The connection we have with our clothes / July 29, 2020 by Nina Gbor

French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent once said, “Fashion fades, style is eternal.” This means your personal preference and connection to your clothing is everything when it comes to your style. This feeling of connection is reason why I had to have this skirt the moment I first laid eyes on it! I got it from a vintage-style boutique that hand-makes all their clothes locally here in Oz (Australia).

The Wizard of Oz

It’s one of the most phenomenal feelings when you feel like a garment or outfit really gets you. The vision of this skirt teleports me to old, happy memories of watching The Wizard of Oz (1939) repeatedly with my mom and brothers. I call it my Dorothy skirt because the blue gingham reminds me of Dorothy's blue gingham dress. And the vibrant colours are as radiant as Munchkin land in Technicolor! The skirt just oozes torrents of playfulness and an unapologetic sense of schmaltz with its wild, fruits of many colours!

Dorothy skirt wizard of oz australian made nina gbor

Through happenstance, I've come to realise that pieces like this not only give me so much joy, but they make everyone else smile too. They can be such wonderful conversation starters. For example, it can be an opportunity to talk about slow fashion, locally made clothing, the need to support small businesses or even your favourite classic film!

Crafting your personal style…

Whether your style leans more towards neutral or mellow colours, classic patterns, conservative, edgy, dramatic, creative, vintage or even being exquisitely colourful like mine, your happiness and self-alignment will gain a massive boost when you wear pieces that are truly of your personal preference. This means ignoring the external and internal voices that say, “you can’t wear that”. The question is, does it represent who you are on the inside?

When it comes to choosing what goes in your wardrobe, beware of engaging in groupthink, as it can take you down a path of joining the toxic bandwagons that may cause you to overconsume or even delay your personal growth. This is truly about your individuality, your humanity and even your artistry. Now might be the right moment to look within at what makes you feel a sense of connection, what’s appropriate for you or what gives you joy in order to establish a precedent for your wardrobe and other areas of your life. This is a track that can take self-acceptance and confidence to supersonic levels.

It’s also a well-executed concept amongst those who have been shopping preloved most of their lives. If you’re unsure of what your perfect style is, it helps to learn from people who have mastered the art of ethical fashion, minimalism, vegan fashion and the sustainable lifestyle.

Back to Oz

I watched the 1939 classic so many times when I was younger that I believe it became deeply rooted in my subconscious. It might possibly be the reason why I ended up in this merry land of Oz (Australia) as an adult. Before I came here, indeed I was looking for a place that felt like home (kind of like Dorothy). Moving across the world alone took a ton of courage (like the lion), I had to learn to have an open heart (like the tin man) and of course I had to work smart (with a brain like the lion). I've found these things and blossomed here in the land of Oz. And I also realised I had these resources within all along. I just needed to go through some tough experiences in order to change my perception of myself so that I could see it. What a journey its been!

This is why this skirt is so symbolic and holds such powerful meaning for me. I cherish it and I’ll keep it for a very long time to come. It’s my testament to why fashion fades but style is eternal. Fashion trends are short and fleeting, whilst style has deeper meaning and purpose in your life. Style is something that is likely to stay with you for many years, if not all your life. The way the Wizard of Oz has stayed with me.

With the stories, personal history and memories that make us feel a connection with our clothing, it can be an avenue to less consumption whilst enriching our lives. This connection is good for our wellbeing and the environment. Clothing should not be disposable. And the more we heed these connections, our garments become more than just trends or practical items that get thrown out after minimal use. These connections bring a sense of long-term familiarity and comfort almost like an old friend or family. If we aim to foster connection with our wardrobes, ecologically it would translate to a healthier clothing culture. And very likely an overall reduction in textile waste.

STYLING DOROTHY

I wore my Dorothy skirt with a periwinkle retro-style preloved t-shirt I found at a charity thrift store. I’ve added my staple tan waist belt. Completed the look with a pair of mint-coloured sneakers.

In the spirit of pattern clash, I've also paired Dorothy with my preloved velvet zebra-print coat.

Pattern clash: velvet zebra-print coat over periwinkle t-shirt and Dorothy skirt of many colours.

