Fashion Show – With a Difference – at St. Patrick’s

Author: Nancy Stuart of St. Patrick’s

How are a fashion show and climate justice related? Let us explain. A “Fashion Show with a Difference” was held at St. Patrick’s Church in April highlighting quality used clothes as a promo for their Used Clothing Sale, an annual event for over 30 years. With the collaboration of the Social and Eco Justice Committee and the Catholic Women’s League of both Holy Cross and St. Patrick’s Churches (both GVAT members), a link between the impact of the fashion industry, especially “fast fashion” (cheap clothes not made to last), and climate justice was clearly revealed.

As 5 models displayed their 10 outfits, the country of origin of the clothes was mentioned. Then a comment on the impact of the manufacturing of the garment on the environment was added.

An example would be:

The Calvin Klein shirt modelled by Chris was made in Indonesia. Indonesia is among the top textile producing nations in the world. It has played a significant role in the manufacturing process of fast fashion products. Because of fast fashion, 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. Because textile mills are using synthetic cotton, silk and acrylic fibres, they are some of the top industrial polluters, accounting for one-fifth of global industrial water pollution. The models wore clothes from India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China and Bangladesh. A display and handout highlighted ways to be sustainable consumers of fashion and the impact of fast fashion on our environment.

Some truly shocking facts:

- The fashion industry is the second largest consumer of water, requiring 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans.

- The making of synthetic fibres into textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids, such as hydrogen chloride.

- The apparel industry accounts for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions.

- 400% more clothing is produced today than 20 years ago. The world consumes 80 billion new items of clothing every year.

The attendees were encouraged to do a closet audit and be conscious of where their wardrobe is made and its impact on our environment. Buying from Thrift stores keeps garments in circulation longer. Buying less, keeping our clothes longer, reusing, recycling and donating our clothes are all encouraged. Around 60 people attended the event, raising $133 in voluntary donations for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, an organization which works with partners in the Global South and funds sustainable environmental projects.

We can all do our part to save our planet and to live sustainably.