Elements of a Textile – Who Are the People Behind the Fabric?
#HawaiiFiberProject Part IV – Textiles
Do you see the people behind the fabric you wear? Traditionally weaving textiles for clothing, blankets and rugs was done artfully and carefully by women. Children grew up watching their mothers and grandmothers spinning yarn and weaving intricate designs in the home. As our societies have changed, these traditions have slowly left our households and have become a far away industry in developing countries. An industry in which many laborers are exploited and suffer harmful working conditions. Something that was once globally ingrained as a part of our everyday cultural heritage has shifted to big garment industries in economically struggling countries eager for work. There are still small pockets of artisan made textiles and fiber artists, but our visceral connection to textiles has been more or less lost.
In this post I want to bring the textile back to life, and look at the human lives touched along the way. From harvesting and gathering materials to weaving the fabric, there are many hands in the process before the textiles even enter a garment factory or design studio. During the #HawaiiFiberProject, I researched every step of the supply chain for natural materials. The process for creating textiles would be similar for synthetic materials except for steps one and two (spinning and harvesting), and leathers and furs deserve a whole dedicated post, which I’ll put out another time. For the purpose of this project and showing the many layers and people involved, I stuck with wools and plant based materials.
I’ll walk you through each step, harvesting and gathering, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing. As we go, imagine the men, women and children around the world that work to make these textile take shape. To take a peek into the lives of those constructing clothing, you can learn more in the Fashion Revolution’s Garment Diaries series, where they researched the day to day lives of garment workers in Cambodia, Bangladesh and India. Textile mills and dye houses exist in these countries as well and this valuable research provides a snapshot of what their lives may be like as well.
Step 1 – Harvesting and Gathering
For each fiber this will vary slightly. In my project I looked at three different fibers, pineapple, waste materials, and locally grown wool. You can check out my post on pineapple fibers to learn more about the process of stripping the leaves and extracting the fibers. For the waste fabric I cut strips of waste materials that my mom had saved, it took several hours to cut up enough fabric for one tote bag. The locally grown wool is by far the most labor intensive fiber in this group. First the sheep need to be sheared, then the wool needs to be washed and carded until it’s ready for spinning.
This stage of textiles is often overlooked but it has a huge impact. Cotton, for example, requires a lot of water to grow, making it a controversial sustainable fiber. There are vast differences in the treatment of sheep between locally grown wool and mass produced wool. Oftentimes breaking down plant fibers is extremely labor intensive and requires a lot of difficult manual labor. With every fiber there are different concerns. I would encourage you to research the fibers in your clothing and thoroughly understand the process of growing and harvesting the fibers. Is there a history of forced child labor? How do pesticides affect the workers? Are the animals treated well?
Step 2 – Spinning
This stage is a bit simpler, and nowadays would mostly be done by machine. The biggest concerns I would have are in regards to labor conditions and working with the machines. Are the machines safe? And are the workers treated fairly?
Traditionally, hand spinning was done in the home and is still practiced as a fiber art. You can still find artisan made, hand knit or hand loomed products made with hand spun yarn, but since this is so time intensive, these products are a luxury item.
While in Hawaii I got to learn to spin with the Hawaii Handweavers’ Hui at the Hilo public library. It was fun to chat with the members and hear what they planned to do with their yarn. I was also excited to see three young girls learning to spin, loved to see that the younger generation had an interest in the craft. I have to say, it takes a lot of patience to get an even and fine thread. I didn’t quite get the technique down, but it was almost mesmerizing to keep the thread consistent. It seems like it could be useful as a meditative practice.
Step 3: Weaving
Weaving, like spinning, has been mechanized for large scale production. The introduction of the power loom in the late 1700’s revolutionized the textile industry and has led to the high tech industrial looms of today. In this stage the fiber is transformed into usable fabric, and depending on the type of weaving, this stage can determine the end use for the textile. For example a cotton can be woven into a heavy weight denim or a thinner cotton thread can be used to create a lightweight lawn fabric. Each type of textile would be used for completely difference products.
There are different levels of mechanized looms and since hand loomed products are very popular, some of the easier to use looms are used to make artisan products. Since these artisan made products can be sold at a higher price point, this allows women in rural areas use their cultural heritage to make textiles and get paid fair wages. There are also those who still use the original rustic looms of their ancestors to create truly stunning works of art, further increasing the value and earning potential.
Although both spinning and weaving have largely been mechanized, people still run these machines. The human element is not removed by the introduction of high powered machines, just lessened to some degree. The introduction of big machines can bring up new concerns, such as safety precautions.
Step 4: Dyeing and Finishing
Sometimes the dyeing process happens before weaving depending on the textile being created or the process at the mill, but it can be done after the textile has been woven as well. Dye houses work in batches, and it’s important to use fabric from the same dye lot for each production run. The fashion industry tends to identify colors via pantone numbers in an attempt to get everyone on the same page, but even though the dye house uses the same dye and same process, different dye lots can produce slightly different shades.
