Clothing has been a perpetual companion on humanity’s journey since its emergence as an intelligent species on Earth. From the beginning of time, clothing has been a reflection of culture, expression, and the historical moment of each human population. Long ago, the need for clothing ceased to be solely about protecting the body from the elements, predators, and enemies, and became part of the identity, idiosyncrasy, and personal expression of each individual. It is no wonder that the fashion industry has remained one of the most manufacturing-intensive sectors in the world throughout history and will always be profitable because it is based on a basic need.
However, with its constant explosion and expansion from the industrial revolution to the present day, the fashion industry has, in turn, become a reflection of humanity’s great weakness for unbridled and careless consumption. In order to inform about the implications of fashion today, we share with you an infographic highlighting some crucial points found in the report “A New Textiles Economy” by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ninety percent of industrial textile waste is incinerated or simply dumped in landfills, where it could take decades to degrade. Each year, the fashion industry uses 215 trillion liters of water.
In Latin America alone, fifty-nine thousand tons of textile waste are sent to Chile each year, and of those, 39,000 tons are dumped in landfills or vacant lots in the Atacama Desert, causing unimaginable harm to the environment.
Another 10,000 tons of textile waste, on the other hand, are sold per year in the same territory, generating an informal market for fabrics that mainly consists of patchwork. These pieces, worth mentioning, are the ones that G-Darma acquires in Colombia in patchwork stores, incorporating them into our environmental sustainability processes.
Today, continuing with this “trend,” we speak of ultra fast fashion, an ultra-fast fashion model represented by emerging companies that are wasteful and polluting, with little or no interest in environmental conservation and instead prioritizing excessive production and achieving the highest profits in the shortest possible time, at any cost.
This type of production, focused on ultra-fast consumption, generates, as a by-product, a large amount of fabric that never reaches the market.
All of the above, not to mention the social impact and violation of fundamental rights of women and children in developing or low-income countries, who are usually the ones manufacturing these clothes under precarious labor conditions or end up being direct recipients of the waste that pollutes our air, soil, and water. Sometimes, both.
G-Darma believes in the circular economy. It was with that philosophy that we were born into this world, and we defend it like a cornered tiger. That is why we contribute to our environment by finding fabrics with printing defects or textile production leftovers and using them as raw materials for our products.
Our shirts are made only from very small pieces of fabric, which come from the same scraps that make up the informal market that we talked about before. Our process mainly consists of joining and mixing different of these small pieces of fabric based on contrasts, colors or shapes, to create unique and exclusive shirts. With that, we create sustainable clothing lines produced entirely in Colombia.
Our work benefits families from middle and lower classes, and we make a small contribution to the conservation of our oceans, air, and soil, as well as generating employment and development for those who need it most.
LAAMS
74 Orchard St
New York, NY
GG's Social Club
1339 Dekalb Ave,
Brooklyn, New York.
Wynwood Drive
2301 NW 2nd Ave.,
Wynwood, Miami.
Boardwalk Vintage
1601 Ocean Front Walk
SW Venice, California, LA.
DEN•I•ZEN Fire Island Pines
36 Fire Island Pines Blvd. Unit A
Fire Island Pines, New York
HYPERCLASH
926 Baca Street, #1
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Get the latest updates of our site, special sales and more, On your mailbox!
© GOODARMA 2023
