Living green!

Something I see pop up occasionally online are discussions on whether lolita fashion is beneficial or detrimental to the environment. There are a lot of sides to this discussion as it's a very multifaceted concept- something can be made organically but still fast fashion-like, aka flimsy and trendy, or not organically and not fairtrade but if it's made to last that ultimately reduces the stress on the world per time the piece is worn. I wanted to delve a little deeper, see what those fancy labels mean, what strain lolita brands put on our planet and what I can do to reduce mine, within or outside lolita fashion. 

First of all, a little terminology for those not in the know, or for those who have the wrong idea about what labels and terms mean. 

Organic: the name that gets slapped on anything and everything these days! Organic is good for the environment, organic is healthier, organic saved my marriage!! But what does it actually indicate? Well, organic crops (for example cotton) are grown without chemicals (think bug sprays or fertilizers) or GMO aspects. These rules differ a little bit by country, for example the USA has a larger list of bug repellents that are allowed than Europe, but it's generally very similar. Basically, organic is how stuff was grown 200 years ago. Does that mean organic is 100% better than non-organic? Nnnnot per sé. There are a few small drawbacks but the biggest is that it's not as efficient as traditional farming methods and its stance against GMO. Genetically modified crops might sound scary, but they actually aren't. All it means is that a few genes were swapped around in a lab to improve a crop, like making a vitamin A-enriched rice to combat blindness in poverty-stricken countries in Africa and Asia (which has been done!). This exact process could be done by classic ways of breeding plants and culling the weaker ones, but it requires luck and a LOT more time. This means organic crops use varieties of plants that have a relatively low resistance to disease and make less cotton/food/whatever than GMO crops would. In fact, all organic food would not yield enough to feed all of the human population, not by a longshot. Organic cotton also uses just as much water as regular cotton, which is a LOT. Nonetheless, the lack of pesticide and fertilizer used is better for the environment and can help keep pollinating insect populations at a healthy level by providing food and shelter. More work also means more jobs, so that's good too. 

Fairtrade: the people-aspect to healthy crop growing. Fairtrade means people get paid a proper wage in growing and harvesting a crop, and it has some (not as well-defined) environment benefits as well. This does of course mean it's more expensive, just like organic stuff. 

Now, as far as I could find, no lolita brand has actually any sources of their fabric anywhere online. It's safe to assume this means that the cottons are not fairtrade and not organic, and that polyesters are not or at best partially recycled. That combined with how much fabric goes into one dress (three, four meters for the skirt, some more for the bodice, the lining, not to mention the scraps that don't have the right print bits on them) it's safe to say that's a huge punch to the environment. Not a good start. In fact, in this area fast fashion brands like H&M are possibly better because they use less fabric and often run recycling programs or buy part of their fabric from organic sources. 

HOWEVER, after the purchase of the fabric fast fashion takes a big nosedive while lolita brands only go up. The whole thing with fast fashion is that it's fast, AKA stores have a huge turnover in stock. H&M has different stock every time I go to the city, enduring it can stay on-trend and pressuring you to buy buy buy, because you can't be sure it's still available next time. Lolita brands do none of this. Even the trendiest brands like AP only have a handful of releases each year, all of which have relatively little stock so close to nothing ends up hanging around and going into sale racks. They do MTO's often too, which pretty much ensures zero stock ends up wasted. Plus, the constructions is leagues above fast fashion. I'm very careful with my clothes, and I've had cheap tops literally rip to bits or get holes within the year I bought them, while I have brand pieces that are ten years old or older that hold up fantastically and still look like they're new. 

