This post at Grechen's Closet got me thinking, particularly after I listened to a discussion about forced labor in the modern world on the radio yesterday. There's a lot of talk these days about transparency about where things come from, and improving labor practices in countries where factories are located, whether you're talking about clothes for Walmart or phones for Apple. But I keep wondering whether it's possible to reform the system we have without completely changing it (which might be better in the long run, admittedly). Is the new 'hipster' call for less consumption really enough to reform the clothing industry? Or would we have to completely rethink our relationship to consumer goods, the industrial supply chain, and how millions of people run their lives?

In the post Grechen makes several points that I, at least initially, disagree with. (And to be clear, this is not a 'slog on Grechen' post; I read her blog and she seems like a nice, earnest person.)

First off, I'm a size 14/16, which means that I'm sized out of almost all of the sustainable brands she often mentions. If these were the only options to choose from, I literally could not find clothes to fit me. And I am not the biggest person on the planet; in fact, I'm perfectly average if you believe that oft-quoted stat about size 14 being the most common size of American women. Likewise, my DH is 6'6" and a large guy; I'm glad that there are brands that make clothes that fit us, at a pretty reasonable price. I remember how hard it was for my grandmother to find plus-sized clothes when I was a kid, and they were more expensive, too. If you add the 'must be organic cotton, designed in the US and sustainable' you make things almost impossible to find. (And yes, at some point, time spent searching for/choosing the items that you wear is a resource, and most people only have so much time to dedicate to these issues.)

On the topic of fabrics, I find that synthetics last a lot longer than natural fibers. I'm not saying that they always feel the nicest on the skin, but that's the whole reason they were invented, after all, to perform better than natural fibers. The 100% cotton t-shirts of my childhood weren't the most comfortable things either. As far as environmental impact goes, how do we tell which is worse - polyester recycled from another plastic which already exists? Bamboo rayon made from bamboo fibers that grow fast and fix carbon dioxide? Cotton that uses tons of water that could be used to grow food crops but is recyclable?

Buying less: if we all stopped shopping and wore what we have, would that work? What happens when things wear out? I find that items last in my closet 3-5 years. If I kept things longer that were strictly wearable but looking pretty worn, I might make it 5-7 years. But I'm not going to make it decades and decades with most items. So people are going to need clothes, and they have to come from somewhere. In addition, the clothing industry, and the associated marketing, sales, stores, etc. are big employers of people. If we cut back, which might be wisest long-term, what effects would that have?

OK, that is long and I am probably rambling and cranky, but I'd be interested in what other people think. Can we reform the system with individual choices, or do we need to completely remake the system?