Blogger’s View: Hear it from Heddels
Blogger’s View is a recurring series on CIB where we feature some of the most inspiring influencers’ outlooks on denim, sustainability, and the brands they’re proud to shop.
The self-proclaimed motto at Heddels is a dedication to help people find “things that are authentic, useful and lasting.” David Shuck, the managing editor at heddels.com, knows that denim can fit those criteria—if its treated right. Shuck’s writing, as well as his Instagram presence, are emblematic of his philosophy surrounding apparel: garments, like style, should be built right and built to last.
Carved in Blue: How do you define sustainability?
David: Sustainability is different for both producers and consumers. I’d define sustainability as manufacturing practices that have no net loss or even a net benefit to the environment and resources they consume. This affects the entire supply chain, so a logging company for example, would have to do more than just plant a tree for every one they cut down but also take into account all the fuel used by chainsaws, transport trucks, etc. as well as the metal in the blades and the food and water consumed by their workers. There are many finite resources on this planet and many industries use far more than they return, a sustainable business takes responsibility for everything they use in the creation of their product and works to replace it.
Sustainable consumers should do their best to identify and purchase from sustainable manufacturers and then wring every last ounce of use out of the things they buy. Sustainability as a consumer means being incredibly discerning with ones purchases and then using, maintaining, and repairing those that they do buy and finally finding the best way to repurpose or recycle them when they can’t be used any longer.
For both producers and consumers, however, sustainability is never going to be cheaper or easier in the short run. The true cost of a gallon of gas isn’t what you pay at the pump but also how much burning it contributes to asthma and other pollution-related health problems, the land and homes that will be lost to the rising ocean level due to global warming, or even the people that will die or be injured in car accidents. Our economic system has no way to account for these far reaching but very real impacts. The only way we can achieve sustainability is through strict policy regulation that incentivizes and ensures that everyone uses resources in a way that can provide for our children, grandchildren, and hopefully many more generations beyond.
Carved in Blue: How is denim sustainable? What do you consider when purchasing denim?
David: Denim is an interesting fabric in that it can be one of the most sustainable options, but it can also be used in ways that are unbelievably wasteful. Depending on your level of activity, you can wear a pair of raw denim jeans every day for a year, then repair them and wear them for another and they only look better at the end of it. Denim’s aesthetic lends itself beautifully to being beaten up and repaired over and over while hardly being washed in between.
However, for those same reasons, many manufacturers pre-distress jeans and mechanically destroy all the utility denim has within it. Denim is very resource intensive to make; it takes an incredible amount of cotton to weave the fabric and then a lot of water and energy to dye it in indigo. To destroy all of the effort and the resources that went into that process is the antithesis of sustainability.
When buying a new pair of jeans, I’m very particular to only buy something that I’m sure will “go the distance” and I’ll use until the very end of its life cycle. For me, the jeans have to be raw and they have to be something that’s versatile and unostentatious and with a cut that will work for a variety of occasions and weather. The current consumer paradigm is to replace something because we’re bored with it rather than because it’s broken. I’m guilty of this as well so I try to make completely sure that I really mean it whenever I buy something.
Carved in Blue: Where do you get information about sustainability?
David: As a consumer, it’s mind-bogglingly difficult to understand the true environmental impact of what you’re buying. As mentioned above, the cause and effect isn’t always obvious. I wish I had a trusted source I could turn to with such questions, but I have yet to happen across it. Most of what I read are white papers and other scholarly work related to sustainability in clothing production.
Carved in Blue: Which denim or non-denim brands do you think are doing a good job at balancing sustainability and communication?
David: Patagonia is probably the gold standard in sustainability as a consumer brand. They’ve really gone above and beyond to make sure their supply line is as un-impactful as possible while still delivering a long-lasting product to their customer. They also offer free lifetime repairs on all their products and even will sell refurbished, used garments at a discount in their stores.
Levi’s has done an okay job of communicating the real water cost of a pair of jeans and made strides in changing their distressing practices over to more eco-friendly lasers, but in my opinion distressed denim will never be sustainable.