G Is for Green | Family-Friendly Ways to Save the Planet The Life Span of a T-shirt A T-shirt Is No Simple Thing Written by Esty Environmental Partners as featured on www.hellogreentomorrow.com


Most of us buy products without thinking about where they are from. But our scientist and environmentally conscious consumer friends do. Environmental impacts occur at many points during a product’s life: when the raw material is extracted and processed, when the item is shipped to the store, when it’s used by the consumer and, ultimately, when it is disposed of.


For example, a T-shirt, it turns out, is no simple thing. Before it lands on your back, it jumps around the world. The price of a T-shirt may be low, but we are paying for the shirt in ways that harm the environment and our health. The life of a cotton T-shirt could begin in China, Kenya, Egypt, the United States or Uzbekistan. Once harvested, raw cotton lint is likely sent to areas with low labor costs, such as Asia or Latin America, to be spun into yarn, knitted, sewn and dyed. The shirt is then shipped to markets


around the world. That means that if you’ve bought a T-shirt in London, it could have been grown in Texas, manufactured in China, and shipped to a European distribution center before arriving in your bag. Of course, after you purchase it, you will wash and dry it many times. Hot water for washing and energy for drying have signifi cant environmental impacts. The lifecycle of the T-shirt ends when you throw it away, and likely it ends in a landfi ll.


The most serious impacts in the lifecycle of a T-shirt are growing the cotton and washing and drying during ownership. Despite occupying only 3 percent of the world’s land area, cotton uses more pesticides than any other crop, as well as 25 percent of the world’s insecticides — many of which are known carcinogens. Some studies show that home washing and drying of T-shirts can account for nearly 60 percent of the energy used throughout the T-shirt’s lifetime. This is primarily through hot washes and drying cycles.


Don’t Make Your Mark


Minimize the impact of manufactured clothing by visiting some of Orlando’s hottest resale boutiques to buy and sell your family’s clothes. Written by Tammara Kohler


THE PULSE OF FASHION If Orlando were a human body, then Etoile Boutique would be the cultural blood running through it. Specializing in handmade, rare and one-of-a-kind items, Etoile prides itself on the interesting and unique in clothing, accessories and home decor. Repping more than 100 local designers, Etoile is well worth the trip to the milk district for a dose of vitamin D. 2424 E. Robinson St., Orlando 407-895-6363 www.etoileboutique.com


THE GOOD OL’ DAYS Orlando Vintage hosts an inspiring collection of vintage fashion, accessories and jewelry from the 1890s to 1980s. Also, a large number of authentic costumes are available for rent. If you have any interest in fashion, this is defi nitely worth your while to search through the inventory, sorted by decade, and revisit a montage of collected stories and styles from times past. 2117 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park 407-599-7225 www.orlandovintage.com


FLAVORABLY COOL With two locations, Dechoes Resale boasts affordable fashion with impeccable cool and a consistent fl ow of inventory. If you’re looking for a day of “thrifting,” make Dechoes your fi rst stop, as it has done the groundwork by weeding out dated styles with no application for the now. 2525 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando 2110 Edgewater Dr., Orlando 407-894-6622 www.dechoesresale.com


Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt It’s cheeky. It’s chic. It’s all yours. From halter tops to capes, and crazy stuff in between, this cleverly creative book explains how to turn those old tees into zesty new must-have items.


36 PLAYGROUND Fall 2010


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