Future Consciousness

To be perfectly honest, before this class I had hardly thought about sustainability and its affect on the future. Though I try to do my small part in staying "environmentally-friendly," I had the mental mode that I was just one person, and what I did personally wouldn't have an actual affect on the environment. I felt like it wouldn't even matter if I did recycle or tried to live more sustainably because there are so many other people who ignore these issues entirely, that I couldn't possibly outweigh them. This is a definitely a pessimistic view of looking into the future of our environment, and the future of sustainability. As Tom Lombardo discusses in his article, Thinking Ahead: The Value of Future Consciousness, viewing the future pessimistically and without any hope for change and determination for a positive outcome, the pessimistic views will in turn come true, as a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I believe that I will have no positive impact on the earth, I will definitely have no positive impact on the earth. However, if I can change my way of thinking to a more optimistic view of figuring out a way that one person can have a positive impact, it is very possible that I can have a positive impact.

My vision of a sustainable future, is to have a more universal awareness of sustainability and the ways that individuals as well as companies can change their ways to lessen their negative impact on the earth. As an apparel design major, it is very important that all designers are aware of the different impacts textiles have, so that they can choose to use products and textiles that are better for the earth. Alan Durning warns of the perils of overconsumption in his article, Limiting Consumption. He discusses the huge impact and consumption of advertisements in today's society. Advertisements today try and popularize the idea of having whatever you want, when you want it. This is a huge problem for our resources. If we could take the advertisement industry from being a problem to a solution by using it to create a greater awareness of ways to consume less, and to have a less negative impact, it would greatly reduce the issue with advertising. Oki and Kim also support the argument about the ignorance of many people today when it comes to sustainability in their article, Visioneering: An essential framework in sustainability science. Many people don't have a vision for sustainability because they don't truly understand what it means and what affect they have as individuals on it.

The main mental mode that people need to think about for my vision is the idea that even one person can have a positive impact on sustainability. Although it will often require an extra effort on the part of the consumer, or even a sacrifice ( such as less consumption, more effort to recycle, inconvenient shopping experiences, etc.) it will be worth their time. The key to this is communication, and spreading the word of ways to live more sustainably that are not difficult to manage. This could be done by all mediums of advertising and incentive programs from different companies, and possibly even the government.

ECO-Promising

In today's market, the consumer awareness of a company's environmental impact have a huge affect on the company's reputation and success. It is only in the past 50 years that there has been a popular concern for the effect of products on the environment and as a result of this, companies must ensure their consumers that they are aware and promoting a healthy environment in order to stay competitive in the market. Many companies use their advertisements to persuade consumers that they are an "environmentally-friendly" company; however, it is not always clear how accurate the claims they make are.

There are however, many 3rd parties that certify the authenticity of their claims. Some examples of these organizations are EnergyStar, Green Seal, Marine Stewardship Council, and many more. There are also Web Sites that direct you to companies who are supposed to be environmentally aware.

I have included some examples of companies who promote their product as environmentally aware.

Clean Spirited is an example of a company that does a great job of advertising and providing information to their customers about the sustainability of their products. They provide detailed explanations of what exactly their company does to help the environment, and just exactly how the customers play a role in their endeavors. They also include a list of 3rd parties that have certified their products, so the customer can be sure that they are truly getting a product that is certified to be environmentally safe. 

Lav and Kush is an example of a company that does a poor job of showing the authenticity of their sustainability claims. On their website, they use a lot of fluffy language to talk about the fabric they use. They describe their clothing as "eco-luxurious" "eco-friendly" and "eco-conscious", however they have no certification that they are actual products created sustainability. 

A standardization of certification on products needs to be enforced. This would force companies to provide evidence of their actual environmental claims so that the consumer can be assured they are spending their money on products that are not harming the environment. Some companies would be hurt by this standardization, because it would take a way a good amount of their salability. However, it would also bring about a new competition in the market, and would challenge companies to seriously consider their environmental impact and work on real ways to improve their products while helping protect the earth. 

Cotton

Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber that is in production today. As a result of this, the production of cotton has a very high impact on the environment. There are ways to produce and manufacture cotton that have a less negative impact, but the ways that have a greater negative impact far outweigh the others.
According to The Sustainability of Cotton, "Cotton is produced in more than 100 countries, with 78% of all cotton produced in 6 countries." (Kooistra, Termorshuizen, pg.3) Clearly, the production of cotton is a huge factor in the global economy and the earth as a whole.

Cotton has very specific growth conditions. There are several different types of irrigation: flood-or-furrow, mobile, and drip. All of these types of irrigation uses large amounts of water. Cotton can also be compromised by insects. One affect that cotton production has on the environment is in the use of fertilizers and pesticides. These can serve as poisons to the different ecosystems. There is a way to manufacture cotton organically, but is not yet widely used. Cotton Inc., offers different methods they are in the process of perfecting to make organic cotton more readily available.

If manufacturers of cotton as a whole will spend more time in the research for ways to create organic cotton, it will take a huge negative impact off of the earth.

Synthetic vs. Natural: Who's to blame?

Many people believe that synthetic fibers are to blame for many environmental issues in the textile industry today. However, that is not always the case. Obviously, the production of synthetic materials utilizes a lot of energy and fossil fuels, but in comparison to the production of natural materials, there is not a lot of difference. Kate Fletcher, in her book Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, states, "While there is no dispute that producing synthetic fibres impacts on people and the environment, natural fibre cultivation and processing is also high impact."

Natural fibers like cotton provide a significant threat to the health of people and the environment. The use of pesticides in the growing of cotton crops presents a significant problem. Also, the cleaning and treatment of wool uses many chemicals that can be hazardous. Synthetic fiber production causes problems in the environment by emitting gases into the air.

As you can see, there are problems with the traditional production of both synthetic and natural fibers. To say that synthetic fibers alone are a problem in the environment is entirely untrue. There is clearly a need to find better ways to produce and manufacture textiles. There are many people who are working in this area to find better alternatives; Charline Ducas from the Textile Exchange discusses many new ways in which natural fibers are beginning to be produced in more environmentally friendly processes.

In conclusion, it is not fair to solely blame synthetic textiles for our environment problems. We must realize that even if something is called natural, it may not be completely natural. We need to check and investigate the ways that they are being produced to decide which textiles are better or not.