Give It a New Life

My first principle is to “Use Waste as a Resource”. According to our reading, Quinn’s Sustainability,  “fashion manufacturers use bleaching, dying and printing processes that place clothing fabrication on a par with petro-chemical production.” Quinn also names many alternatives to these processes, such as beading or embroidery to be visually appealing to customers. Taking an old garment and using recycled beading or thread and making it new would be one way to use potential waste and give it a new life. For example, Raquel Allegra transforms old prison shirts into “fashionable couture.” She has taken something otherwise to be thrown away and has built a business and name for herself with her innovative design concept. I believe that by being creative and thinking outside of the box when designing, the fashion industry could cut back greatly on unnecessary use of resources.

The second principle I chose is to “Shop Locally”. Fletcher’s Local and Light states, “Localism requires us to begin to adapt our appetites to where we live…” By not wasting gas consumers can save money, natural resources and avoiding pollution by taking unnecessary trips. Another concept that goes hand in hand with shopping locally is producing and manufacturing goods as well. Going along with what Fletcher stated, if we adapt to our environment and learn the importance of shopping locally we can learn to be satisfied with our options.