Sustainable Creation: Why and How I Make Art with the Environment in Mind
Let’s get into why sustainability matters to me as an artist and business owner, and some ways you can incorporate sustainability into your creative process.
The Why:
Why is sustainability important to me?
As someone who cares about our earth and loves to make artwork that reflects our planet’s natural beauty, the detrimental impacts of the fashion industry on the environment is something I cannot ignore. This is why I source 100% of my fabric secondhand . I also reduce and reuse the waste I produce through my creative process.
When I picked up sewing as a hobby, I turned to thrift stores as a cheaper way to source fabric, garments and other materials. In frequenting these places, one thing that never changed was the overwhelming quantity of secondhand textiles. Endless racks of t-shirts, pants, hats, linens and more in every single store. What began as a way to save money turned into a realization that all the fabric I could ever need already existed, and a commitment to using only secondhand textiles in my products.
Why else should we be creating sustainably?
Keeping your environmental impact in mind when you are making art are has many benefits. Choosing to source your materials secondhand, use what you already have, or support brands that are transparently sustainable is a small thing you can do to reduce your consumption, reclaim waste, and shift our dependence away from big fashion retailers.
Other benefits I have seen as an artist with a focus on sustainability are:
- By using secondhand textiles, I create work that is entirely unique
- I spend less money on fabric and other materials buying them secondhand
- The lifetime of my clothes has extended since I choose quality materials and take care in constructing them to fit me comfortably
- As a beginner, using clothes that already exist was an accessible way to learn about garment construction, sewing techniques, and pattern drafting without having to start from scratch
Why is sustainability important in my work?
The resources required to make a single garment can be astounding. It takes 2700 liters of water to make a single cotton t-shirt. The carbon footprint of a single polyester t-shirt is 5.5kg. With the rise of fast fashion, we are producing an excess of trendy clothing that is made quick, cheap, maybe only worn once, and then tossed or donated when the trend has passed. Among clothes that are donated to secondhand stores, 84% ends up either in a landfill, incinerated, or exported overseas.
As an artist selling physical products and apparel, the origin of the materials I use matters to me. Knowing the natural resources required to create brand-new textiles and the massive amount of fabric that already exists, destined for the landfill, its a no-brainer that I choose the sustainable route and reclaim the materials that we have already.
Why using secondhand textiles is better for the environment
Reclaiming these textiles helps in 4 big ways.
1. By using fabric that already exists to make new apparel and products, I am avoiding contributing to the pollution and environmental costs of fabric production.
2. By extending the life of existing textiles, we are getting more out of the initial investment of making it. The shirt at the thrift store that took 2700 liters of water to make can now last another 10 years.
3. By diverting these materials from the cycle of waste we are preventing them from ending up in a landfill or polluting the atmosphere after incineration.
4. By supporting brands that use secondhand textiles, thrifting your clothes, or making them yourself, you can stop endorsing the big fashion brands that are harming our planet and be part of the shift towards slow, circular, sustainable fashion.
Why is sustainability important to me?
As someone who cares about our earth and loves to make artwork that reflects our planet’s natural beauty, the detrimental impacts of the fashion industry on the environment is something I cannot ignore. This is why I source 100% of my fabric secondhand . I also reduce and reuse the waste I produce through my creative process.
When I picked up sewing as a hobby, I turned to thrift stores as a cheaper way to source fabric, garments and other materials. In frequenting these places, one thing that never changed was the overwhelming quantity of secondhand textiles. Endless racks of t-shirts, pants, hats, linens and more in every single store. What began as a way to save money turned into a realization that all the fabric I could ever need already existed, and a commitment to using only secondhand textiles in my products.
Why is sustainability important in my work?
The resources required to make a single garment can be astounding. It takes 2700 liters of water to make a single cotton t-shirt. The carbon footprint of a single polyester t-shirt is 5.5kg. With the rise of fast fashion, we are producing an excess of trendy clothing that is made quick, cheap, maybe only worn once, and then tossed or donated when the trend has passed. Among clothes that are donated to secondhand stores, 84% ends up either in a landfill, incinerated, or exported overseas.
