CityLine: How to shop more sustainably

READY WITH ME VIDEOS DOMINATE SOCIAL MEDIA AND DRIVE CONSUMERISM, SO HOW CAN PEOPLE BE STYLISH WITHOUT KILLING THE PLANET? WELL, HERE TO TALK THROUGH HER OWN FASHION SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY AND WITH SOME TIPS FOR CONSUMERS. AS KIMBERLY ATKINS STORE, KIM IS A SENIOR OPINION WRITER AND COLUMNIST FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE. IN ADDITION TO BEING A DESIGNER, WELCOME. HOW ARE YOU, KIM? NICE TO SEE YOU. I’M WONDERFUL. GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO, KAREN. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO TELL US BRIEFLY ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE IN FASHION. HOW DID YOU GET INTO DESIGNING CLOTHING? YEAH. SO I WAS A REPORTER COVERING THE SUPREME COURT HERE IN WASHINGTON, DC. AND SO I HAD TO DRESS THE PART EVERY DAY TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONAL CLOTHING ON. THERE WERE RULES IN THE COURTROOM, BUT I WAS HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING DRESSES AND JACKETS AND OTHER THINGS THAT FIT ME PROPERLY. I’M KIND OF SHORT WAISTED. SO I STARTED MAKING MY OWN CLOTHES. I MADE MY OWN CLOTHES SINCE I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. MY MOM’S A SEAMSTRESS AND TAUGHT ME HOW, BUT I HAD LET IT FALL TO THE WAYSIDE A BIT. SO I STARTED MAKING MY OWN CLOTHES. THEN MY FRIENDS STARTED ASKING ME WHERE I GOT THESE CLOTHES FROM AND ASKED ME TO MAKE SOME FROM THAT FOR THEM, AND I DID. AND THEN STRANGERS STARTED HAPPENING. UH, STARTED ASKING ME AS WELL. WORD OF MOUTH SPREAD AND NEXT THING I KNEW, I HAD A SIDE BUSINESS DESIGNING CUSTOM WOMEN’S WEAR. NOW YOU ARE A VERY STYLISH PERSON. THAT IS FOR SURE. BUT YOU’VE WRITTEN ABOUT HAVING A BIT OF A CLIMATE CONSCIOUS AWAKENING A FEW YEARS AGO ABOUT FASHION. TELL US WHAT SPARKED IT. YEAH. SO DURING THE PANDEMIC, I WOUND DOWN MY BUSINESS BECAUSE IT WAS THIS BESPOKE DEALING WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE, AND I SORT OF TOOK THAT TIME TO THINK, OKAY, WHEN I RESTARTED, WHAT DO I WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE? AND ONE THING THAT HAD COME TO MY CONSCIOUSNESS WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE KATIE. SO I TRIED TO RESEARCH AND FIGURE OUT, OKAY, HOW DO I HAVE A COMPLETELY FREE, UH, ZERO CARBON IMPRINT BUSINESS AND I FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO PLAYBOOK FOR THAT AND THAT IT WASN’T VERY EASY BECAUSE IN FASHION, IN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT WRIT LARGE, IT JUST WASN’T A PRIORITY. AND THEN I REALIZED THAT THE DAMAGE THE FASHION INDUSTRY WAS DOING TO THE PLANET WAS REALLY CATASTROPHIC. SO INSTEAD OF RESTARTING THIS BUSINESS, I STARTED DOING SOME REPORTING. AND THAT’S WHAT BECAME THE SERIES FROM GLOBE OPINION. NOT SO FAST FASHION. I MADE MY OWN EDUCATION, SOMETHING THAT COULD EDUCATE OUR OUR AUDIENCE AS WELL. THIS IS A VERY STUNNING STATISTIC I’M GOING TO SHARE WITH OUR AUDIENCE THE AVERAGE CONSUMER NOW BUYS 60% MORE CLOTHING THAN THEY DID 15 YEARS AGO, ACCORDING TO THE UN ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE FASHION. WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE