Blog Post 4 - Reflection

Viscose takes naturally occurring substances, found within trees and planted cotton, then uses a manufactured chemical process to create the final material for the creation of clothing that is responsible for releasing toxic chemicals into the immediate environment as well as the leaching of toxins into areas beyond. This causes problems within the local environment through the immediate contact the workers have with the chemicals that have been found to lead to severe medical issues like cancer, heart disease, and birth defects. The pollution does not stop there as it seeps into the local soil and water supply which then can be carried to global destinations. This has reduced the amount of fish and wildlife available for humans to ingest because they are being killed off by the pollution too.

https://www.triplepundit.com/2017/07/pollution-viscose-manufacturing-another-reality-check-fashion-industry/

In order to reduce or eliminate this toxic production, there need to be strict production laws in place at the global level. Since that is most likely not going to occur, there need to be laws put in place at the national level which prohibit the production methods that use the toxic chemical process. We as a nation also need to prohibit the import of these items. There are plenty of viable natural options for clothing that have been available for many years that do not harm the environment the way synthetic fibers do. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, etc. are all very viable options and do not pose any harm to the producer, buyer or the planet.

https://empoweredsustenance.com/natural-fiber-clothing/

Locally we would need to support this change in thinking by providing lower cost natural options available for all to purchase or procure at no cost. Not everyone could afford to change their purchases to natural products as they are currently not as readily available and can be cost prohibitive for some. Natural products may not be manufactured by the preferred company so people would need to accept an off brand if the company chooses not to alter production methods. Local solutions are limited in scope to the neighborhood or city and may not have the intended global impact but will improve living conditions in the immediate area.

At the household level, we could buy only natural fibers and products but we would again be met with the challenge of availability of the products. It would improve the household’s health and well-being but it would have little to no impact on the health of the textile manufacturer’s employees and their environment. This is a global issue that needs to be addressed, at a bare minimum, at the national level in order to see any sort of effect on the environment.

Blog Post 3

My Slacks:

My pants were primarily created using viscose which is a more chemically treated version of rayon. The main centers of production of viscose were (and to some extent, still are) India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. I have to assume that the viscose that was used to produce my pants was made in China to keep costs low. The fabric uses cellulose fiber which requires the cutting down of trees to obtain. Most of the resources within the tree are discarded in order to create this product. This can cause deforestation and negatively affect the biodiversity of the materials harvesting sites. Species that once resided in the forest habitat will be forced to move and adapt to a new environment or they will perish.  The pollution created by the factories has also been linked to the death of local aquatic life as it sinks into the local water supplies.

https://www.contrado.co.uk/blog/what-is-viscose/

Viscose is in the process of being phased out due to the toxic chemical, carbon disulfide (CS2), that is used in the production process which has lead to safety concerns for factory workers.  Contact with this chemical has been linked to neurophysiological impairment and cardiovascular disease. The factory workers are exposed to this at the point of production only as the CS2 disperses before arriving to the consumer.

The electricity, chemicals, and water used in the plants to manufacture the fabric have a negative effect on the environment.  Extracting the pulp from the wood is a process that releases toxins (sodium hydroxide and sulphuric acid) into the local air and water supplies. The plant workers are the first affected but people in the surrounding communities have been found to have heart disease, birth defects, cancer and other health problems related to the release of toxins from the plant. This at first glance appears to be a local impact but it has global implications as the particulates can be transported from one place to another through changing air patterns as well as leach into soil and then water sources around the world.

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/13/hm-zara-marks-spencer-linked-polluting-viscose-factories-asia-fashion

https://goodonyou.eco/material-guide-viscose-really-better-environment/

The majority of the components of the pants were manufactured and finished in China. The brand The Limited Inc. went out of business one year ago and because of that, I am assuming that the pants were shipped by boat from China for a distance of over 7,000 miles across the globe. None of the products used to make the pants are locally made. The pants were also shipped in a plastic bag that I most likely recycled at a local store but the tissue paper that was packed in between the folds was thrown away in the garbage. The plastic material will at least be repurposed but the tissue will wind up in a landfill to begin the process of biodegrading.

