won’t go out of style quickly
-
Buy second-hand clothing → check out local thrift, consignment and resale stores
-
Prolong the life of your clothing → wash less or wash by hand, air dry, remove stains immediately, mend if torn
-
Instead of throwing away no longer needed clothes, donate them to local charity or sell them to a consignment or resale store
-
Don’t support fast fashion brands → the next time you see an incredible deal, ask yourself what the true cost is to people and planet
As the ninja poet Bruce Lee mused, "Be like water."
Truth story: We are all nature. Revere water as our soul that flows.
What do you do to use less water? By tagging us with #onegoldenthread you can share your ideas.
We are not perfect. We are a pursuit in golden purpose, for Planet and its inhabitants.
Goldenly,
@jeffscult