Outfit sourced from:

Periwinkle T-shirt - Salvation Army Op Shop

Dorothy Skirt - Gigi’s Fairy Fashion

Tan Belt - Noffs Op Shop

Mint Sneakers - Red Cross Op Shop

Velvet Zebra-Print Coat - Salvation Army Op Shop

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

Banning secondhand clothes by the Global South; a blessing or a curse for local fashion industry? / July 14, 2020 by Nina Gbor

I’m beginning to wander if the Global South is the new landfill for Western countries. Do you ever think about what happens to your clothes when you’re done with them? And when you donate to thrift stores, do you think about where your clothes will eventually end up after they’ve been re-used? I probably wouldn’t, however, walking into a thrift store at age 15 in an African country was the eureka moment that forever changed my life and how I perceived secondhand (preloved) clothing.

Thrift stores and fashion waste

Fast fashion is often poorly made, low quality, mass-produced clothes made from synthetic textiles. They are a major pollutant and can often end up in landfill not too long after manufacture. Fast fashion overconsumption is the primary reason why fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Because they are not always sellable, charity thrift stores are forced to dispose of them, which can have a devastating impact on their budgets. Australian charitable recycling organisations are spending approximately $13 million per year sending unusable donations to landfill. The other option is to send them to emerging countries in places like Asia and Africa. The British charity shop, Oxfam, declared that a minimum of 70% of secondhand garments donated to them ends up in Africa.

Secondhand clothing from the Global North to the Global South

For decades, countries in the Global North such as Australia, the U.S., the U.K. have been sending unwanted secondhand clothes to countries in the Global South. Most of these clothes are the leftovers that op shops (thrift stores) cannot sell. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2016 – 17 for instance revealed that Australian exports 93,502,966 kilos of “worn clothing and other work textiles articles”. Direct exports from charities accounted for two thirds of this figure.

Photo courtesy M. Yusuf / Voice of America

My personal experience

One of my first and most memorable thrift store experiences was in Nigeria at age 15. Like other preloved stores in Africa, they too received secondhand clothes from Western countries. It was the day my career in sustainable fashion began. I loved finding vintage and contemporary fashion treasures and relished the opportunity to play dress up with an eclectic range of garments at thrift stores. However, a sense of unease gradually began to stir within me because of a couple of things I observed. These imported, affordable clothes were stifling the growth of the local fashion industry. Secondly, there was so much stock that it was visibly polluting the environment. At the end of their life cycle, these clothes would end up in mountains of trash near residential areas, along with other household trash. Landfills were rarely an option in these communities.

Banning secondhand clothing

In 2015, East Africa imported $151 million worth of apparel, mainly from the U.S. and Europe. Countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda have been phasing out secondhand apparel with the intent of an eventual total ban. They believe secondhand clothing undermines their dignity and the development of nascent textile industries in their nations. Despite being major cotton producers, a significant portion of the population within countries such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mali depend on secondhand clothes. African countries have been exporting raw materials and less often, finished products. According to the McKinsey Consultancy, within a decade, East Africa could have the capability to export garments (as finished products) worth up to $3 billion annually.

The quandary of African countries

In opposition to the East African clothing ban, the Office of the United States Trade Representative in 2017 threatened to remove four East African countries in the list of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. It gives preferential trade benefits to African countries for the purpose of lifting trade and economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the weight behind the American opposition was the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMRTA), a band of 40 used clothing exporters with 40,000 American jobs within it. SMRTA said that the clothing Americans threw away would end up in U.S. landfills and damage the environment in the U.S.

Authorities in African countries viewed the threat as an example of a Global North country bullying countries in the Global South that are trying to cultivate a more self-sufficient, thriving economy. Situations like this place emerging countries in a dilemma over balancing protectionism with the perils of damaging their diplomatic connections and relationship with the global economic network.

In a country like Nigeria, even though the government has technically banned secondhand clothing, the rules are not thoroughly being enforced. The conundrum is that it has not yet established a foundation of infrastructure and facilities that will empower local businesses to compete with Western fast fashion, particularly secondhand imports.

Image courtesy Wong Maye-E, Associated Press, The New York Times.

Textile pollution

And then there’s the issue of pollution. Many textile recycling businesses and charities take pride in their zero-waste status by shipping all leftover clothing to developing countries. In some regards, this notion is akin to the SMRTA principle which believes African nations should accept their unwanted clothing to keep them out of American landfills and to protect the U.S. environment from damage. All of these Western organisations seem to have no issues with sending over their ‘trash’ to pollute African environments and fill up African landfills (or lack thereof).

