Are you Aware of what you Wear?

Here are some disturbing facts:

25% of the world’s insecticide is used in growing cotton.

10,000 litres of water are needed to grow the cotton for a single pair of jeans!

I would not describe myself at a tree hugger or a rabid Greenie but I do find these statistics disturbing. Insecticide kills bees and we know they are under threat and without bees we will have very serious problems in food production. Water? In my opinion water is the gold of the future. In fact it is already the gold of the present.

So what can I do? How can I translate my concern into action? Recycle my clothes. Those jeans that took 10,000 litres of water to be produced can go on to someone else through the local charity shop. Every spring  I go through my wardrobe and find out the things that I have not worn or know I am unlikely to wear and take them to my local Care and Share store where they can be sold at a reasonable price and raise money to support good causes that will help others who are in need.

Recently I discovered another interesting and innovative way clothing is being recycled. I was in London and went for a Sunday lunch at my cousin’s. There I saw a gentleman with a very interesting jacket: khaki with patterned material on the collar and lapel and edges of the pockets. It really made the jacket look lively and certainly got my attention. Over lunch I heard about where this jacket had come from.

AWEAR!

I learned that Awear was created by Ashley Dobbs, who is an award winning photographer, and eco-developer. He was bored with the men’s clothing that he could find in stores and so he started to add some recycled fabrics to his jackets and other clothes. People noticed and wanted  to know where they could get clothes like this. He also found that people seemed more willing to engage in conversations with him when he was wearing these clothes.  This was the start of Awear. It started as a Cornish cottage industry and is expanding from there.  Ashley’s  aim is to encourage the recycling of clothing as well as of the usual recycling pop bottles and soda cans.

I approached Ashley to ask if Awear could liven up the points on my Dressage tailcoat. Traditionally the points are a mustard yellow. This is my least favorite color. My tailcoat came with  points that are  removable. However I was not all that happy with the fabrics that the manufacturer had chosen.  This is where Awear came to my rescue. Here is a photo of the reversible points after rejuvenation with Awear fabrics.

And here is what it looks like on the tailcoat.

As you can see this is not a HUGE statement. But it is a subtle and fun way to bring a bit of color into the dressage uniform.  And I have different patterns to choose from depending on my mood for the day.  Here is a photo from a recent competition.

 You can see the colorful points but it is not distracting. Just a little statement of individuality.  And since this is fabric that has been recycled from other clothing or from a charity shop it is also an eco-friendly way to liven up my tailcoat.

For more information on Awear you can go to their website : http://awear.co/  where you can see how the clothing is unique and fun.

* I was not paid for this post on Awear; it is my own valid and honest opinion with information of my own or appropriately sourced.”