I’m just gonna come at you with a close up today, because I am OBSESSED with this print. I first spotted this water color-y dress in a dusty pile on the floor at my local Salvation Army. It was pretty sad looking, but I was soooo drawn to it. I scooped it up, dusted it off, and while in need of some help, the fabric looked and felt luxurious. I was surprised when I spied a little Target tag.
I’ll be the first to admit Target has really stepped up their design in recent years with on point trends and budget friendly pieces from famous designers. All of which is in line with our ‘if it’s cute, it’s cute’ motto at THS. That said, we have a love-hate relationship with Target. You can buy a bath rug, bananas, a decent bottle of wine, and a pair of cute summer sandals in one trip. This is great from a convenience perspective, but convenience comes at a price. Target creates what is called fast fashion which is not in line with our ethical clothing goals.
I decided to do a little digging to understand just how guilty I should feel about purchasing the occasional Target garment. What I found was surprising. Target was a key stakeholder in the creation of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) which has been proactive in the reduction of manufacturing waste and the use of toxic chemicals. This is step in the right direction, but SAC seems pretty vague when it comes to labor practices which is a major piece of the ethical clothing puzzle. I recommend reading this article by Feel Good Style to learn more. We applaud any action toward sustainability, but the giant companies, like Target, are capable of doing so much more.
Regardless of the original source, this dress is consistent with our rescue criteria: it’s cute and has been discarded. Even fast fashion items deserves our attention; actually these garments deserve it even more than sustainably created items. Inexpensive materials typically take much longer to decompose in a landfill, so let’s not let them end up there!
I didn’t see any major defects on the dress (not that that would stop me!), so I purchased it for eight whole dollars and excitedly headed home. The first step is always a through cleaning which requires me to understand the material. This dress is 100% Polyester. Polyester doesn’t have the best reputation to put it nicely. Most of us picture a suffocating and stiff 70s suit…a vision far from this silky dress. I decided to educate myself a bit more on this material.
Polyester hit the US scene in 1951 branded as a magical fabric that didn’t require ironing. The inexpensive and durable fabric, rapidly, like really rapidly, expanded in the US market. While satiating our thirst for both low cost and convenience, there were two very dark sides to this wonder fabric. First, it’s made from petroleum, a byproduct of processing oil, so basically the antithesis of eco-friendly. Second, at best it was uncomfortable and at worst quite unpleasant especially for sensitive skin. Just thinking about early poly makes me itch.
So HOW does this dress feel so dreamy? Well today’s poly is quite different. Thanks to microfibers and poly blends, it’s made to feel a lot like silk. From an eco perspective improvements have also been made. It still requires heavy processing, but companies are now finding ways to create polyester out of recycled plastic bottles or even recycled polyester fabric. This dress isn’t made from recycled materials, but I still feel good about saving it from a potential future in stinky landfill. Also, it’s important to remember that a garment’s source fabric is only ONE aspect of it’s sustainability. For example, silk is a natural fiber, but often requires dry cleaning which = harsh chemicals.
An up side to poly is that the care is simple and easy on the enviro. I washed it with like colors on the handwash setting using the least amount of water and no heat. Then I laid it across a drying rack to air dry. Fun fact: one of the simplest ways to reduce your clothing footprint is to wash at 30° C, don’t tumble dry, and limit ironing. So easy!
To my delight all the stains disappeared, and once dry, it felt even softer and silkier. It truly looks brand spankin’ new and ready for it’s next exciting life. I paired it with a vegan cropped leather jacket, simple strappy heels, and a selfie stick 🙂
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