Dark Side of Fashion Sustainability with Tara King-Haagen

By Patricia Frischer

Tara King-Haagen was the invited guest to the weekly Compassionate Art Conversations at the end of November. This is organized by Kira Carillo Corser and Tara is not only the Compassionate Arts marketing director but also a jewelry and sustainable artist for EarthTribe.  These are notes from the lecture.  

Why do you shop? For some it is retail therapy or recreation. For others, it is self expression. Maybe you just have the need to cover your body and stay warm.  But we could all become more aware of where our fashions originate. 

Sustainable to me could mean not using anything endangered and not exploitive. But there is a fine line that can blur between saving the animals and saving the environment. There is a lot of unfairness in the fashion industry. What makes one t-shirt worth $300 and another $3? We know branding is a big part of that dynamic.  

Sustainable fashion can be more expensive as research and new processes are developed . But when we support sustainable fashion and it becomes the norm, prices will come down.

So a few tips to make yourself more aware:

•  Always recycle clothes. Don’t throw them away as they will just end in a land fill. 
• Look for ways to upcycled clothes which makes them creative and  original.
• Ignore fashion trends which encourage you to buy over and over. That is a marketing ploy.
• Look for fashion that suits you, color, styles, shapes. 
• If you buy something, get rid of something out of your closet.
• When you buy,  look for original creative pieces that will last and about which you feel passionate.

·       Summing up: Buy less, choose well, make it last

Always recycle clothes. Don’t throw them away as they will just end in a land fill. 

Mother Nature knows best!

Find exceptional fashion and invest in fewer pieces. 

Research the sources of your clothes before you buy them.

Pineapples can be made into shoes.

Kelp can make faux furs.