TO SHIFT THE MINDSET ON THIS ISSUE? DO YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO TAKE A FEW THINGS? FIRST, IT’S GOING TO TAKE THE FASHION INDUSTRY REALIZING THAT THEY ARE PART OF A VERY, VERY BIG PROBLEM. AND EVERY YEAR, MORE THAN 100 MILLION METRIC TONS OF CLOTHING ARE PRODUCED, BRAND NEW THINGS. THIS IS DESPITE THE FACT THAT RIGHT NOW ON THE PLANET, THERE ARE ENOUGH TEXTILES TO CLOTHE EVERY HUMAN BEING FOR GENERATIONS. FOR ANYWHERE BETWEEN 60 AND 100 YEARS ALREADY IN EXISTENCE. SO WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS MINDSET OF NEW IS BETTER AND FAST. FASHION IS THE WAY. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO TEACH CONSUMERS THAT THE WAY THAT MY PARENTS AND THEIR PARENTS USED TO CLOTHE THEMSELVES, HAVING CLOTHES THAT WERE WELL MADE AND LASTED THEM A LONG TIME IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM FROM THE WHAT’S THE NEXT TREND? CONSUMER TOURISM THAT HAS REALLY PROLIFERATED. SO TEACHING PEOPLE TO BUY LESS AND BUY BETTER ARE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT FACTORS. MANY PEOPLE DONATE CLOTHING ITEMS TO CHARITIES OR DROP THEM IN BINS THINKING THAT THEY’RE GOING TO BE RECYCLED. BUT EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY HAPPENS. WHERE DOES A LOT OF THIS, UH, CLOTHING REALLY END UP? YEAH. YOU KNOW, I USED TO DO THIS, TOO. I USED TO THINK, OKAY, WELL, I DON’T WANT TO THROW AWAY CLOTHING AND HAVE THEM HAVE THEM END UP IN A LANDFILL. BUT I’LL DONATE THEM AND THEY’LL GO TO A NEW HOME. THE TRUTH IS, ONLY A FRACTION OF THE CLOTHING THAT WE DONATE TO SECONDHAND STORES OR CHARITIES ACTUALLY GETS REPURCHASED OR REUSED, AS IT IS A GOOD DEAL OF IT ENDS UP IN LANDFILLS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY IS BUNDLED UP AND SHIPPED OVERSEAS TO PLACES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH LIKE NATIONS IN AFRICA AND SOUTH ASIA, AND A FRACTION OF THOSE ARE SOLD AS CLOTHING. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY ENDS UP AS WASTE AND NOT ALL OF THOSE COUNTRIES HAVE LANDFILLS THE WAY THAT WE DO. SO IT ENDS UP BEING WASHED UP ON SHORES, CLOGGING WATERWAYS. AND REMEMBER, THIS IS A LOT OF FAST FASHION THAT IS FULL OF POLYESTER AND SYNTHETIC FIBERS THAT ARE REALLY OIL BASED PLASTICS, AND THEY END UP ON OUR OCEAN FLOORS, POLLUTING, UH, SOIL. WE’RE ALMOST OUT OF TIME. GIVE ME ONE QUICK TIP. THAT CONSUMERS CAN TAKE TO CHANGE THIS SITUATION. ONE QUICK TIP BUY LESS. REPAIR CLOTHING THAT IS DAMAGED AND THAT YOU WOULD OTHERWISE GIVE AWAY. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BUY CAREFULLY. DON’T JUST GO BY TRENDS. BUY A CLOTHING ITEM THAT YOU WANT TO WEAR FOR YEARS TO COME, AND USE IT TO ITS FULL CAPACITY. ALL RIGHT, KIMBERLY ATKINS JR, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS INFORMATION TO US AND OPENING OUR EYES TO HOW WE CAN HELP CHANGE THIS. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. TAKE CARE. THANKS FOR JOINING US. SO WE’VE POSTED RESOURCES ON FASHION SUSTAINABILITY ON OUR APP AND ON OUR WEBSITE WCVB DOT COM SLASH CITYLINE. THANKS SO MUCH FOR WATCHING EVERYBODY. BE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AN