Another part where lolita fashion makes a big step forward while regular products are held back is waste. Sure, it's likely less gets wasted with the production of fast fashion, as it doesn't really matter what way a pattern faces when it's cut. Just imagine AP putting out dresses with the border print upside down though, that would likely cause an outrage. However none of that matters when the top you bought in 2017 is already in a landfill by the beginning of 2018. Lolita fashion has such good construction that pieces last for years and years, and the community makes sure this is kept up as well. Many people, myself included, have learned to sew to patch up pieces that are in less than stellar state. I can't even count the amount of posts in which someone alters a torn piece or asks for advice on how to remove big, tough stains. Buttons and ribbons that break get sewn back on, faded colours get re-dyed and after all of it it gets sold second- third- or fourth hand. I myself have in all the years I've worn this style never thrown a single lolita piece in the garbage, and I'm not the only one. Just look at this Lacemarket sale in which a dress that was ripped to beyond wearable sold for over $100. Anything can get sold, nothing is so bad that no-one can fix it up. That's fantastic! Buying second hand is a super easy and foolproof way you're good to nature. What also helps are local markets, like people from the USA selling only to USA and Europeans selling to one another. Sure it sucks when you can't buy that headbow you want because the seller won't ship to you, and admittedly it doesn't include Japanese auction and Taobao purchases which still need to take a plane or boat to get to your house, but it does help. 

Now for the fairtrade part, we can assume the people who grow the cotton aren't paid the best, but the fabrication process varies a lot. While AP was made in China and then moved to Myanmar, which obviously doesn't bode too well for the seamstresses involved, some smaller brands are all made in Japan where wages are good and living conditions, well, livable. That also means less shipping stuff around the world to get from designing to sewing and back the way fast fashion does. Sadly as far as I know none of the big brands do this, but if this is something you value a lot you could look at tiny brands like Chocochip Cookie, Princess Doll or Pina Sweet.

Now Taobao is a whole 'nother beast. It's based in China and all their stuff is made there, which might lead you to believe it's all sweatshops, and that is true for a lot of stuff and little tidbits that are offered at wholesale prices. However, a large part of why Taobao is so popular is that it offers users a place to set up their own brand, which means they sew or make their own stuff and it doesn't come from child labor. Many Taobao lolita brands work like this, with small teams that get paid a decent, livable wage. So even though it's made in China, it won't have the 'made in China' backdrop of sweatshops and terrible quality of life. 

All in all, even if the raw materials likely aren't the best, the quality and extensive secondhand market makes sure that wearing lolita is actually pretty good for your carbon footprint- so long as you aren't buying all new. Which, honestly, I don't know a single person who buys all new.  But, lets say you want to do even more, what can you do?

Learn to sew

This can let you repurpose pieces that are otherwise unwearable. Convert that ripped dress into a skirt or add a bustle where it's stained and give new life to what otherwise be landfill fodder. Or, go all the way and buy your own organic fabric and whip up some 100% sustainable dresses. If that's out of your budget, as organic fabric is more expensive, consider making your own staples like blouses or bloomers, or buy just the brand main piece and complement it with a headbow and socks from organic material. Or try to buy fabric locally from small shops, this will let you support your local economy as well. 

Buy consciously outside lolita

There may not be any fully sustainable lolita brands, but there are a lot of regular brands that make some gorgeous and sustainable clothes! Whether you value nature or people (or both) and whatever your style, you can find something to your tastes for sale somewhere. Try to buy in your country or at least on your continent for the least amount of strain in shipping, and keep in mind that it might be more expensive but sustainable clothes are made to last. If buying new is out of your budget, go to your local thrift stores instead, that's sustainable too! Also, be sure not to buy too much. You can buy green all you want, if you get whole boxes delivered to your doorstep weekly you're still putting strain on the planet. Buy what you need, don't make impulse purchases. If you buy it and never wear it, that's still wasteful, even if it's recycled material. Make collages instead if you want, either with printed images or on Pinterest, so you can still have the fun of putting together new outfits constantly without spending money and resources! 

 If you want to start buying green but don't know where to start, take a look at the blog Fair Friday! They write about fashionable and mostly or entirely sustainable brands with all sorts of styles, so not just the "I bought this when I was backpacking in Thailand"-look. There's a couple more blogs like them out there so take a look! Here are some bits I found that I really liked: 

Silver leather shoes by Mint&Rose, frilly pink sandals by Alohas, dainty hoop earrings by Neinties and poppy earrings by Wolf&Moon. All super cute, all sustainable!

