The Blog Action Day theme for 2009 is climate change. Today bloggers around the world are writing about climate change and how it relates to their readers.
What does men’s underwear have to do with climate change? Plenty. The apparel industry in general has a significant impact on the environment, but thanks to innovative designers and forward-thinking manufacturers, we’re making progress in reducing the impact the industry makes on the planet. Style, comfort and climate can work together better than you think.
Underwear makers are beginning to use environmentally friendly fibers like organic cotton and bamboo in their men’s underwear lines. As materials go, bamboo has a few advantages: it’s extremely breathable and comfortable but it’s also fast-growing and renewable.
Andrew Christian Inc. uses bamboo fiber in some of their products. They also have clever uses for leftover fabric in their factory.
“When our fabric is cut in the factory, instead of simply throwing the scraps away, they are used as rags to clean or dry hands,” said Cathy Bluem of Andrew Christian Inc. This way, the company uses significantly fewer paper towels and makes good use of something that would otherwise be thrown away.
American Apparel underwear is made in a factory that uses solar power, recycles boxes, and subsidizes bus transportation of the factory employees. They also use underwear templates designed to make use of fabric that would otherwise be wasted.
When underwear makers truly understand the impact they can have on the environment, they quickly see the benefit of adopting more sustainable practices. Often it results in a better product.
“Our Modal fabric is great because it is sourced exclusively from sustainable beech tree plantations rather than cotton plantations in areas that have been land cleared of forests,” said Daniel Miljkovic, co-founder of Obviously for Men underwear.
Seeing that everything is connected, Obviously for Men takes their fabric choices as seriously as they do their anatomically correct designs.
“Modal material boasts a significant reduction in water usage compared to other popular underwear fibres such as cotton. To produce 1,000 kilograms of modal requires 500 litres of water while the same weight of cotton requires 6,000 litres of water. Greater water usage leads to a drier environment, which means less vegetation grows, the land becomes less fertile and is more prone to forest fires, etc.” And Australia, like California, knows forest fire season all too well.
For more information on climate change, check out the Web sites of Blog ActionDay 2009 partners such as The Nature Conservancy, YoPolitico.org and the National Wildlife Federation.