AUDIO: Producing Sustainable Apparel from the Start

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sustainable Apparel
  • Runtime: 2:21
  • Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

BYLINE:  Payton Major/Cronkite News 


HOST INTRO: 

Did you know it takes eighteen-hundred gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans? The fashion industry has some work to do when it comes to being eco-friendly… but Cronkite News’s Payton Major found a few places in Arizona that are making clothes sustainably.

———– 

*sewing machine*

AN INDUSTRIAL SEWING MACHINE STITCHES FABRICS IN A TEMPE WAREHOUSE. THIS IS PART OF ONE BUSINESS IN 

ARIZONA THAT IS MAKING WAVES IN THE SUSTAINABLE FASHION INDUSTRY… ANGELA JOHNSON, THE CO-FOUNDER OF FABRIC, GUIDES SMALL BUSINESSES TO CREATE ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS FROM THE START.

< ANGELA JOHNSON,CO-FOUNDER OF FABRIC/runs :10 >

“Fashion is the second most polluting industry on the planet… it’s second to the oil industry and probably catching up very fast and so it’s ready to be, you know, disrupted.”

FABRIC’S NEW KORNIT PRESTO PRINTER ALLOWS THEM TO CREATE WATER-FREE DESIGNS WITH LESS LABOR THAN TRADITIONAL CLOTHING PRODUCTION. 

*snip sound*

ANOTHER MACHINE ALLOWS THEM TO CUSTOMIZE THE SHAPE OF FABRICS. *snip* ALL THIS MEANS THEY CONTROL WHERE THEIR PRODUCT IS COMING FROM WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES OF VENDORS.  

< ANGELA ZDRALE, FOUNDER OF LIVTALL/runs :15  >

“The good news is, is that fashion as a whole, the whole industry has had a wake up call. 

THAT’S ANGELA ZDRALE, THE FOUNDER OF LIVTALL. 

So there’s more and more options… they’re really being more conscious in how they’re actually making the fabrics… so then the end product is also more sustainable.”

ZDRALE SAYS SHE DISCOVERED AT A YOUNG AGE THAT THE FASHION INDUSTRY DIDN’T HAVE GOOD OPTIONS FOR ANYONE WITH A HEIGHT OVER SIX FEET… SO SHE BEGAN MAKING CLOTHING THAT SUPPORTED TALL WOMEN. 

< ANGELA ZDRALE, FOUNDER OF LIVTALL/runs :11  >

0:41:44 “I knew what all the trends were, and I wanted to wear them, and they did not come in my size. And at that time, like if it wasn’t at the mall, it didn’t exist for you, sorry, that’s it.”0:41:55

ZDRALE LAUNCHED LIVTALL LAST YEAR. SHE SAYS SHE GLADLY WORKS SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING HER CLOTHES.

THE ARIZONA SUSTAINABLE APPAREL ASSOCIATION IS ALSO LEADING THIS FASHION EFFORT. THE ORGANIZATION’S PRESIDENT, STELLA ABRIL, SAYS PEOPLE NEED WATCH OUT FOR  GREENWASHING WHICH STILL EXISTS IN THE INDUSTRY…

<sot – STELLA ABRIL,PRESIDENT OF ARIZONA SUSTAINABLE APPAREL ASSOCIATION/ runs :11 >

“Companies are stating that they have sustainable practices, that they are transparent, have traceability… it’s just a statement… not all of us have the time to sit here and research everything we purchase.”

THE ARIZONA SUSTAINABLE APPAREL ASSOCIATION ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO KNOW  WHERE THEIR PURCHASES COME  FROM. AND TO REMEMBER THAT SUSTAINABILITY ISN’T LIMITED TO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTS, BUT ALSO ETHICS, WORKPLACE CONDITIONS AND FAIR WAGES.

PAYTON MAJOR, CRONKITE NEWS.

HOST OUTRO: 

FABRIC hosts its annual eco-fashion week starting April fifteenth. The week includes a RE-fabricate fashion show, featuring apparel made with donated denim scraps.