As an artist selling physical products and apparel, the origin of the materials I use matters to me. Knowing the natural resources required to create brand-new textiles and the massive amount of fabric that already exists, destined for the landfill, its a no-brainer that I choose the sustainable route and reclaim the materials that we have already.
Why using secondhand textiles is better for the environment
Reclaiming these textiles helps in 4 big ways.
1. By using fabric that already exists to make new apparel and products, I am avoiding contributing to the pollution and environmental costs of fabric production.
2. By extending the life of existing textiles, we are getting more out of the initial investment of making it. The shirt at the thrift store that took 2700 liters of water to make can now last another 10 years.
3. By diverting these materials from the cycle of waste we are preventing them from ending up in a landfill or polluting the atmosphere after incineration.
4. By supporting brands that use secondhand textiles, thrifting your clothes, or making them yourself, you can stop endorsing the big fashion brands that are harming our planet and be part of the shift towards slow, circular, sustainable fashion.
Why else should we be creating sustainably?
Keeping your environmental impact in mind when you are making art are has many benefits. Choosing to source your materials secondhand, use what you already have, or support brands that are transparently sustainable is a small thing you can do to reduce your consumption, reclaim waste, and shift our dependence away from big fashion retailers.
Other benefits I have seen as an artist with a focus on sustainability are:
- By using secondhand textiles, I create work that is entirely unique
- I spend less money on fabric and other materials buying them secondhand
- The lifetime of my clothes has extended since I choose quality materials and take care in constructing them to fit me comfortably
- As a beginner, using clothes that already exist was an accessible way to learn about garment construction, sewing techniques, and pattern drafting without having to start from scratch
The How:
Sourcing materials
Thrifting
I source 100% of my fabric from secondhand stores, my own closet, or from direct donations. Using secondhand material is not only a great way to reduce the environmental impact of your project, it is usually cheaper than buying comparable materials brand new.
About 50% of the furniture, storage, and display items that I use in my studio were found at the thrift store. There are tons of unique secondhand finds out there that may be perfect for your needs!
Other crafting supplies I’ve found at the thrift store include:
- yarn, knitting needles, looms, crochet hooks
- fabric, sewing patterns, sewing notions
- instructional books, magazines and crafting kits
- embroidery hoops, embroidery floss
- sewing machines, bobbin winders, knitting machines
- craft storage and organization
Common materials to repurpose for art
There are many materials that pass through your home all the time that can be used for your creative needs. These are items that some may consider trash or recycling, but I consider perfect free material for making art:
- Newspapers, magazines and paper -> use for collaging, covering a painting surface, wrapping delicate products, etc
- Glass jars and bottles -> paint and use as decor, store your utensils, use to store paint or scrap material, etc
- Boxes and packaging materials -> save and use again
- Plastic bags -> turn into plastic yarn(A.K.A. plarn) and knit or crochet into whatever you’d like
Dealing with the waste
Minimizing waste
Utilizing my materials to the fullest is an easy way to reduce the wasteful byproducts. Some examples of how I do this are:
- Use up any remaining paint after a painting session to make abstracts or paint a background
- Optimizing my fabric when cutting patterns for sewing to create less scraps
- Saving scraps for future use instead of tossing them
Repurposing waste(upcycling!)
Inevitably, waste does occur. Figuring out what to do with it is a great creative challenge for an upcycler. Here are some ways I repurpose my waste:
- Patchwork fabric scraps to reuse in a new piece
- Shred fabric scraps and use as pillow filling
- Using scrap paper, old paint swatches and magazines for collaging
- Use yarn scraps to make a new skein
Further education
The facts and figures above come from these articles. Check them out to learn more!
https://www.wri.org/insights/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2019/09/12/fast-facts-about-fast-fashion
https://www.greenamerica.org/unraveling-fashion-industry/what-really-happens-unwanted-clothes