When working with factories overseas, they are often in charge of confirming colors and will usually provide swatches from different dye lots to ask for preference. As a production manager in the America you may have little to no interaction with the dye houses and textile mills. Many overseas factories handle the sourcing, dyeing and finishing, which means this part of the supply chain is left unseen.
Like I mentioned in my last post, dyeing is extremely water intensive, and depending on the dye, can be very harmful to those working in the factories and those living in nearby communities. What is the global environmental impact of using so much water? How can these communities recover from being exposed to toxic chemicals from dye run-off?
The last stage of a textile is finishing. This includes chemical washes to decrease flammability (which is mandatory for children’s clothing), mechanical shrinking, water resisting treatments and an array of techniques for altering fibers for better hand feel. Finishing has similar concerns to dyeing, water waste and chemical run-off. This part of the process can be virtually unseen in the finished product, but can be necessary for selling in any major retail store. For example chemical washes to decrease flammability are mandatory for all children’s wear. Is it good to expose workers and the children wearing the clothes to these chemicals?
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This all happens before a garment worker gets a hold of the fabric to start sewing the product, and I’m afraid it’s the most overlooked part of the garment industry. Granted, it can be challenging to find information on these stages of textile creation, many companies are not forthcoming about these processes. It never hurts to ask questions and express concern, consumer behavior can drive serious change in an industry.
Today, on Labor Day, I thought it was important to call attention to those workers around the world who contribute to the products we wear daily and who are overlooked and often unseen. Labor Day is traditionally about the social and economic achievements of American labor workers, but I think it’s also our responsibility to be aware of the laborers abroad who make our American consumed products. Who are the workers behind the goods that we buy at Labor Day sales? And what is our responsibility to them? Should we be fighting for their rights and safety in the work place? I think the answer is yes.
Learning Sakiori Weaving – A Look at Waste in the Fashion Industry
#HawaiiFiberProject Part II – Waste
Scraps, leftovers, rags, used clothes, our society trains us to see these as dirty, disgusting and unsuitable for new designs. Before moving to NYC I had an upcycling brand, mostly denim, but also painted tanks and one of a kind pieces. Selling my products at events I was like a broken record, telling people that the clothes were used but not dirty, repeating over and over again “yes, they’ve been washed”. This stigma is deeply rooted in our culture, but with recent advances in recycling materials and innovative design, a lot of progress has been made. Not to mention, sustainable fashion is becoming more mainstream and it’s losing the association with being a crunchy granola phenomenon. In Part II of the #HawaiiFiberProject, I take a deeper look into waste in the fashion industry and learn traditional Japanese rag weaving.
The Project
To bring attention to waste in the fashion industry, I was determined to make something completely out of scraps, and rags. I tapped my Mom’s weaving knowledge and settled on making a sakiori tote. Hours were spent cutting scrap fabric for the tote bag from garments that would otherwise be thrown in the back of a wardrobe or tossed in the garbage. Most households don’t have a closet full of scraps for projects like this, thankfully my Mom saves everything. It was like looking through an archive of moments in my life, I found jeans from summer camp, leftover fabric from the dress my mom made me for a father daughter dance, and beautiful vintage kimono. Settling on all black pieces of varying fabrics, I chose a blazer (using both it’s lining and body fabric) and a pair of cotton spandex pants for my weft.
After finding a tote with dimensions I liked, I eyeballed the size and used it as a template for my project, it was all done free hand. Back in 2011 when I lived in Japan for a year while pursuing my MA in Religion, I used to frequent fabric stores and buy yards of fabric that were unique, sometimes making up my own patterns for dresses and skirts. Sewing a garment from a store bought pattern always felt rigid to me, I’ve never been great at following directions. Creating my own patterns meant everything fit me perfectly, and I could make tweaks that suited my own aesthetic vision.
I used this method when creating the sakiori tote bag too, and I sewed everything by hand because it made more sense to me. Adding a pocket inside for convenience and taking some fabric from the blazer I cut up for the handles, everything came together piece by piece. I might be biased, but I think the outcome looks pretty good. Hopefully the used textiles don’t make it look like low quality work or dirty fabric. Granted I made some mistakes, the lining is a bit small and I should have made the bag a couple inches longer to fit my laptop better. I’ll probably add some type of closure at the top since it opens up too easily. All that considered though, I’m happy with it, and I’m proud to own something that I made completely from waste materials, and made completely by hand.
The Takeaway
It would be an interesting exercise to challenge everyone in a America to make something completely from scratch, to see the time and thought that goes into it. Asking them to make it out of recycled materials would be even more fun. I spent almost a solid week and a half to make my sakiori tote bag, and I even cheated a little with the warp threads, they just happened to be available in my Mom’s weaving studio. Processing the pineapple fibers took a couple days, cutting up the waste fabric took about a day, setting up the loom was two days, weaving the textile was three days, sewing the bag was another three days, all in all that’s 12 days. Granted, a more experienced weaver and seamstress would be faster, my guess is that it would take a week. This exercise sure worked on me. I will never throw away this bag. I will repair or repurpose it before discarding. Maybe if others had the same hands-on experience with a piece of clothing they would rethink their wasteful fast fashion habits?
