This week iRadio chatted about ‘What we are wearing’ with the help from Síofra Caherty from Jump the Hedges.
Jump The Hedges is an award winning sustainable design studio based in Belfast and founded by former Adidas designer Síofra Caherty. The studio has a material and waste led approach to product creation as opposed to the traditional fashion industry ‘design led’ approach. This approach ensures that waste material is fully utilized to create valuable and long lasting products. Bags are created from reclaimed truck tarpaulin, airplane seat parts and waste leather.
Did you know?
- Every second the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothing is burnt or buried in landfill.
- Every year the fashion industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all international flights and container ships combined.
- Less than 1% of clothes are recycled into new clothes.
Síofra’s three top tips to be a ‘savvy shopper’:
- Read the labels on your clothes. The clothing material label is almost always found on the inner left seam of the garment. Here you can check what your clothes are made of. Have a guess before you check it and see if the results are surprising.
- Avoid tumble drying your clothes. This is particularly important for anything containing elastane (stretchy clothing) as it burns away in the tumble dryer. Air drying is better for your clothes, the environment and your pocket!
- Find a good local seamstress. Get into the habit of repairing your clothing. Replacing a zip, turning up a hem or letting out/ taking in a seam will allow your to wear your clothes for longer.
