1. it would be great if you cited your material. some articals and papers make you want to read the full piece haha 2. when I first really looked into sustainability, I was horrifying thinking how much damage I'd done by shopping only fast fashion. then I quickly realise that neither me, nor anyone I know have the means to really shop anywhere else. my plus-sized friend was really upset when shein left the country because this was the place where she could find clothes that she liked and that didn't make her look like a bag of potatoes. and we all keep our fast fashion pieces for years, wearing it and reusing it. I'm typing it in my 4yo mass market t-shirt haha. I also watched a video criticizing the usa overconsumption and it said people there buy 7 pairs of jeans each year. I was appalled. I buy one every two years lol in the series "the good place" a higher being decends on earth to check how easy is it to always make the right moral decision. she comes back and tells about how even buying tomatoes will inevitably make you participate in something immoral. there's no 100% correct action. so, loves, unless you're almighty and omnipresent, you cannot care and handle every cause even if it's the right cause 3. recycling old, completely worn-down clothes! so kiana bollono (I think?), a professional seamstress, had a video on how she had collected leftover fabrics from her project and used it as a filling for a soft piece of furniture (sorry, I forgot the english word). since then I'm collecting leftovers and clothing that isn't possible to wear anymore this might just be my longest comment yet. big thanks if you've finished it!
Using fabric scraps as filling for pillows or stuffed animals is very popular in the sewing community. It makes wonderfully firm and supportive pillows. I've been doing it for years. Makes for a cute present as well. And tightly stuffed throw balls in different sizes are great for kids. They have more weight and heft than an air filled toy ball, but don't hurt. And yeah... the whole 'it's impossible to live an ethical life in modern society' thing has been plagueing me for years. I find it immensely stressful to contemplate, because I'm a perfectionist and there is no winning here, really. You're never good enough, never doing enough. I'm someone whose instinct is to stop pursuing something clearly unattainable and just focus on something else instead. But of course, that is not an option here.
The fact that we, 'the West' still use developing countries as waste disposal sites is truly shameful. I never put old clothes in containers anymore. I only donate (directly to thrift shops) what I can be reasonably sure will be picked up by someone else. Luckily I can mostly repurpose the rest in some way as a sewist and crafter. And it has the added benefit of me not having to buy craft supplies or fabric as often, to keep me busy in my free time.
