LOVE OUR LANDS

The U.N. day for Desertification and Drought happened this week, on June 17th. Not something that is likely to fill up your news feeds like Earth Day might, however it highlights an important issue for the health of the planet, which is caused largely by humanity’s relentless production and consumption. And that includes, yes, fashion production.

As populations, consumption and cities grow, so too does the amount of land needed to meet these needs. This means that land is being converted and degraded at unsustainable rates, damaging ecosystems and biodiversity.

The process of making clothes from growing fibres, to processing and production use resources like energy and water (2.5k litres for one cotton tee!), degrade land, and contribute heavily to climate change - which in turn also degrades land even more.

As with most issues caused by fashion production, buying less and buying stuff made to last is one of the biggest ways you can lessen your impact. So too is buying products which are produced in a way to minimise environmental impact on the land, on PARO STORE this could be choosing brands that are:

• CIRCULAR - designed in a circular system, reducing the need to make new materials
• ORGANIC - works in harmony with nature, reducing chemical use, and rotating crops to support biodiversity
• VEGAN - so not contributing to the heavy impact that animal agriculture has on land
• MANAGE RESOURCES - controlling the use of earth's resources used and emissions put out during production

Today we’re highlighting some of the brands on PARO who MANAGE RESOURCES in production - shown on the site by the R icon. There are many different ways our brands do this, like minimizing the use of water, energy and fabric, using renewable sources, managing both water and air emissions, and implementing carbon offsetting.

Left: EA WILLIAMS from the Earth Issue, Right: AEDON

 EA WILLIAMS made-to-order process ensures only garments that have been ordered are produced, avoiding any unnecessary impact. Her suppliers - Hemp Store and Green Fibres - use renewable energy sources, and in her natural, hand dying process Eleanor reuses water to ensure minimal waste of this precious resource. Shop EA WILLIAMS collection here  

 Left: PAT GUZIK, Right: ON GOOD AUTHORITY

PAT GUZIK applies unique pattern cutting techniques to her garments to ensure minimal waste. Up to 15% of a fabric can be wasted during the cutting process, so saving this waste means more clothes can be made for every kilo of fibre produced, reducing the strain on the land to grow. Pat also uses offcuts and leftover fabric to create new products - like clothing and hair scrunchies - under her RELOVE line. Shop the full the PAT GUZIK collection here.

ON GOOD AUTHORITY jackets are made from 56% Greenlon® Re a recycled nylon which significantly reduces resource use; an energy saving of  8.5%, a waste water saving of 84% and a gas generation saving of 77%. They have been working hard to optimize their production and will be launching in 2021 with fabric made from 100% rPET (recycled post consumer plastic bottles), that  is also 100% recyclable, which will massively reduce their dependence on non-renewable resources, and on the land. Shop the first release from ON GOOD AUTHORITY here

You can find the full collection of brands who MANAGE RESOURCES during their production here.