As garment manufacturing moves farther and farther away from the home, clothing has become increasingly disposable in the mind of the American consumer. When women were in the home making textiles and garments for their family, no one would have thought of throwing away a shirt for losing a button or getting a small rip, now we throw away clothing just because it isn’t the right color, or you just plain get bored of it. This trend goes beyond fashion, throwaway culture spreads through all consumer goods. In my view, the problem is two-fold 1) We don’t have an appreciation for the work it takes to make beautiful and long lasting textiles and clothing 2) We need more innovative ways of making closed loop product life-cycles and breaking the take make waste model.
Japan has a strong textile traditions and is a great comparison to America’s disposable fashion culture. Sakiori weaving, sometimes called rag weaving, and mended textiles were abundant in 19th century Japan. The country has a long history of using scrap fabrics to make new textiles and fixing worn textiles. That’s not to say that fast fashion hasn’t penetrated their culture, but as a result, there is a higher respect and appreciation for hand woven, hand made, and overall well made clothing. In my experience, Americans don’t have the same attachment to their textile heritage, possibly playing a role in their preference towards cheap and disposable pieces. Craft hobbies like quilting, knitting and crocheting are discarded as pastimes for women at home, and not beautiful artisanship.
Very few people in America are taught to sew, because of this, the simple task of sewing on a button or fixing a hole in your shirt becomes a reason for discarding a garment. Also ignorance always breeds problems. I’ve met several people that think clothing is made by machines and don’t consider the human behind the sewing machine. This makes it easier to throw away clothes when you think no one is working hard to produce it for your consumption.
We’ve discussed the lack of attachment to the physical product and lack of empathy for those producing them, now let’s talk about waste itself. We sure do produce a large amount of fabric waste every year, 15 million tons to be exact. The amount of waste created from the fashion industry is astonishing, and the implications for the environment are terrifying. With athleisure trending, synthetic non-recyclable garments like spandex black leggings are in landfills everywhere. Most fashion businesses operate on the take make waste linear model, but some are slowly shifting towards a more circular product lifecycle, like cradle to cradle. But by closing the loop and using all recyclable or biodegradable materials, hopefully the fashion industry can be demoted from being the 2nd most polluting industry.
Many brands have jumped on the bandwagon to promote waste reduction solutions like taking in old garments and offering discounts in return. Eileen Fisher is a great champion of this effort with their Green Eileen program, taking in old pieces and restoring them, making one of a kind pieces for their Green Eileen line. On the other side there’s H&M, who has a similar program, except it isn’t explicitly clear what they’re doing with the used clothing once they’ve been donated. Furthermore, their business creates so much waste that these recycling programs can hardly reverse the environmental harm they’re created. This article by Lucy Siegle gives a great in depth explanation of how this is counter intuitive.
In addition to these types of recycling programs, product innovation is needed. Browsing the Cradle to Cradle website you can see the 23 Fashion and Textile products that are certified. This is a start, but there is a lot to be desired when it comes to attractive design. Although this seems to be the trend in sustainable and ethical fashion. First comes the basics and purely utilitarian products, then slowly, others will start to emerge with beautiful and engaging design. When starting my career in the sustainable fashion world, there weren’t many high-end fashion companies paying attention to environmental concerns. Now brands are behind the curve if they’re not finding ways to work this into their brand. I look forward to increasing innovations in waste management within the global fashion supply chain, hopefully in a couple years I can write an update on how far we’ve come.
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I would love if this article inspires you to make a garment or textile from scratch to reconnect with the process. If you do, please share your creations with me. It would also be wonderful to brainstorm and discuss strategies to close the loop of the product lifecycle. Feel free to leave a comment below with any ideas.
Introducing the #HawaiiFiberProject
I’m back home in Hawai’i for about three weeks and am unbelievably excited about the #HawaiiFiberProject. There are three parts to the project, sakiori weaving (recycling old textiles), alternative fiber production (mainly pineapple and industrial hemp), and natural dyeing. During my time back on the island I aim to get to the roots of fiber and textile production, with the goal of accompanying each project with deeper research into how these core elements extend into the larger fashion industry.
I may pick up some other projects depending on what I can squeeze in. I would do infinite projects if I could, but I am supposedly on vacation, so I will be seeing friends and family, going to the beach, and just plain relaxing from time to time as well.
I chose these topics because they were projects that I can do with my Mom, who’s a textile artist, and also because I had some cool pieces in mind that I really wanted to make. I’ve never woven before, or made pineapple fibers, so there will be a big learning curve. I already started extracting pineapple fibers and setting up the loom for weaving, so far my hands are kind of sore and each step has been tedious and time consuming, but it’s very satisfying to create something with my own hands. My Mom is also pretty entertained by watching me, she keeps chuckling in the background.
These new research posts will be the start of a new chapter for Ethical Fashion Nerd, where I will produce more in-depth essays in addition to my regular journal posts. The nerd in me is so thrilled and can’t wait to get started.
To see more of the day to day process, I’ll be posting regularly on social media (mainly Instagram) about the #HawaiiFiberProject, follow along @ethicalfashnerd.