22.04.2021
written by Melody Flumendorf
photography Alina Betge
By now, we produced enough clothes worldwide for everyone. The classic white shirt, the flower dress, the summer sandal- all of them are in this world already, ready for you to wear. But our appetite for brand new clothes is still big:
Around 400 billion square meters of textiles are produced every year. 60 billion square meters never make it to the customers; they end up on the cutting room floor. Each year over 80 billion pieces of clothing are produced worldwide, and after a short time, three out of four garments will end up in landfills or be incinerated. Only a quarter will be recycled. One of the reasons for this low number: only one per cent of collected clothing can be used as recycled fibres. Yes, we were also shocked.
Producing that sassy dress and those fancy trousers use up a lot of resources. First, there’s water consumption: 2 billion pairs of jeans are produced every year, and a typical pair takes 7,000 litres of water to produce. Do smaller items fare better? Well, it takes 2,700 litres of water to make a T-Shirt – that’s the amount of water an average person drinks in 900 days!
Then there’s the dyeing process: 1.7 million tonnes of various chemicals are used; Many of them are hazardous chemicals like PFCs that permanently change our environment. Especially the denim industry is one of the most polluting in the world. The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply. Few of us would say that is necessary.
The amount we buy has also changed: In 1991, the average American bought 34 items of clothing each year. By 2007, tat number went up to 67. That’s a new piece of clothing every four to five days!
Germany isn’t too far behind: An estimated one ton of garments end up on the landfill each year. Every German throws away 4.7 kilograms of clothes. And 40% of the clothes we own are rarely or never worn.
At Vinokilo, we want to do our bit to help you stand against mindless consumption. That’s why we don’t have crazy sales that devaluate the items but rather price all products fairly. And let’s be honest: most deals just exist to make you buy something you don’t need. That means you don’t save money but spend more.
We also want to give your clothes a longer life. Do you also have a favourite item that you wore so often it darts to show? On our social media, we constantly educate our community on reusing, repurposing and upcycling to save a garment. We love a good hack- if you have one, share it with us!
We say yes! Buying a great pair of shoes or slipping into a well-designed leather jacket is one of life’s little pleasures – and there’s no need to give that up. Here are two tips on how
to shop better:
Do you want to know more? Follow us on Instagram– we have some surprises in store!
Here at Vinokilo, we constantly ask one question: How can we help people look brilliantly individual whilst saving the planet? So when Ecover, the brand that creates vegan, cruelty- free, plant-based cleaning products, called our founder Robin and asked if we are up for a collaboration, all we could say was, "Hell yes!"
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