And the environment?
Yes, then there are the known environmental problems of conventional cotton growing: mono cultures, pesticide use, erosion and so on. An organic farmer can also grow pulses and other commodities in between his cotton fields, which he can also sell or feed his family. If you use GMO or conventional cotton and spray heavily toxic pesticides, everything in the field dies. It is like in a desert.
What happens in the textile mills?
The ‘raw’ cotton fiber goes to the textile mills, where the thread eventually becomes a surface. Textile mills and textile dyeing units yearly discharge millions of liters of effluents, full of chemicals such as formaldehyde (HCHO), chlorine, heavy metals (such as lead and mercury) and others which are harmful for the environment and to health. The textile industry is the 2nd most chemically intensive industry in the world after agriculture. The World Bank estimates that 17-20% of the worlds industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and finishing. If you go to Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, you can see the disaster. The water system there is totally destroyed and needs centuries to recover. Luckily environmental policies have been implemented since some years. However without the self-control of the mills and dyeing units, for example getting certified according the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the problem cannot be solved. The environment is at stake, and this is only about the creation of fabric so far!
Why do people decide to work in textile factories?
The countries of the west use the countries of the south as an extended workbench for labor- intensive work because it is cheap there. Why? Mainly because standards are being violated. Known problems in the garment industry are wage violations, violations of health and safety regulations, violation of working hours and inhumane working times, violation of association rights, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. In India the so called Sumangali scheme is a practice in the southern state of Tamil Nadu: due to the cultural scenario women get married by their parents, it is always the girls side who has to pay for the marriage and bring money into the boys family. This is called dowry. Garment factories use this situation by coming to the villages and tell the young girls: come to our factory for 3 years and after 3 years of work you get an amount X so you can cover your marriage expenses. This most of the time happens without any signed contract. So the girls go there without any rights. They are exploited very badly and then often do not even get the money after three years. And the big brands tell us, they have limited influence on this as they make a contract with textile unit and they might work with sub suppliers etc. The same happens in the slums of Mumbai. People are sewing high street fashion there without any labor rights or control.
What I find the biggest irony discussing with fast fashion brands is, that they can control each millimeter of the seam, each button and zipper, the color of each piece of clothing but when it comes to the people who are stitching the pieces, they tell us they could not control anything.
Working in this industry I have seen many, many hypocrites, and the bad thing is, that if you are a hypocrite you know about the problems but you don’t do anything, so inevitably you are a cynic. Our mission is to fight the cynics, by making sustainable and ethical materials more accessible for everyone.
What is your professional background – have you always had to do with the fashion industry?
I have studied German Literature, Political Science and Human Geography in Germany, Denmark and India. After my studies in India I brought young people over there for internships with my first company. Coincidentally I stumbled upon an article about ayurvedic dyeing practices near the place I lived – It was so amazing, that Lebenskleidung was born! We started with ayurvedicly dyed beddings and fabrics, our name literally translates the sanskrit word Ayurvastra to Lifeclothing or Lebenskleidung.
