Sustainable Fashion & Textiles
Did you know that 4/5th’s of Scotland’s carbon emissions are caused by the heat and energy required to grow, make, process, transport and provide goods and materials? (ZWS, 2021).
In Scotland, at least 118,000 tonnes of clothes and 25,000 tonnes of shoes and bags are bought every single year. Clothing production has approximately doubled worldwide between 2000 and 2015, with consumption of new clothing estimated to be higher in the UK than any other European country.
The total footprint of clothing in use in the UK, including global and territorial emissions, was 26.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2016. Once clothes are in use, impacts on the environment and our climate from washing are high too. The total water footprint of clothing in active use in the UK in 2016, including the water consumed overseas to make our clothes, was 8 billion m³ of water. That’s crazy!
How can I help?
Team SK are currently looking for a volunteer who would be happy to lead our Sustainable Fashion and Textiles activity. We currently have our Stitch to Enrich group which runs weekly, as well as ad hoc sewing and textiles workshops. We also have our Swap Shop Kirrie Facebook group. We would love to develop this area further with the support of local volunteers. If you are interested, contact us at sustainablekirriemuir@gmail.com for a chat!
Meanwhile at Southmuir Primary School…
In May 2021, we teamed up with Southmuir Primary School to run a Sustainable Fashion Challenge. More than 150 pupils were challenged to upcycle a t-shirt into something new, colourful and unique in honour of the wonderful nature all around us in Kirriemuir. We are super excited to see and share the results with you, and we would like to challenge you to get upcycling your clothes at home too! Check out our super easy YouTube video tutorials on tie dyeing, fabric painting and creating an embellishment.
Take a look at our Fashion Show video ———»
Get in Touch
Together we can make good choices and live better, join Sustainable Kirriemuir!
If you would like to know more about what we are doing please get in touch. We are always looking for new members to join our organisation. If you have particular knowledge around climate change issues, or growing, making and mending skills you’d like to share, or just want to know more, we want to hear from you. Everyone is welcome, together we can make a difference.