Toss consciously

Of course when a piece of clothing breaks and is no longer fixable without looking like a homeless person (shabby shirts with fixed rips down the front are generally not a look you'd want), the easy way is to toss it in the garbage. Done, out of sight, out of mind. But that means that piece, which cost a lot of water and manpower to make, will end up rotting away in a landfill. If you're conscious you might bring it to a secondhand shop or donate it. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS. If your piece ends up in the own shop, that's fine. However a lot of stuff that doesn't sell is bagged up and shipped to Africa or Asia where it's handed out for free. That might sound like you're doing something good, but it's actually terrible for the local economy and environment. Seamstresses there lose their business this way because everyone wears free clothes from the west. Plus, if you donate something that already has a hole, chances are that piece is just worn, and the person who gets that piece for free might be able to wear it a handful of times before they too throw it away. The thriftier person might then repurpose it or use it as a cleaning rag, but it will most likely end up in a landfill still. Meaning your top that you felt so good about for donating still ended up as trash, and on its detour it also ruined business for local men and women trying to make a living. A way better option is to donate your clothes to fabric recycling programs. If you don't mind supporting H&M you can bring your worn clothes there and have them reused, in exchange for store credit. If you don't want that you can have your old stuff felted into new thread or repurposed into things like isolation fluff. Take a look at what programs are available in your area, just be sure to get the hell away if it mentions donating B-grades to Africa. And of course be sure to replace it with sustainable new clothes! 

Other little non-fashion things you can do:

Buy green makeup. There are a LOT of organic, vegan, cruelty-free etc brands out there. And I do mean a LOT. This list has a nice rundown of all sorts of products, most in a slightly higher price segment but that's just what happens with organic ingredients.

Forego wigs. Or if you really REALLY want a wig, get one that's restylable or comes with clip-on accessories. Saves lots of plastic!

Download and use Ecosia. Ecosia is a search engine that uses the majority of its ad money (I recall ~80%) to plant trees! Around 45 searches will land you a tree planted, and if you're a student you know you'll rack up those hits in no time. I've been using this one myself for some time and I'm very happy with it. It's completely free, there's no loopholes, just trees.

Fly CO2-neutral. Some companies, one of which KLM, have started offering a CO2-neutral flight program. Basically you pay a small amount of money on top of your ticket, and they'll use that money to plant trees to compensate your CO2-admission from the plane.

Grow flowers or vegetables. If you're really into that green life you can easily grow your own tomatoes or peppers in a pot in the yard, but if you're not down for that commitment or kill any plant you get near, consider getting a sachet of pollinater flower seeds. You can get special sachets of hardy flowers that will attract bees and butterflies at any garden centre, and you usually don't need to do much more than dump them on some soil and maybe water them if it's very dry. The bumblebees will thank you!

After Halloween, bring your pumpkins to the forest. For the Americans! I saw this tip somewhere online and thought it was brilliant. Pumpkins are huge chunks of easy food, and it's kind of a waste to just chuck them after Halloween, even if they're past their prime. Take them to a local forest and leave them there for the birds and squirrels to snack on!

Eat seasonally and locally. This may be a tough one for those of us who are so used to the convenience of supermarkets! We do this at my home by buying lots of food from farmers at the market or from a special program that delivers a box of local and seasonal food at your home for a fee. I find personally that the quality and flavor is SO much better than supermarket food. Plus, looking around for alternatives to the supermarket might end up with discovering an interesting new shop! We found a small Moroccan butcher that has fresh herbs, huge trays of eggs and the nicest owner ever on our search.

Replace spray cans with spritzers or cream-based products. Spray gases are shit. There's nothing good about them. If you can, replace them by spritzers (face mist and hairspray) or creams (deodorant).

Avoid palm oil. Palm oil CAN be made sustainably, but the majority isn't and looking for the good kind is really hard. Its process starts with uprooting ancient forests and plunking the land full of palm trees, leaving no habitats for animals to live, usually endangered animals too. Try to look for products with different oils like olive or sunflower, they're way less straining.

Buy perfume free detergent. Easy! 

Now I'm not expecting that anyone goes and buy themselves a whole new organic wardrobe and swear off non-recycled fabrics forever after reading this post, and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't follow half these suggestions myself either! It can however never hurt to pay a little more attention to what you buy, where it came from and where it will go when you're done with it. Sure, they might be drops in the bucket, but enough drops can eventually fill a bucket up. We only get one planet, so might as well take a little care of it!