Category Archives: statistics

Sew 309 – Mr Darcy in background

Nearly a year ago, I wrote this career-change summary: Jane Milburn is an agricultural scientist by training and an issues-based communications consultant by practice. Sew it Again is a journey into creativity, empowerment, thrift, sustainability, ecological unhealth and wellbeing – woven with threads of childhood, professional expertise, networks and nature. During 2014, Jane is making a daily practice of upcycling garments from her own and others’ wardrobes as a way of sharing a creative way of dressing.

The decision to sew a fresh seam in life coincided with three children making their own way in the world (sad but good too, freeing up space and time) doing postgraduate study (Grad Cert Australian Rural Leadership) and the loss of my youngest brother Paul in an accident (a reality check about the finite nature of life).

So here I am, sewing every day – on one hand as a protest against the fast-fashion churnover of clothing that is leading to waste and exploitation of natural resources and people – and on the other hand demonstrating a creative way to bring home-sewing into the 21st century. This Sew it Again year is only possible thanks to my lifetime partner, chief backer and supporter Mr Darcy, my husband. (See our wedding photo right). Continue reading →

Sew 307 – Most clothes now synthetic

My home city of Brisbane, Queensland, is in the final stages of planning to host the largest ever gathering of world leaders in Australia’s history with The G20. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said this year’s focus will be on building a stronger world economy – because economic growth means more jobs, higher living standards etc.

This is juxtaposed against the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which says human influence on the climate system is clear and growing, with impacts observed on all continents. The latest report says continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of widespread and profound impacts affecting all levels of society and the natural world.

Climate change is not on the G20 agenda. Despite the fact that there’s a link between continued economic growth (read consumption) and emission of greenhouse gases, particularly in Australia where coal is our second-largest export earner and underpins our economy. Continue reading →

Sew 298 – Change clothes to wear

Am I imagining there is too much clothing in the world? We (in the west) have bulging wardrobes already and the shops are full of new season temptations, with slightly different prints, shapes and styles from the last.

People in the business of selling more do not want to hear talk of reduced consumption. They are selling newer, better, brighter, shinier, prettier. The recent opening of a Forever 21 fast-fashion store in Brisbane even made the Nine News nightly bulletin and Brisbane Times newspaper. As the story goes, it is all about ‘something new, something fresh every day’.

I am adopting an alternative approach to something fresh everyday. The Sew it Again project is posting something fresh every day by upcycling clothing that already exists, rather than buying new. It is a social-change project, based on the premise that the ‘greenest’ clothing is that which already exists in the world. By upcycling garments from our own and others wardrobes, we can have something ‘new’ created from reject or unworn garments. Continue reading →

Sew 274 – Three-quarters sewn-up

One of the interesting things about a 365-day project is that you are conscious of each passing day – and October means my Sew it Again year is three-quarters complete.

The six key learnings so far are:

Two-thirds of clothing today is made of synthetic fibres, which are derived from petroleum. The other third is natural fibres (mainly cotton, but also wool, linen, silk)

We each consume 80 percent more clothing than we did two-decades ago – annual individual consumption now 11kg per person compared with 7kg per person in 1992

Based on UK statistics, nearly one-third of waste clothing ends up in landfill if it doesn’t become part of the global used-clothing trade or turned into rags Continue reading →

Sew 244 – Year is two-thirds stitched!

At the beginning of 2014, I set a big goal to upcycle every day this year in an eco-social project demonstrating creative ways to reuse and refashion existing clothing instead of buying new.

Postgraduate study last year affirmed my impression that textile consumption was accelerating at an unsustainable rate, with UN Food and Agriculture Organization figures indicating annual per person usage rose from 7kg in 1992 to 11kg in 2010 – and most of the increase was in synthetic fibres made from petroleum.

There are 7 billion people in the world to feed and clothe, yet a United Kingdom report indicates nearly one-third of clothing ends up in landfill. When I considered that waste of resources and what I, as one little person living in Australia could do to make a difference, I felt compelled to act. Continue reading →

Sew 232 – Cheap disposable clothing, not

Some clothing has become so cheap and available in the 21st century that it is effectively disposable, with most items worn only once or twice before being discarded.

This cheap fast fashion, like cheap fast food, satisfies an immediate need to dress for the day – but the true social, ethical and ecological impact is not yet understood.

We know the world wastes about one-third of the food it produces and we are only beginning to grapple with clothing and textile waste.

FAO data on fibre apparel use shows we now consume clothing at three times the rate we did two decades ago. Since 1992, global population has increased by 25 percent and textile consumption by 80 percent. In 1992, we each used 7kg and that increased to 11kg per person by 2010 – with most of the increase being synthetic fibres, derived from petroleum. Synthetic fibres that are cheap, readily available, ultimately unsatisfying and disposable. Continue reading →

Sew 217 – Shift thinking on textile waste

The funny thing about this Sew it Again project in which I set out to reduce my clothing stockpile is that I seem to be accumulating more! There is so much surplus clothing in the world, that people either give it away, donate to charities or dump it to reduce the burden it has become.

Because I see waste clothing as a resource, I’m spending this year coming up with ways individuals can reuse it and sharing them on this blog, at workshops and talks. Around the world, there are other thrifty, resource-savvy people reusing waste clothing too – just google upcycling or refashion. We are part of a DIY refashion revolution exploring more sustainable, mindful and resourceful ways of living.

When I reflect on progress to date, I’m excited that local government authorities are inviting me to demonstrate what can be done with old clothing – via the t-shirts reworked workshop last Sunday at Redcliffe City Council’s What’s Cooking in the Gardens event, and a similar activity planned for Brisbane City Council’s Green Heart Fair at Carindale on October 12. Continue reading →

Sew 216 – Reusing waste creatively

Clothing is third on the list of wasteful consumption after food and credit interest, according to The Australia Institute.

A TAI 2005 research paper says that while we ostensibly buy goods and services to meet needs, social and economic systems now depend on growing levels of consumer spending unconnected with any needs.

It says: “Consumer spending is everywhere praised as being ‘good for the economy’; indeed, in the long term, it is only consumer spending that keeps the economy growing, and economic growth is almost universally believed to be the most important contributor to national and personal well-being (Hamilton 2003). As a consequence, economic growth has become a dominant objective in itself, irrespective of the extent to which it contributes to improving social well-being.” Continue reading →

Sew 213 – Op shops are tops

My sister Joanne, right, and I were raised by a mother who made clothing for herself and for us, in the time before sweatshops and cheap fast fashion. As a child, I remember being told not to say anything if we saw our young neighbours wearing our cast-offs.

Clothing is still passed on through social and family networks, to maximise use of garments and the fabrics from which they were made. Thrifty values are ingrained, so Jo and I still share unworn clothing before it is donated to opportunity shops, turned into rags or dumped.

These day clothing swaps and swish parties are happening things and I am an avid supporter of op shops – both buying from and donating to.

Op shops operate with a lot of wonderful volunteer support, play an important role in helping those in need and keeping textiles out of landfill through reuse and recycling. Continue reading →