My Shoes:

The rubber from my FitFlop shoes was produced in Vietnam, where the shoes were manufactured. They are now the third largest producer of natural rubber and latex products in the world. This does not come without cost to natural resources within the country that the forests provide. The rubber is procured by obtaining the runny latex from specific plants when cut. In Vietnam they use rubber trees to obtain the material by tapping it as pictured below:

Deforestation and loss of local habitat is an issue in Vietnam due to this large increase in production.

http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_4671.pdf

The rubber is then sent to the local factory to be used to produce the base for the sandal by being compressed into a mold.  The factory uses electricity to and other chemicals to use the molds and create the end product. This has a negative effect as 22% of Vietnam's energy is produced by coal which is detrimental to the environment as it is burned. Coal burning is responsible for airborne contaminants which linger in the atmosphere and rise to affect the protective ozone layer. This is has a global impact because the ozone layer protects all life on planet earth. The local effect is more noticeable immediately because of the reduced air quality and illnesses experienced by the people.

The sandals were produced in Vietnam and traveled by cargo ship to the United States which covers over 8,500 miles across the earth. I then purchased them online from a US based store which was shipped via airplane from the seller's location. The ship produced waste and used energy resources to cross the ocean and the airplane uses a lot of fossil fuel to get from place to place. Both used precious natural resources to get from Vietnam to me. I would consider the leather portion of the sandal to be the most local as we have produced leather products in a tannery that was located in the city of Milwaukee.

As with the pants, I recycled the main container, in this case, the cardboard box that the shoes came in,  and discarded the tissue paper.  The tissue paper will be forced to sit in a landfill and hopefully biodegrade with little repercussion to the planet.

Post 2-Option A2: A Breakdown of My Outfit

I was dressed for work today in my royal blue slacks from The Limited which advertise themselves as 'Exact Stretch' because of their Chinese made content of 77% viscose, 20% nylon, and 3% spandex.  Viscose is a semi-synthetic fiber made from wood pulp which means is it a natural based product while nylon and spandex are fully synthetic or chemically developed products.

My long sleeve grey and black Perfect Tee also from The Limited was made in the Philippines and it consists of 59% rayon, 36% polyester, and 5% spandex. Rayon is the natural based product in my shirt, while both polyester and spandex are chemically created.

I completed my outfit with Lulu Shimmersuede FitFlops due to the warm weather today. These shoes are made in Vietnam and have a microfiber lined faux leather strap across the top with a rubber based synthetic sole.

When I get a chill in the office, I put on my rather sporty Bucks hooded sweatshirt from GIII Apparel Group which is manufactured in China. This sweatshirt is a 60% cotton, 40% polyester blend which makes it breathe more easily than the other fabrics. Cotton is naturally occurring and grown while polyester is synthetic.

Post 1: Plastic Bags

In watching the “Battle of the Bag”, several problems were brought to light that are caused by the ‘wonderful’ plastic shopping bag. Locally, the bags produce litter that roams the streets and gets stuck to fences, vehicles, wildlife and any number of other things. The ones that are disposed of go straight into landfills to remain plastic for the next 400-1,000 years due to their extremely slow disintegration process.

What struck me the most was the total number of plastic bags that everyday people use over the course of one year, which was demonstrated in the video by the family of four that would wind up using close to 1,000 bags. That amount of ‘indestructible’ plastic would have a heavy impact on the earth because what we do locally has a global impact.

There are efforts currently in place to attempt to slow down or stop entirely our use of plastic shopping bags by consumers as well as shops. In the town of Modbury, one local activist took it upon herself to talk everyone into not using plastic bags and providing all shoppers with a reusable option while in other towns people are using legislation to make it illegal for retailers to use plastic bags. Others along seashores are also attempting to clean up the damage that has already occurred by physically removing the bags and plastics from accessible areas. In yet another way to act locally, Sharon Jacobson reminds us to re-use bags or recycle whenever possible along with many other options in her July 21, 2005, article “Plastic Bag Pollution”.

While some cities, states, and countries are making plastic shopping bags illegal it will not have the desired effect unless everyone participates. Places like China, India, and Kenya are making a difference globally by acting locally; however, everyone should participate in the reduction or ban in order to remove an unhealthy product from our everyday lives. While it is true that plastic bags have made our lives easier and at times the convenience makes them a simpler choice, we have to reevaluate our priorities and really see what effects our actions have on the planet and others. Plastic is not something we need to survive.