Fast fashion

Woman with a Sewing Machine

David Hockney

September 10 is Sewing Machine Day, a good time to think about our clothing habits. Issac Singer filed a sewing machine patent in 1851. Before the home machine, women spent several days a month just maintaining the family's clothing. 

It took an experienced seamstress at least 14 hours to make a man's dress shirt by hand. Clothing was worn until it fell to rags, then the rags recycled for useful things like rugs and quilts.  Most people only had two outfits, one for work and another for Sunday.    

Contrast that to our giant walk-in closets and throw-away fashion.  In America, an item of clothing is worn an average of 8 times before being discarded. I learned this in an interview on PBS News, featuring Dana Thomas, author of “Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes."

Girl at Sewing Machine

Edward Hopper

"Fast fashion" means it takes only two weeks for a garment to go from foreign factory to retail store. Clothing inventory, once seasonal, now rotates constantly so shoppers always have something new. Cheap clothing is relatively new. Girls my age took Home Ec in school, and learned to sew their own dresses, blouses and skirts to save money. Now it's the opposite, and patterns and fabric are quite expensive.

1970's Style

I admit, recreational shopping is one of my weaknesses, especially sales and bargains. Last week at H&M, I bought a fleece jacket for Maya (Cambodia, $13.99) and a polyester coat ($59, China) for myself. I'll wear it occasionally for a couple of years until it gets pilled, or stained, or I find something new. Then it gets added to my huge pile of discarded clothes left behind on the planet.

Tired

Christian Krohg 

Something else to think about. Dana Thomas said in the interview that the person sewing the garment in the foreign sweatshop makes a penny for every retail dollar.  That's about 50 cents wage for my new coat, and 14 cents for Maya's jacket.