Toxic groundwater

Beyond just littering the environment and the trash dumps in emerging countries, synthetic textiles release toxic groundwater when it rains. They are not biodegradable. The buildup of chemicals that come out of these synthetics after years of rainfall produces toxic ground water that leaks into the soil, damaging its fertility and natural ecology.

Moreover, when toxic ground water stays at the surface of the ground, it evaporates with the chemicals into rain clouds which becomes acid rain. Acid rain pours back down again and spreads over a much wider surface area, repeating the soil damage process.

Water is of course a life source used by people in the local communities for household and agricultural purposes. Toxic groundwater and acid rain flow into local water bodies and can be hazardous to people who depend on it. Acid rain also contributes to the extinction of specific species because it can cause health problems or death when ingested. It changes the pH levels of water bodies which impacts marine wildlife.

Another landfill solution to the problem of oversupply

I’m not entirely recommending they should suddenly stop shipping secondhand clothes to Africa, Asia and other places. It’s just not environmentally sustainable for those countries to have synthetic textiles in their landfills and trash dumping areas. It’s polluting the environment in emerging countries who did not create the pollution problem in the first place. Yet they’re having to deal with the repercussions. At the end of the day, countries in the Global South have become another landfill for countries in the Global North. And this is not a solution to the problem of oversupply and overconsumption. Furthermore, it contributes to climate change.

Where jobs are concerned, it curbs the creation of new jobs in poorer countries of the South that are attempting to build a thriving manufacturing economy by establishing local fashion industries.

Photo courtesy Association for Free Research and International Cooperation.

What can be done

Less fast fashion equates to less waste. Addressing the issue at the root cause by minimising the oversupply and overconsumption of fast fashion will have a positive domino effect. As a consumer, before you purchase any garment, think about how many times you’ll use it and how long you will keep the item. If it’s short term, then consider hiring, renting or borrowing instead.

Countries that do not need to import secondhand clothing can decide if and how they will move forward in developing their own textile and clothing manufacture industries. In the latter, governments will need to address issues such as the requirement for local manufacturers to have access to sufficient funding, raw material, energy and liveable wages. In addition, garments should be made from natural textiles that also cater to the entire range of consumer budgets.

To be fair, some of the secondhand recycling organisations send clothing to help impoverished communities that cannot afford clothing. This is certainly admirable and a highly appropriate way of re-purposing these clothes. However, what if we made this a short-term strategy whilst we applied our focus on developing sustainable long-term systems to ensure those communities became economically independent within a specific time frame? This way we can break these cycles of poverty, end dependency and uplift global communities.

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

References:

A sustainable fashion lifestyle / July 13, 2020 by Nina Gbor

For many of us, sustainability has been a lifelong way of being. It’s how we built and maintained our wardrobes from childhood, long before the word sustainability came into the mainstream consciousness. Except we didn’t call it sustainable. It was just a natural part of life. And still is.

My outfit is an example. In this photo I’m wearing a preloved coat that was a hand-me-down from my beautiful friend Simone, a t-shirt I got from a clothes swap I hosted and a pair of boots I found brand new at an op shop (thrift store). The leggings and vest were new. These sources are always how I got my clothes since I was a child. We repaired things when they were damaged. I wore hand-me-downs from my older siblings and my mother would sometimes buy clothes from the Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores for us.

Playing dress up with preloved clothing from multiple fashion eras and multiple cultures has, in a way, helped shape who I’ve become. It helped me find myself and built my career. Being exposed to the plethora of eclectic styles of garments, I had to look within to figure out which style(s) truly represented me. I’m sceptical as to whether a person can do this successfully if their lifestyle involves following trends.

The problem with our trend culture is that it has exacerbated oversupply and overconsumption to the point where we have created colossal amounts of waste. And fuelled climate change in the process. By design, trends are made to be followed so the uniformity leaves little or no room for personal growth. The other drawback of the trend culture is that it reduces opportunities for individual thinking, diversity and individual preference in some circumstances. And behind the fashion trends, lurks nothing other than greed for financial profits by those who exploit the vain and less cautious side of consumers.

