Meet Clotheshorse, Your One Stop Shop for Sustainable Fashion Education
ClothesHorse Podcast Educates Folks on Sustainable Fashion Education
There are so many things to say about the fashion industry, and Clotheshorse pretty much says it all. Clotheshorse, a podcast and blog platform we love, is the brainchild of Amanda Lee McCarty, a former fast fashion buyer turned eco-style activist. Every single one of her episodes dives 6 feet deep into all the ugly and environmentally unfriendly aspects of the fashion world like the life cycle of a garment, what we really pay for new clothes, and a four part series about why it’s important to shop secondhand. All kinds of other stuff too, of course.
To get you introduced, Amanda has broken down for us what you will find when you check out Clotheshorse, and more importantly, what you will learn. She really takes the meaning behind #begreenbuyvintage to the next level, and we hope she inspires you to do just that.
Clotheshorse in a Nutshell
Clotheshorse helps listeners make the best decisions about what they buy and where they buy it. In each episode, we uncover another aspect of the global fashion juggernaut, from the forced labor of the Uyghurs to Black Friday sales to the #payup movement. I interview a wide variety of guests who work in the industry in one way or another. A lot of them left the industry to start their own more ethical business, so I like to talk about that journey, too.
Ostensibly, Clotheshorse is a podcast about fashion, but it’s also about ethics, history, science, and economics. I love to dig into bigger topics like consumerism, wealth disparity, and capitalism. I am constantly learning new information and ideas from my research for the show and it’s fun to use my experience to break down complicated concepts for the listener. I guess I get to live my dream of being both a teacher and writer via my work on Clotheshorse!
What People Will Find on the Blog Platform
The style/fashion blog industry has been working hand-in-hand with brands and retailers since the very beginning, so I have witnessed the shift in content from actual style inspiration to “advertorials” filled with sponsored content and affiliate links. You’re more likely to find a listicle like “The 100 Cutest Dresses Under $10 on Amazon” than actual inspirational content.
Our goal was to create a platform for our very talented and passionate community without the noise of influencers, corporations, or mindless consumerism. We wanted the blog to embody the values of the podcast: radical honesty, inclusivity, and sustainability, while demonstrating the “pillars” of a more sustainable/ethical lifestyle. You’ll find personal stories, tips for reducing plastic in your home, sustainable parenting ideas, and cool DIY tutorials...and so much more! It’s exciting to see our content expand as more people join the fold.
Main Takeaways from the Fashion Industry That People Should Know
The industry has been doing things the same exact way for decades because no one has pressured them to do better. It operates with the approach of “but we’ve always done it this way.” The goal is to sell the most stuff at the highest profit. And both the customer’s experience and the impact on the planet are significantly less important. This means lots of synthetic fabrics, shoddier fit and trims, and a constant flow of “hot” new trends.
The industry is also adverse to making clothes in more sizes, using more sustainable fabrics, and paying its workers an ethical wage. They have been getting away with all of this poor behavior because none of us have demanded better. I see the pandemic as a turning point where many of us have been mobilized to make better decisions, speak up, and educate others. We are in the early stages of a movement that could turn the industry upside down, as long as we continue the work long after the pandemic is over.
Why it’s Important to #BeGreenBuyVintage, From the Perspective of Clotheshorse
The most sustainable option will always be something that already exists! Let’s think about the process of making a garment: if it’s cotton, farmers will plant it, water it, and harvest it. It will be turned into thread and woven into fabric. If it’s a synthetic fabric, fossil fuels will be used to create fibers, which are then woven into fabric. Next the fabric is dyed, washed, and/or printed. It’s trucked off to the factory, where it’s cut into pieces, they are sewn together, and the final product is inspected/packed. The finished garments travel thousands of miles across the ocean either via a huge ship or an airplane.
They are unpacked at the port, loaded into trucks and hauled off to their final destination. When I envision the process, I see all of the energy and fuel required to transport the components and finished products. I see the water used to dye and wash the fabric. I see the hard work of many, many low paid workers who created that garment. And when I see all of that, I begin to understand how the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year while using 2 trillion gallons of water annually. Wearing vintage/second hand saves water, energy, and other natural resources, while also maximizing the use of something already exists. The most sustainable thing we can do is make our clothing last as long as possible by mending it and washing carefully, passing it on to someone else when we no longer care to wear it, and shop #secondhandfirst.
Links to Favorite Clotheshorse Inspiration Podcasts/Blog Posts
Episode 1: Romper Drama and Useless Safety Pins, or It's a Cents Game--the episode that started it all! My friend Janine, a retail planner, joined me to explain the math and strategy behind what we pay for new clothes. I recommend checking out episode 2, also! It’s a great way to understand everything we talk about it afterwards!
Episode 26: Smorgasbords, Free Piles, and The Dark Underbelly of Major Thrift Store Chains: Vintage with Christine (part II): Christine of Ladyhogg Vintage joins me to talk about selling/buying vintage and what really happens to our clothes when we donate them!
Episode 56: Secondhand Stories (part III): I’m joined by Sophie of Ooey Gooey Vanshop for this one. Before our interview, I talk at length about the impact our unwanted clothing is having on Ghana (and other countries overseas). I actually think the entire Secondhand Stories series (there are 4 parts) is great because we break down why it’s important to shop secondhand!
Alex of St. Evens has a recurring column at Clotheshorse.World called “Vintage Detective” that is part history lesson, part fashion education.
I am obsessed with Meredith’s article “When Less Is Not More,” because it really captures how fast fashion has changed the fashion industry.
More Things to Come
Soon we will be featuring St. Louis’ own Mesa Home to close out our Earth Month sustainable content features (although, every month is Earth month at May’s Place). Keep an eye out for our interview with Anni next week.
