I watched this film today Sacred Economics and it explains a lot about my belief in economics and life. I have been on a journey to discover myself and during that journey, I found myself back to learning and embracing my childhood teachings and loves. I have been to local wool shops and the cost of buying a ready made skein of wool, enough for a hat, is $18.00 for natural fibers (that's wool, nothing nearly so exotic as silk or angora). Now add onto that the cost of time to create that hat, I'll set it at $10.00 an hour (my time is really worth way more than $10.00, but I'm learning to let go of that it's more about explaining what is going on in the world) and it would take me an evening to create it, so times that $10.00 by 6 and add that to the cost of the fibers. Now you are looking at $78.00 for a basic hat, that you can buy at Walmart for about $10.00. I know it's not wool, but hey, it's $10.00 and it's cheap, it is also perfect (because it's made by a machine) and it will last me the season and that's all I want it for, besides, I can get another one next year; and this is the thought that allows us to continue to fill our landfills with fibers that cannot biodegrade easily if at all.
I have a wool toque my mother made me about 15 years ago. It still holds it shape, and is a timeless classic. I also have the sweater I made in my teens. It had a hole in it where I snagged it on a tree branch when I was walking in the woods, but it has been repaired, because it was worth it... Wool lasts you see I've had that sweater 35 years and aside from the little hole, it's still in good condition.
Now, I also have a pair of pants that I purchased just before Christmas, they were $20.00, and were what I could afford at the time. I've been wearing them a lot, but not every day, and they are almost ready for the rag bin. They are thin and are starting to get holes in some places. I don't use bleach when I wash and I've had to start babying them and washing them by hand because it would seem the pants don't do so well in our washer and dryer (none of my other clothes have this issue). Ouch... this is the harsh reality of many of the clothes today. They last until the fad of them is over.
In reality, with today's standards for earning a living, by applying regular wage practices to Textiles, clothing becomes unaffordable, unless you shop at Walmart and smack down the $20 bucks for the pants, which you will have to keep replacing every few months, because there is no integrity in the fiber or the quality of the goods. I know if I can get a good pair of wool pants, they will last me for years, and years and are worth repairing. The issue becomes, in this economy how do you get clothes you need to rarely repair. How do you afford to dress yourself in clothes that will actually keep you warm and comfortable. Shoes fall into the same boat.
So here it is in a nutshell. I want to start making a difference. My desire is that when I have free time, and I am not working on my business, I am going to make my own clothing from scratch. I will spin it, weave it, knit and crochet it. I will figure out how to make my own shoes (ones worth fixing). I will only wear what I have made. I will replace all my cheap, crappy old pieces with new more exciting, original pieces that will keep me warm and classically fashionable and have lasting sustainability.
We need to start wearing natural fibers again, and learning to purchase clothes that will last, making that investment in ourselves, because we are worth it. It is not just the high cost of textiles that are a problem for us. In our society, prices keep going up on basic necessities, such as food, rent, gasoline, electiricity, but our worth, has gone down, we are downsizing, lowering paychecks, loosing hours, and our reward for all this is that prices skyrocket. I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that food prices have gone up 5% in the last year and how hard that was. I bought milk the other day, 2 liters for just under $4.00 ($3.99) last year it was just over $2.00 ($2.19 at the beginning and then it rose rapidly). That is a lot more than a 5% increase, that is almost doubling the cost of the same product. Look around your grocery store and double check those prices for yourself and remember when last year you paid $3.00 less a kilogram for beef.
This all looks pretty grim, but I'm working on some solutions, one is to offer lessons on creating your own clothing out of fiber that you create yourself, how to dye it and process it. How to Make a few luxury items (that should not be luxuries, but staples) that last.
Finally, when all is said and done, how long do these clothes take to break down, these clothes made from synthetics. How long do they sit on our landfills, completely useless. Natural fibers do not have that issue.
Now, I also have a pair of pants that I purchased just before Christmas, they were $20.00, and were what I could afford at the time. I've been wearing them a lot, but not every day, and they are almost ready for the rag bin. They are thin and are starting to get holes in some places. I don't use bleach when I wash and I've had to start babying them and washing them by hand because it would seem the pants don't do so well in our washer and dryer (none of my other clothes have this issue). Ouch... this is the harsh reality of many of the clothes today. They last until the fad of them is over.
In reality, with today's standards for earning a living, by applying regular wage practices to Textiles, clothing becomes unaffordable, unless you shop at Walmart and smack down the $20 bucks for the pants, which you will have to keep replacing every few months, because there is no integrity in the fiber or the quality of the goods. I know if I can get a good pair of wool pants, they will last me for years, and years and are worth repairing. The issue becomes, in this economy how do you get clothes you need to rarely repair. How do you afford to dress yourself in clothes that will actually keep you warm and comfortable. Shoes fall into the same boat.
So here it is in a nutshell. I want to start making a difference. My desire is that when I have free time, and I am not working on my business, I am going to make my own clothing from scratch. I will spin it, weave it, knit and crochet it. I will figure out how to make my own shoes (ones worth fixing). I will only wear what I have made. I will replace all my cheap, crappy old pieces with new more exciting, original pieces that will keep me warm and classically fashionable and have lasting sustainability.
We need to start wearing natural fibers again, and learning to purchase clothes that will last, making that investment in ourselves, because we are worth it. It is not just the high cost of textiles that are a problem for us. In our society, prices keep going up on basic necessities, such as food, rent, gasoline, electiricity, but our worth, has gone down, we are downsizing, lowering paychecks, loosing hours, and our reward for all this is that prices skyrocket. I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that food prices have gone up 5% in the last year and how hard that was. I bought milk the other day, 2 liters for just under $4.00 ($3.99) last year it was just over $2.00 ($2.19 at the beginning and then it rose rapidly). That is a lot more than a 5% increase, that is almost doubling the cost of the same product. Look around your grocery store and double check those prices for yourself and remember when last year you paid $3.00 less a kilogram for beef.
This all looks pretty grim, but I'm working on some solutions, one is to offer lessons on creating your own clothing out of fiber that you create yourself, how to dye it and process it. How to Make a few luxury items (that should not be luxuries, but staples) that last.
Finally, when all is said and done, how long do these clothes take to break down, these clothes made from synthetics. How long do they sit on our landfills, completely useless. Natural fibers do not have that issue.
I can't wear wool so don't knit with pure wool, but love knitting with cotton...lovely blog. I look forward to reading more. Feel free to check mine out as well
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