As I grew up, the hand-me-down culture evolved to running clothes swaps. I still op shop and it too has partially evolved to preloved online shopping. To curate a sustainable wardrobe, I’d suggest using the techniques above that I used: thrifting, swapping, repairing and buying new from ethical labels. However, to permanently establish your sense of style independence, foster lifelong habits for personal growth as well as to develop a mindset that naturally curates a sustainable wardrobe, here are some concepts:

Know thyself

If you don’t already, here’s a good way to start. Begin by listening to your inner voice. Avoid blind acceptance of what is trending for your age, community or amongst your peers. Instead, be intuitive about it. This is based on doing what’s appropriate for you. No two individuals are the same. And there is no beauty in imitation. Imitation can hamper your personal growth and minimise your potential. So, embrace and amplify who you really are.

Express yourself

Your inner self should be given expression and life when it comes to your wardrobe. Your style should correspond with your own nature i.e. reflect the person on the inside. Your values, preferences, personality, and soul should shine through. This will shatter stereotypes around you because your re-emerging individuality carries with it so much power.

Style your yourself to impress yourself

Let your personal taste alone be the deciding factor for what goes into your wardrobe, not trends. This way, you’ll experience a kind of magic where your style will adapt itself to your true nature. This can really make you feel whole and bring exhilaration to your environment. Not the other way round. What makes you happy? What pieces make you feel in alignment with your inner self? What makes you shine? Think about colours, patterns and styles that you feel drawn to. Think about things like fashion eras before your time. An example is a 26-year old man in the U.K. named Zack Pinsent who only wears clothes designed in the authentic style of the 1680s to 1920s clothing eras. This might be unrealistic for your everyday life if you’re into these styles, but you can always take pieces from theses eras and mix with more practical pieces to make it your own personal style.

Photo of Zack Pinsent. Photo courtesy Zack Pinsent

True beauty

With these concepts, a true sense of beauty arises that can become a strong support in your personal development. It frees you and makes you independent! It can bring so much balance and clarity to your life. In addition, you begin to attract your tribe because you’re declaring and living who you are. And like-minded people are drawn to each other.

If you adopt these concepts, sustainable clothing can more easily become a way of life. By default, you might keep your beloved wardrobe pieces far longer, because you’re buying what is truly best for you. Therefore, making your wardrobe far more sustainable. And you might experience a deeper sense of alignment with self and your environment.

STYLING

Far too often, winter clothes are made of neutral and dark tones. So, I opt for bright colours to brighten up the cold winter days. My hack? Wear a colourful t-shirt over long sleeve thermal top, a pair of leggings, a long top to cover the top section of my leggings and a cool pair of knee-high boots. Topped off the look with this gorgeous red patterned coat!

Styling tip: You can keep feeling that summer vibe by using your summer clothes in winter. Hack the summer outfit by simply wearing thermals underneath: a long sleeve t-shirt or leggings.

♥ Nina Gbor

On trimming our fashion carbon footprint and climate change / June 8, 2020 by Nina Gbor

Preloved outfit. All photos by Pepper Street Photography.

Did you know that clothing in the landfill creates over three times its own weight in CO2 greenhouse gas emissions? It’s not surprising that altogether fashion and textiles account for 10% of climate change. Earlier this year I wrote a lengthy piece detailing fashion’s impact on climate change and how we can all work towards achieving net-zero emissions. Of course our emissions come from other aspects of life beyond just clothing. In taking action to reduce our carbon emissions, it’s essential to look at other areas like food and fossil fuels. A carbon footprint calculator makes it simple for individuals and brands to calculate their carbon footprint in multiple areas so that we know where and how to take the best action.

65% of all new clothing ends up in landfill within the first year of manufacture. Poor design, lack of durability and consumer waste are in part to blame when it comes to fast fashion’s contribution of textile waste to landfill. Its aim has been to manufacture as much as possible, as quick as possible in a conveyor belt style. So its not surprising that the products are intended and made to be disposable. For this reason, fast fashion apparel is mostly non-durable. From cheap, poor-quality synthetic fabrics to poor tailoring to fast-fading colours and buttons falling off, majority of it ends up in landfill quicker than durable garments.

How brands can reduce their carbon footprint

By doubling the life of clothing from just one to two years, we can help reduce emissions from clothing manufacture and disposal by as much as 24%. Fashion brands can support this effort by making little changes in the design and manufacture processes to make clothing far more durable i.e. resistant to damage and wear. Fast fashion brands can also take a stance to produce far less, even if it means reduction in their profits. The benefit to the environment will be enormous and priceless.

