How long does a garment last?

February 21, 2019 Mathias Montaclair

According to a recent video published by the news media Brut., the average lifespan of a T-shirt in the world is only 35 days . The consumer society in which we live pushes us to renew our products regularly, even if they are in good condition. In the interest of eco-responsibility , LUDIS asks itself a question: what should be done to stem this phenomenon?

Fighting Cultural Obsolescence

Cultural obsolescence, also called psychological or aesthetic obsolescence, is created by fashion. Companies, regardless of the field, release new products even though the previous ones are still functional. Skilled in the art of communication , these companies use extremely effective advertising campaigns to provoke frequent changes in tastes, fashion or design and thus arouse desire among consumers. Cultural obsolescence has a heavy impact on the environment :

Significant consumption of raw materials (example: fossil fuels to manufacture polyester, which is the most widely used fiber in the textile industry).
Significant water consumption (it takes 2700 liters of water to make a “conventional” cotton T-shirt).
Use of different pesticides for cotton production.
Increase in waste that takes time to decompose (on average, an American produces 37 kg of textile waste per year).

To combat cultural obsolescence, you need to prioritize robust products and maintain them well. Here's a quick and effective guide to implementing them:

Ask yourself if you really need to buy the latest trendy item of clothing.
Refuse to buy more and more.
Repair torn or holed clothes.
Follow the washing instructions indicated on the labels.
Reuse your clothes by donating or selling them.

Moving from "Fast Fashion" to "Slow Fashion"

"Fast Fashion" refers to the extremely rapid renewal of clothing items, several times a year or even per month. The goal is to offer products at low prices and which are intended to be kept for no more than one season to encourage customers to renew their wardrobe very frequently . Result? "Fast Fashion" results in the purchase of 80 billion new items of clothing per year. In addition, according to Pierre Galio (from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), since 2002 we have bought 60% more clothes that we keep for half as long.

To counter this notion of "Fast Fashion," which is as disastrous for the environment as cultural obsolescence, there is "Slow Fashion." It refers to collections of timeless, high-quality clothing that lasts for a long time . In addition, brands that advocate "Slow Fashion" use environmentally friendly raw materials and offer decent working conditions to their employees.

And Ludis in all this?

In the absence of big brands like Zara or H&M which have "Fast Fashion" as their model, LUDIS wants to encourage slow fashion . First of all, we offer pieces with timeless designs to prevent our jumpsuits from becoming outdated by new trends. Then, our jumpsuits are mainly made of cotton because it is a resistant material even over the years. We make sure that our cotton is OEKO-TEX certified to be certain that it is clean. It is grown in fields that do not use pesticides and it does not require too much water. Our jumpsuits are therefore as robust as they are clean . Finally, we manufacture our products in France to considerably reduce our carbon footprint.

Ludis Explorer Playsuit

From now on, before buying a new item of clothing, ask yourself if you really need it... Also take the time to look at your wardrobe and ask yourself what you want to do with the clothes you haven't worn for a long time! 😉

LET YOURSELF BE TEMPTED BY OUR MEN'S JOGGERS

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4 comments

Alors moi, je garde mes vêtements jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient tellement usés qu’ils n’en deviennent plus sortables. Et même comme cela, pour les tee-shirts par exemple, la durée n’excède que rarement 3 à 4 ans. J’ai bien quelques contre-exemples, mais ce sont souvent de très anciens vêtements, de marque, plus robustes, comme on n’en fait plus. Ma solution immédiate, acheter suffisamment de tee-shirts différents pour ne pas remettre toujours les mêmes, et les laver moins souvent. Aujourd’hui hélas, même en mettant le prix, ils ne tiennent plus, c’est sûrement fait exprès, “obsolescence programmée”.. du coup, on ne paie plus que la marque on dirait.. mais peut-être qu’avec votre démarche, on a enfin une solution. Il est vrai que déjà, qu’avec des marques comme “le slip français” ou “garçon français”, je suis satisfait de la solidité des boxers achetés, du coup, il y a peut-être la solution de certaines marques fabriquées en France. A voir donc..

Je suis souvent déçue de la qualité des vêtements.
Combien de pulls ne boulochent pas, de hauts qui ne se déforment pas ou des jeans qui ne déteignent pas!?
Où est la qualité d’avant ? Le linge de lit durait des décennies et les jeans des années.
J’achète du milieu de gamme. Je vous assure que je suis soigneuse et respectueuse des instructions de lessivage.

Bonjour Jules,

Voici le lien de la vidéo qui nous a permis d’écrire cet article : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxtmDkjb1oI&t=24s

Si tu as d’autres questions, n’hésite pas à nous les poser. 🙂

Mathias

Bonjour, est-il possible de donner la source (le lien ou autre) de la vidéo BRUT qui annonce que la durée de vie d’un vêtement est de 35 jours ? Merci d’avance et bon travail !

Fighting Cultural Obsolescence

Moving from "Fast Fashion" to "Slow Fashion"

And Ludis in all this?

4 comments

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