How consumers can reduce their carbon footprint

Consumers also have a role to play in this. Extending the life of clothes by just nine extra months of active use would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 20-30% each. Even though some brands safeguard against garment failure, some people dispose of clothing after several years because it is no longer to their taste and because they no longer fit. Here, they can sell or donate them. When buying new garments, opt for slow and ethical fashion labels. Perhaps consider purchasing less fast fashion. It helps garment workers when we insist that fast fashion brands not only produce durable garments but also pay liveable wages to garment workers. To extend the life of clothing, you can choose preloved (secondhand) through clothes swaps, preloved markets and thrift stores.

Consumers can also extend the life of their entire wardrobe through RESTYLING. This is the process of pairing a garment with another item and/or accessories that you wouldn’t typically wear with it. This remixing and re-matching process creates new and different outfit combinations that you can use for multiple types of casual events and special occasions, instead of buying a brand new outfit for each occasion. Restyling allows you to extend your wardrobe far longer than you typically would because you’re re-using what you already have, in a variety of creative ways. Case in point is my red ball gown skirt below which is one that might only get worn to a formal event with an equally formal top and shoes. Wearing it with a casual top and sneakers allows me to use it more frequently.

STYLING

I invite you to try this super easy restyling hack within your wardrobe. You can use a skirt or dress pants. This preloved outfit is a juxtaposition between a super casual top and a formal skirt. This retro, red mid-length skirt is typically one that might sit in the back of your closet until a special occasion rolls round. By pairing it with a super casual t-shirt, it gets more active and regular use.

I took it a little further by interchanging leopard-print stilettos with my Etiko fairtrade vegan sneakers. Each shoe gives a different vibe and makes the outfit appropriate for different locations and events based on the shoe.

Outfit sourced from:

White top – The Greenshed Underground Op Shop

Red Retro Perri Cutten skirt – Second Mode Luxury Preloved Store

Etiko Vegan Sneakers - Etiko

Leopard-print Stilettos – My wardrobe

♥ Nina Gbor

References:

How eccentric is your style? / May 30, 2020 by Nina Gbor

Eco Styles Nina Gbor Sustainable fashion Ethical fashion 1

How eccentric is your style? The fear of being clowned for wearing something most people wouldn't wear stops many from reaching their potential.

I grew up moving around a lot and never really fitting in anywhere (and still don't). But it's great because it forced me to figure out how I could shape the world around me so that I could feel comfortable to navigate through life as myself. As opposed to say, receding into a false projection of someone most people would find more acceptable (whatever that looks like).

This quest taught me to be super comfortable with all my weirdness and to sit comfortably in my own skin and in my awkwardness. I'll let you in on a little secret of how I grew the courage to wear eccentric, unusual styles. And to be different in ways that make people accept you for who you are: with every new person, job or community, etc, start off with expressing that different version of yourself. They'll likely accept your uniqueness straight away and leave it at that. But it must be authentically you and not a false portrayal.

As humans, we're all multi-dimensional. None of us is just one thing. When we begin to evolve or express different parts of ourselves, sometimes people within our communities judge us because we've stepped outside of their comfort zone. That's why they clown us. It takes a lot of courage to stay the new course. You have to decide if you want the freedom to express yourself and henceforth live life on your own terms OR if you're going to cower into a life of suppression. To me, the latter choice doesn't feel like a life at all. But this is a decision of true strength that, at some point(s) in our lives, each one of us must make.

P.S. In addition to style, you can apply this concept to other areas of your life too. "Nothing bold or magnificent is built from fear." (Quote from BBC series, 'The Collection').

STYLING

This skirt is definitely the feature piece of this outfit. I found this late 1960s vintage skirt on a sunny September afternoon in 2017 at an outdoor preloved market. Wearing pink with yellow, red, green and blue is true to block colour styling. In the spirit of eccentricity, it’s feel free to style yourself in the ways that make you happy.

Outfit sourced from:

Pink top - Vinnies Op Shop

Multicolour Vintage Skirt - Suitcase Rummage Preloved Market

Leopard-print Stilettos - Staple from my wardrobe

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles