Episode 45 - 2020 Wrap-up Quiz

In this episode, Kyla and Kristen say goodbye to 2020 with a wrap-up quiz, featuring previous guests Brianna Botchwey, Fariya Mohiuddin, and Alexandra Sundarsingh. The group looks back at ethical consumption trends and issues from throughout the year.

Question 1. Which company has benefitted the most financially from the pandemic?

A: Amazon, which added $401.1 billion in 2020.

Details

• Followed by Microsoft ($270 billion), Apple ($219 billion), Tesla ($108 billion), and Tencent ($93 billion)

• Jeff Bezos’ net worth increased $48 billion from March to June 2020.

• Seven of the world’s 50 richest people have increased their net worth by more than 50% since the pandemic began.

You can play the game You Are Jeff Bezos for a quick fun tutorial on why billionaires shouldn’t exist.

Revisit our episode on tax justice with Fariya!

Question 2. Which team started the NBA players’ wildcat strike when they refused to take the floor for a playoff game on August 26?

A: the Milwaukee Bucks

Details

• The wildcat strike was a response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI on 23 August 2020

• They were set to play game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic.

• The three remaining games that day were also postponed.

Question 3. Name the top five sugar producing countries.

A:

• Brazil

• India

• China

• Thailand

• USA

Revisit our episode on sugar with Lex!

Question 4. Which major Canadian co-operative was recently sold to a US private investment firm?

A: MEC

Question 5. We’ve talked about thrift shopping a lot on the show. In what year was Macklemore’s Thrift Shop released?

A: 2012

Revisit our episode with Brianna on exclusion and privilege in ethical consumption, with a focus on the fashion industry!

Question 6. In our second episode of the podcast, we talked about alternative milks. One alternative milk company is facing calls of a boycott recently after accepting $200 million in investment from the private equity firm Blackstone. Name that plant milk brand.   

A: Oatly

Details

• Ethical Consumer is not particularly concerned about this development, and it only slightly affects their rating for Oatly.  

Question 7. Farmers in Denmark recently killed 17 million of which animal because of coronavirus outbreaks on farms? 

A: Mink

Details

• More than 200 COVID-19 cases in the country were linked to sick mink on fur farms in Denmark. The mink initially caught the virus from humans.

• Part of the reason that the virus spread so quickly is that farmed mink are not genetically diverse, which can make them more susceptible to disease transmission. The same is true of other kinds of animal farming.

• Mink fur is used in some fake eyelash products, especially in China and Hong Kong.

• Denmark is the world’s largest mink fur producer. It has 1,000 mink farms out of 4,350 across Europe.

• Fur production is banned in the UK, Austria, and Germany, while Belgium, France, and Norway are phasing it out. The Netherlands announced plans to shut down its mink industry by 2021.

Question 8. This fall the Government of Canada reaffirmed its commitment to implementing a ban on single-use plastics. For one point each, can you name any items that will be banned?

A:

• Checkout bags

• Stir sticks

• Beverage six-pack rings

• Cutlery

• Straws

• Food packaging made from plastics that are difficult to recycle

Bonus: can anyone name a form of plastic that Canada has already banned?

A: Microbeads

Details

• The ban is set to take effect by the end of 2021.

• The EU will also have a ban on single-use plastics items by 2021. There are bans on single-use plastics in Kenya, Zimbabwe, the UK, New York, California, and Hawaii, China, and numerous other locations.

Question 9. There are 7.8 billion people in the world and 2,153 billionaires. If you combine the estimated wealth of those 2,153 billionaires, it exceeds the wealth of how many people?

A: 4.6 billion people

Details

• The world’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people.

• The combined wealth of the world’s 22 richest men is more than the wealth of all the women in Africa.

Winner: Brianna

Brianna asked us to donate to the Iqaluit Humane Society, as they’re raising money for a new shelter! What a rad charity, Kyla and Kristen were happy to each make a donation as the quiz prize!

Episode 40 - Halloween

The average American spent $86 on Halloween in 2019, amounting to a total of $8.8 billion. And Canadians spend more (per capita) on Halloween than Americans. Spending on Halloween is comprised of three major components: costumes ($3.2 billion), candy ($2.6 billion), and decorations ($2.7 billion).

One of the big concerns with Halloween is waste, especially plastic waste. In the UK, for example, an estimated 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste (the equivalent of 83 million bottles) are be generated from Halloween costumes each year.

Costumes

This year Halloween parties are not allowed in most places due to COVID-19, so we decided not to focus too much on costumes. Next year we’ll cover them more comprehensively.

Costumes and Cultural Appropriation

You shouldn’t dress up as a marginalized culture that isn’t your own. Doing so presents other cultures as exotic or as a costume. And it can also further harmful stereotypes. Need examples? Here is a list of ten Halloween costumes you shouldn’t wear.

When you’re looking for an inclusive Halloween costume, York University’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion suggests asking five questions:

1. Is my costume depicting and perpetuating a stereotype or stigma associated with a particular race, culture or religion? 

2. Does my costume include a replication of a garment that is a significant component of a particular religion or culture of which I do not identify? 

3. Is my costume depicting an historical time-period where that look/costume is now considered offensive or discriminatory?

4. Does my costume represent elements of a culture or cultural practice that is being commoditized for consumption?

5. Can I look in the mirror and confidently say that my costume choice would not be considered offensive to a particular race, ethnic origin, gender, or religion?

Ethical Costumes

Try to avoid buying a fast fashion costume, especially if you only plan to wear it once or twice. As we discussed in our clothing series, there are huge human rights and environmental problems with fast fashion.

Costume rentals can be a good option if you need a look for a one-off event. Renting a costume is a good way to get affordable short-term access to a show-stopping costume. There are costume rental services in most cities. But here are a few options for Canadians: Torontonians can try costumerentals.ca or Theatrix Costume House. Calgarians can try the rentals at Costume Shoppe or the Tickle Trunk. Vancouverites, check out the Costume Bank or WATTS Costumes. People in Ottawa can try Malabar. And for Edmontonians there is the Theatre Garage.

You can always try thrifting a costume! Most thrift shops bring in costumes around the Halloween season, so there are lots of options. Some thrift shops will also sell new costumes and props, so just be sure that you are buying used.

Borrowing can also be a good approach. If one of your friends is Halloween obsessed, they probably have costumes and props from previous years that they would be happy to lend.

In normal years costume swaps are another option, so check your local community organizations for these kinds of events.

Another option is to build a costume around items that you already own. I have a lot of grey in my wardrobe, so last year I went as a rhinoceros. I made rhino ears using felt and a headband I had, but if you are looking for something cooler you can also buy printable origami mask templates (see here). This year I’m going as Velma from Scooby Doo, mostly because I had all of the core components in my closet (more or less). 

If nothing in your closet speaks to you, another option is building a costume with new items that you will use in your daily life. For example, a friend needed a peacock costume for an event; she used the occasion to buy outrageous peacock print leggings that she still uses.

If you are making a costume, try to upcycle using items you already have. If you do need new materials, think about recyclability and try to avoid plastic where you can. Here’s an article with some good ideas for creating costumes through upcycling. Going as a bag of groceries is a particularly inspired idea, I think.

Why not go as the Mike Pence fly? All you need to do is wear black and don a pair of wings. This how-to article on making fairy wings offers some good strategies that you could easily adapt for fly wings. 

When thinking about costumes and sustainability, remember to think about makeup too! (For example, go for biodegradable glitter.)

Candy

If you took all the candy that’s sold during Halloween week and turned it into a giant ball, it’d be as large as six Titanics and weigh 300,000 tonnes.

There’s a long list of problems with Halloween candy:

Transportation costs to have ingredients and finished products shipped all over the world

Litter from non-recyclable and non-compostable plastic packaging. You could give out baked goods or homemade treats to your friends and family, but trick-or-treaters will usually throw those away, especially during COVID I imagine. So trying to go zero waste would likely result in food waste.
Another option is to use TerraCycle, you can order a snack wrappers zero waste box, fill it with candy wrappers, and send it back for recycling. Yes, they start at $86, but as Kristen suggested in our episode, you can go in as a community or school, if the price is out of reach!
Ultimately, if you’re looking for plastic free packaging, there are options that come in cardboard containers. Some municipalities won’t recycle these because they’re too small, but they can always be composted. Junior Mints, Mike and Ikes (which are vegan, if you don’t mind eating a resin scraped off a tree that’s the product of beetles, who aren’t necessarily harmed in the process. The dye has likely been tested on animals though), Nerds (vegan except for colours being tested on animals, a colour made from the scales of insects, and refined sugar is often filtered using bone char from the meat industry holy shit I had no idea?), Dots (vegan), Milk Duds, Smarties, and Raisins (Kristen’s least favourite).
Side note: aluminium foil is recyclable and I’m the worst for not knowing that. The bigger the aluminium ball, the more likely to be recycled.

Food Waste. Left with too much candy for one kid (or adult) to possibly eat? Treats for Troops might be an option in your area. Candy is given to soldiers and veterans.

Carbon footprint of milk production. We’ve discussed this before!

Deforestation tied to cocoa.

Deforestation tied to palm oil.

Forced labour. Most Halloween candy sales are for chocolate, and most chocolate sales in a year happen at Halloween. We’re probably going to do a whole episode on chocolate, so I won’t get into it too much here, but the gist is the cocoa industry is real bad for forced labour. As is the sugar industry (we did an episode on that). This is especially prevalent in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, where the majority of cocoa farms are now located. During the 2013-14 growing season, an estimated 2 million children were used for hazardous labour throughout Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

“In June of 2001 the US House of Representatives voted to consider a labeling system to assure consumers that slave labor was not used in the production of their chocolate. The US chocolate industry responded with an intense lobbying effort to ward off legislation that would require “slave free” labels on their products.” - Slave Free Chocolate

A lot of companies, including Nestle and Mondelez (Sour Patch Kids, Oreo, Ritz, Toblerone, Wheat Thins, Maynards, Cadbury, Chips Ahoy) have promised to become more sustainable or fully sustainable in relation to their cocoa, but so far no one actually has from what I found.

Unreal sells vegan and fair trade chocolate. Here’s a list of a few more options!

Want to opt out of candy altogether this year?

Trick or Treat for UNICEF!
Give out packages of seeds instead of candy. This could be fun for kids, that’s a craft with payoff.
Give out a can of sugary fair-trade drink.
Lots of blogs recommending pencils/erasers, but who wants to be that guy? (Kristen apparently loves this).

Final note: Kristen mentioned the red dye scandal Starbucks dealt with a few years ago, here’s more information for the curious.

Decorations

Halloween is the second biggest decorating holiday (after Christmas).

Decorations and Human Rights

There isn’t a lot out there on the labour conditions of Halloween decorations producers, but it seems likely that conditions aren’t very good.

In 2018, a woman in the US found an SOS message in a polystyrene graveyard kit that had been made in a Chinese labour camp for dissidents. It said: “If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly send this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.”

Tips for Ethical Halloween Decorations

In general, try to avoid single-use decorations. If you must, go for recyclable paper decorations. There are lots of good DIY paper decoration ideas out there. Check out these links for paper skeletons, cardboard tombstones, ghost garland made from shredded paper, and paper spiderweb garland. Not every option in this Country Living decoration guide is sustainable, but I really like the horror novel door idea!

You can also upcycle materials for decorations. Try this tutorial for turning tin cans into jack-o-lantern decorations. Or use empty jars to make this spooky apothecary décor. You can also repurpose egg cartons as bats. 

If you are able to store decorations for multi-year use, that is a great option! As with costumes, start with upcycling and second-hand. If you are buying new, try to find fair trade if you can. And look for items that are durable and can be reused for years.

If you have kids, reusing trick or treat baskets is a good way to reduce your environmental footprint. Or you can just do what my parents did and give your kid an old pillowcase.

Not everyone has the space to store decorations. If you are space-constrained but still want to decorate, you can do that sustainably by using natural objects like gourds, corn husks. Then simply eat or compost them at the end of the season.

Pumpkins

We need to talk specifically about pumpkins, because they are a huge component of Halloween decorations. 99% of pumpkins sold in the UK are used for making jack-o-lanterns.

Try to go for local pumpkins if you can.

Food waste is a huge contributor to climate change, so don’t just trash the pumpkin. At a minimum, remember to compost your pumpkin. You can also make the most of your pumpkin by using all parts of it.

Toast the seeds and use the innards to make pumpkin purée. Here is a guide on how to toast pumpkin seeds.

You can also make pumpkin purée from the flesh of the pumpkin. Here is a guide on how to make pumpkin purée. Once you have pumpkin purée you can use it in pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattés, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pizza, pumpkin pasta, and much more. I’m going to use my pumpkin purée to make this pumpkin black bean soup from Minimalist Baker.

Episodes 30 and 31 - Plastic-free July

Plastic-free July

Like Veganuary, Plastic-free July is an awareness-raising campaign where people pledge to change their behaviour for a designated month of the year – but with the idea in mind that this will prompt lasting behaviour changes. It is run by the Plastic Free Foundation in Australia and claims to have “inspired over 250 million participants in 177 countries”. People can sign on to avoid single-used plastic packaging, to target the “top 4” takeaway items (bags, bottles, straws, and coffee cups), or to go completely plastic free.

What is Plastic?

The term “plastic” is derived from the Greek word “plastikos”, meaning fit for molding. Plastic is actually not one material – it refers to a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that have the property of plasticity, meaning that they are capable of being moulded or shaped. Plastics also often have low density, low electrical conductivity, transparency, and toughness.

Plastics are synthetic polymers, which are materials made of long, repeating chains of molecules. (Natural polymers exist too and include rubber, wood, and proteins). Plastics are made from raw materials that make up the monomers. Then, monomers are transformed into polymers through polymerization. Then the polymers are processed into polymer resins and used to make final products.

Ethylene and propylene are two common monomers. They are by-products of the cracking process used in refining oil and natural gas. Plastic is the third most commonly used petroleum derivative in the world. 200 million tons of plastic are used annually worldwide.

History of Plastic

Horn and tortoise shell were used as early natural plastics, with the first recorded mention in 1284.

Alexander Parks in 1862 exhibited Parkesine (celluloid), the first commercial manmade version of plastic. It’s not widely used anymore because it is highly flammable and expensive to produce.

In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first truly synthetic plastic, was invented in New York. A Bakelite Corporation ad claimed that humans had transcended the old taxonomy of animal, mineral, and vegetable. Now the world had a “fourth kingdom, whose boundaries are unlimited.”[1]

In 1900-1920 casein plastics were developed by Erinoid, stockings made of viscose went into production, and Rolls Royce began to use phenol fromaldehyde in its car interiors.[2]

In 1929, Bakelite becomes the first mass produced plastic product (the phenolic moulding in the casing of the Siemens telephone). The 1930s is the start of the modern plastics era. Polyethylene is discovered in 1933. 

Modern plastic got its start during WWII.[3] Plastics were used in parachutes, grenades, and airplanes, among other military products. After the war ended, plastics companies began marketing their material for consumers.[4]

Disposable plastics use accelerated beginning in the 1950s as part of the consumer revolution. By 1979 we were producing more plastic than steel.[5] And in recent years there has been a shift from durable plastics made to single-use plastics.[6]

Types of Plastic

Plastic can be divided into two major categories:

• Thermoset plastics – these are plastics that, once cooled and hardened, retain their shapes and cannot return to their original form. They are hard and durable. (E.g., polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxy resins, phenolic resins).

• Thermo plastics – these are less rigid plastics that can soften upon heating and return to their original form. They are easily molded and extruded into films, fibres, and packaging. (E.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride).

Some Common Plastics

• Polyethylene (PE) is the most common polymer in plastics. It was first made in 1934. You’ll see two main variants of PE today:

• Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is the plastic used in grocery bags. It is also used in plastic film and bread bags.

• High density polyethylene (HDPE) is a stiff plastic used for more robust plastic packaging like laundry detergent containers, shampoo bottles, and milk jugs. It is also the plastic used in things like trash bins.

• Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET) is the most widely used plastic in the world, and it is used predominantly in polyester, as well as for bottles and packaging. It is the main plastic in Ziploc bags and is also used in things like cake trays.

• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a strong, rigid, brittle plastic used in construction, like plumbing (pipe) and vinyl sidings. It is also used in mouthwash bottles and clear food packaging.

• Polypropylene (PP) is semi-transparent and has a low-friction surface. It is used for things like cheese containers, syrup bottles, and yogurt containers.

• Polystyrene (PS), or Styrofoam, is used in packaging. It’s also used in soft drink lids, takeaway containers, and medical devices like test tubes.

• Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic derived from biomass rather than petroleum.

• Polycarbonate (PC) is a transparent material known for being strong relative to other plastics. It is used in greenhouses and riot gear.

• Acrylic (PMMA) is transparent and scratch resistant, which is why it’s the material used in optical devices.

• Acetal (Polyoxymethylene, POM) is known for high resistance to heat, abrasion, water, and chemical compounds. It also has a low “coefficient of friction”, which makes it useful in applications that utilize gears.

• Nylon (PA).

• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) is a hardy plastic that is easy to machine and has a low melting temperature. For that reason it is often used in 3D printing.

• Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) was invented in 1938 by DuPont.

• Polyvinylidine chloride (Saran) is made by Dow.

Environment and Plastics

We introduced this topic briefly in the zero waste episode. We have produced 320 million metric tonnes of plastic, which is heavier than every human alive combined. And that figure is set to double by 2040. That’s a lot of plastic and we don’t have a good plan for dealing with it.

There are four main environmental problems with plastic.

1. Emissions: Plastic, a petroleum by-product, is contributing to climate change.

2. Pollution: The vast amounts of plastic we dispose every year in our packaging, containers, and clothing are polluting our land and water environments.

3. Animals: When plastic ends up in ecosystems it can kill animals who ingest it or become entangled in it. (Remember the starving albatross chick?)

4. Microplastics: Plastics shed microplastics, which get into our air, soil and water. In our laundry episode we talked about how plastic microfibres have been found in some of the most remote ecosystems on the planet. That is a problem because some of the chemicals in plastics may be (or have been shown to be) harmful or even toxic for animals and humans. 

Recycling Plastics

Of all the plastic we’ve produced thus far, only about 14% has ever been collected for recycling and only 5% has actually ever been recycled. There are different estimates on how much plastic currently gets recycled, but the estimates are generally low. I came across one estimate saying only about 1/5 of plastic is recycled. Another said that only 1/7 of plastic packaging is recycled and the ratio is even lower for other kinds of plastic.[7]

Some plastics can’t be recycled, while others can be recycled but aren’t accepted in municipal curbside recycling (so you would need to use a special program).

When recycling plastics, it is important to rinse any food or grease from the plastic – especially if you have a mixed bin that has paper in it. It does not need to be perfectly clean.

The most important thing to pay attention to is the number and letter code on the plastic. This refers to the type of plastic that the product is made out of. The number will be from 1 to 7. Generally speaking, lower number plastics are more likely to be recycled.[8]

Most curbside recycling programs will accept codes 1 (Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET/PETE), 2 (high density polyethylene, or HDPE), and 5 (Polypropylene, or PP).[9]  

Plastic number 3 (Vinyl, or PVC) is not generally collected in curbside bins but you can usually find someone who will recycle this material.[10]

Plastic number 4 (low-density polyethylene, or LDPE) is not usually recyclable in curbside bins. Nor is plastic number 6 (Styrofoam).[11] This is because these are not very valuable plastics so it is usually not profitable to recycle these materials, though they are recyclable.

Plastic number 7 is mixed plastic and it is often not recyclable.[12]

Bioplastics: Bio-based, Biodegradable, Compostable, and Oxo-degradable

Bio-based Plastics

There are a lot of materials called bioplastics that are not biodegradable. They are bio-based (made from plants) but are not biodegradable, because biodegradability depends on the chemical structure and not the source.[13]

Bioplastics contribute less than 1% to overall plastics production, though the market is growing.[14] More than half of the bioplastics on the market are just bio-based, not biodegradable.[15]

The bioplastics market is dominated by “drop in materials” like bio-based polyethylene or bio-based PET, which are more or less equivalent to their fossil-based counterparts.[16] They are made from bio-based sources, like sugarcane or corn, but are chemically identical to conventional plastics.[17] The advantage is that these bio-based plastics can be “dropped in” to existing production or recycling infrastructure – you don’t need new machines to deal with them.[18] 

There is some advantage to bio-based plastics from a climate change perspective, because they are made from renewable, plant-based resources they require less emissions to produce.

However, because bio-based plastics are not biodegradable, these do not solve the pollution or microplastics problems.

They also do not solve the emissions problem (though they are less emitting than petroleum plastics) because they still release stored carbon when they are incinerated – or if they are landfilled, they may be trapped for a time but release methane later.

And bio-based plastics can cause other problems, since it requires the conversion of land – which can either be wildland or might mean you’re growing food for plastics instead of food crops.[19] There are also the biodiversity, pesticide, and water use issues that have been raised in regard to bio-based plastics.[20] One possible solution is using waste materials or algae as a feedstock for bio-based plastics.[21]

Biodegradable Plastics

On the other hand, there are biodegradable plastics that are not bio-based.

Biodegradable plastics are a good idea, but they are difficult to make.[22] It’s difficult because chemists need to design a plastic that will fulfil all of the desired functions during its use as a product, while also ensuring that it will act as food for microorganisms.[23]

You need the plastics to not just break down (degrade) – they also need to biodegrade, otherwise you’re just creating more microplastics.[24] Organisms need to be able to completely break down the long molecule chains that make up plastics.[25] Which means we need the right microbe with the right enzyme for the right plastic.[26]

There are many types of biodegradable plastics, which can behave in different ways in different places.[27] Biodegradable plastics can take years to break down in the environment.

There are voluntary standards out there for certifying biodegradable plastics, but these usually make reference to biodegradation in specific conditions, like industrial composting. There aren’t yet biodegradability standards for the marine environment, which is not as ideal for biodegradation (it is cold, there is not a lot of sunlight, and there oftentimes is not a high concentration of microorganisms).[28] Since a lot of plastics end up in the oceans, this is maybe something we need to take into account. But this might be impossible as there is a lot of variety in ocean conditions, including different microorganisms – and recall that you need a match between the microorganism and the plastic.[29] But in the wrong situation, it may never break down.[30] So, we can never say for sure if any material biodegrades in the environment – it all depends on where it ends up. And even if it does eventually biodegrade, plastics in the ocean still pose a problem for marine life.

Compostable Plastics

Not all biodegradable plastics are compostable. But some are. So, what about compostable plastics?

Compostable plastic is bio-based plastic that will biodegrade in industrial composting. Compostable plastics cannot be composted in your home compost. And in some cases, it may not be accepted at commercial composting facilities. Check to make sure it’s accepted in your area’s green bin.

For example, it looks like Ottawa does not compost compostable plastic bags. It does accept plastic bags in compost, but that’s because they can sort and remove plastic bags. But ultimately if you put your compost in a compostable bag, it’ll get landfilled along with conventional plastic bags.

Some commercial facilities will compost their compostable plastic utensils and containers, but this is relatively rare. So, even though compostable plastics are a step forward, they usually end up in landfill anyway. Which means they generate methane.

Oxo-degradable Plastics

There is also something called oxo-plastics or oxo-degradable plastics. Oxo-degradable bags are made of conventional plastics, mixed with metal compounds that make them fall apart faster.[31] But it hasn’t been proven that oxo-degradable plastics biodegrade.[32] They might just degrade – meaning that it’s just producing more microplastics for us to eat, drink, and breathe.

So, Are Bioplastics a Solution?

To sum up: bioplastics are a tiny portion of the overall plastics market. Half of bioplastics are just bio-based, not biodegradable. And even if the plastic is biodegradable, it might only biodegrade in certain environments – and we don’t have good systems for ensuring the plastic you’re using will end up in the right place. Compostable plastics, when put in the compost, can be a partial solution.

But generally: bioplastics are not a solution to plastic pollution. To solve that issue you need to address our consumption and disposal of single-use plastics and short-lived plastic products. Instead, we need to reduce plastics – especially single-use plastics – wherever we can. The Plastic-free July website has some useful tips for getting started and next steps once you’ve done the basics. And we need to improve our recycling systems so that plastic actually gets recycled.

Take Action

In our interview with Sarah King of Greenpeace Canada, Sarah asked listeners to sign onto a petition calling for the Government of Canada to implement a strong single-use plastics ban. You can find that petition here.

This week, Kristen also recommends Plastisphere podcast!

Endnotes

[1]50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast. (2017). Plastic. BBC World Service.

[2] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[3] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[4] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[5] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[6] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[7] 50 Things that Made the Modern World Podcast, “Plastic.”

[8] Kellogg, Kathryn. (2019). 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste. New York: Countryman Press.

[9] Kellogg, Kathryn, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.

[10] Kellogg, Kathryn, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.

[11] Kellogg, Kathryn, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.

[12] Kellogg, Kathryn, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.

[13] Plastisphere Podcast, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[14] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[15] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[16] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[17] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[18] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[19] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[20] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[21] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[22] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[23] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[24] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[25] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[26] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[27] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[28] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[29] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[30] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[31] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

[32] Plastisphere, “Confused about Bioplastics?”.

Episode 21 - Cannabis

How Does Cannabis Work?

The Endocannabinoid System

Humans and plants share similar chemical compounds called cannabinoids (in people we call them endocannabinoids). We make our own endocannabinoids through our endocannabinoid system is thought to control how we feel, move, and react. The endocannabinoid system may play a role in regulating stress recovery, nervous system protection, immune system response, and homeostatic behaviour. We have two kinds of cannabinoid receptors, which endocannabinoids bind to:

• The first type, CB1 receptors, are primarily located in the central nervous system (including the brain)

• The second type, CB2 receptors, are found primarily in the immune system.

Plant cannabinoids also interact with these receptors and inhibit the way they function.  

Plant Cannabinoids

The cannabis plant contains hundreds of cannabinoids, but the two most well-known are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Because the number and location of endocannabinoid receptors differ, reactions to THC and CBD won’t be the same, even if people are consuming the exact same strain. The effects of cannabis also depend on things like consumption method, frequency of use, genetics, age, sex, personality, current mood, and mental health conditions. Most people will know that THC is what produces the “high” associated with cannabis. CBD doesn’t generally produce a high. It’s associated with pain-relief and reducing anxiety, as well as a few other health effects. Because everyone is different, health experts recommend starting with cannabis that has low THC and CBD levels to gauge how your body will react.

Effects of Cannabis

Generally, the desired effects of cannabis are temporary and include stress relief, anxiety reduction, increased creativity, and increased appetite. Unpleasant effects are also generally temporary and result from consuming too much. These include: an inability to concentrate; memory problems; anxiety, panic, or paranoia; disorganized thoughts; dizziness or hallucinations; reduced reaction time; and sleepiness. To avoid unpleasant effects from cannabis, try to choose cannabis with low THC content and consume small amounts slowly. Check out other tips for responsible use here.

There are a few long-term effects that can develop from frequent (daily or near-daily), long-term cannabis use. Most of these are effects on the brain, including harms to memory, concentration, and ability to think and make decisions. The only known long-term effect on the body is from smoke inhalation. Similar to smoking tobacco, this can increase risks to lung health including bronchitis, lung infections chronic cough, and increased mucus build-up in the throat.

Cannabis Production

Cannabis production has five stages:

1. Cultivation

2. Extraction

3. Testing

4. Distribution

5. Retail

Cannabis Legalization/Decriminalization

There are a few countries around the world that have either legalized, partially legalized, or decriminalized marijuana. Legalization for medical use is the most common, while Canada is fairly rare in legalizing recreational use. Uruguay legalized cannabis in 2013.

Legalization in Canada 

Recreational marijuana became legal in Canada in October 2018. A CBC News article from December ran with a headline that I thought was funny: “Canada’s cannabis policy makes it an international rebel on drug treaties”. More than 130 licensed producers in Canada’s cannabis landscape when PwC wrote this article in late 2018. Federal government (Health Canada) oversees commercial production and processing, while the provinces and territories oversee distribution, wholesaling, and retailing. 

Canada’s Cannabis Industry

Creating a Legal Industry for Cannabis 

As of February 2020, the Canadian cannabis industry (legal and illegal) is about $8 billion annually. A lot of that still comes from the black market: close to 40% of adult cannabis users reported obtaining cannabis from the black market in the last year (friends, dealers, private dispensaries, online, and family as the largest sources). As for legal cannabis, the main sources are retailers (55%), online (46%), medical providers (17%), and homegrown cannabis (6%).

Legal cannabis tends to be about 60% more expensive than illegal cannabis. There have also been supply issues, especially in Ontario during the initial rollout of legal weed. In Ontario, just 24 stores opened in 2019, compared with more than 300 in Alberta. Cannabis retail shops are fancy AF, as you can see from these photos of some of the best cannabis store brands.

Depending on the province, the retail model differs. It can include government-operated stores, private licensed stores, and online retailers.

• Public-only (physical and online): PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Northwest Territories

• Public and private (physical), public (online): British Columbia, Yukon

• Private (physical) and public (online): Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Alberta

• Private-only (physical and online): Manitoba, Saskatchewan

• None of it: Nunavut

Big Weed

The top five companies control a combined 73% of the Canadian cannabis market (as of April 2019). The four largest cannabis companies are Canopy Growth Corp (Ontario-based), Cronos Group (CRON), Aurora Cannabis (Edmonton-based), and Aphria (APHA).

A bit more on the big dudes. Aurora Cannabis is one of the largest cannabis companies in the world. It recently bought Choom, which is a consumer cannabis company with a large retail network in Canada. They also bought Clarity Cannabis Retail Stores.

Cronos is a globally diversified and vertically integrated cannabis company with a presence on five continents. In Canada it is planning to launch the Medmen Canada retail brand, a joint venture with Medmen.

Canopy Growth operates two retail brands in Canada: Tokyo Smoke and Tweed. Canopy Growth has also partnered with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s cannabis brand, Houseplant.

And Westleaf Inc. is a vertically-integrated Canadian cannabis company. Westleaf plans to launch 50 premium retail stores across Western Canada by the end of 2020.

There are a ton of cannabis brands, and it’s a bit overwhelming to try to differentiate them. My cannabis oil was made by Solei (based in Leamington, Ontario) and purchased at Tokyo Smoke (owned by Canopy Growth). Solei seems to have pretty strong commitments to environmental sustainability, but it’s difficult to know.

Ethics and Legal v. Illegal Weed

There isn’t a lot written about this, which maybe isn’t surprising. Putting aside whether there is any moral harm to breaking the law in itself, buying illegal weed supports organized crime. Even if your weed guy is nice, you may be in some way supporting other more harmful forms of trafficking. That is, of course, unless you can verify that you are buying from, say, a neighbour who grows his own marijuana and sells a bit of it on the side. That’s a murkier ethical question. With legal weed, you can also be reasonably sure that the workers who cultivated, processed, and sold your cannabis had some measure of legal labour protections.

Environment (the other “Green Revolution”)

Water Use

In general, hemp plants require quite a lot of water to grow: a single marijuana plant can consume up to six gallons of water per day. If you are growing cannabis at home, there are some ways that you can do this more efficiently. One suggestion is using water from dehumidifiers to water the plant.

Energy Use

Growing weed can take a lot of energy: in Denver, for example, cannabis accounted for nearly four percent of the entire city’s energy usage in 2013-2016. Most of that was from growing cannabis. Get weed that was grown in a greenhouse, instead of a dark warehouse, because that uses less energy.

One example of an eco-friendly grower is L’Eagle (Denver-based). L’Eagle uses the entire plant for concentrates and flower and doesn’t use pesticides. It also promotes reusable products in-store.

Packaging

Because cannabis is a regulated product, it often has to be sold in small quantities in child-proof packaging that is often made from non-recyclable, single-use plastics. An estimated 10,000 tons of packaging was generated in the first year of weed legalization in Canada.

The federal Cannabis Act in Canada requires that cannabis be packaged in containers that are: opaque or semi-transparent; tamper-evident and child-resistant; and designed to prevent contamination and keep cannabis dry. It has been difficult to find biodegradable materials that meet these criteria. Unfortunately, regulations also prohibit the reuse and refill of cannabis packaging (because it has to be sealed with an excise stamp before going to the retailer).

Recycling these containers is a bit hit-and-miss. My cannabis oil container can apparently be recycled, but I doubt the dropper can be. One brand, Tweed, has launched a recycling program through TerraCycle.

There is some attention to this issue – for instance, entire companies have been created around sustainable cannabis packaging. Lots of cannabis-inesses are trying. For example, Sana Packaging produces biodegradable hemp-based packaging. The push is coming from consumers: consumers want eco-friendly cannabis and are willing to pay more for them.

Which Consumption Method is Most Eco-friendly?

Well, it’s definitely not disposable vapes (the “K-Cups of cannabis”). Don’t use those. And if you live in a place where you can easily grow your own using sunlight, putting some of that in a reusable pipe is probably the most environmentally friendly way to go. But beyond that, every method has its benefits and drawbacks. And in each category, there are better and worse options.  

Which Consumption Method is Best?

Flower

It is possible to buy flower in bulk – the largest quantity I saw on the Ontario Cannabis Store website was 28g.  The website also lets you pick flower from Ontario-based growers, which would reduce the transport emissions.

Oils (Tinctures), Sprays, and Capsules

Oils, sprays, and capsules are a popular way to use cannabis. They all use oil-based marijuana concentrates that you ingest. When you are getting pot in single-use plastic packages, look for plastic with the classification 1 (PET), which is most likely to be recyclable in your municipality. And remember good recycling etiquette.  You can also go with a brand that has a recycling program. And tell your Member of Parliament that you want to get high without wreaking the oceans.

You could also buy cannabis flower in bulk and make oil from it at home. You basically grind the flower, then sauté it in oil (very gently) for an hour or more. Then you just strain out the plant solids. You should make sure that the space is well ventilated if you are going to make your own oil. Here is a cannabis oil recipe that we found. And here’s another. The downside of homemade oil is that you can’t be as precise with the concentration, which is what I really like about buying oils.  

Other Extracts

Hash is a pressed concentration of the marijuana plant’s sticky glands. It can be vaporised or smoked. Kief is another option – it refers to the bulbous, crystal formation on the top of the marijuana plant’s resin glands. It’s powdery. Apparently it’s easier to make cannabis oils from kief. 

Joints

Don’t just flick your roach onto the ground. Littering is bad. Beyond that, you can think a bit about your filters and rolling papers.  

Not all joints are vegan. For instance, some use animal-based glues, though many brands now use plant-based glues. Animal products can also be present in the dyes. Not all rolling papers are cruelty-free, either.

You can get eco-friendly rolling papers made of hemp or rice. Check out some options here.

Vaporizers

If you vape, make sure you are recycling your batteries appropriately. Don’t buy a disposable vaporizer.

Edibles

To meet government safety regulations, edibles have to be packaged in child-proof packaging. And in Canada, no more than 10mg of THC can be in a package of edibles. The general packaging advice goes for edibles, or make your own!

Topicals

Topicals are products like lotions, creams, and oils that are meant to be applied to hair, skin, and nails and have been infused with cannabis extracts. Because topicals bind to a different kind of cannabinoid receptors (the CB2 receptors in the immune system), they impact us differently than smoking or ingesting cannabis. The general packaging advice goes for topicals.

Episodes 12, 13, and 14 - Clothing

People

Fast Fashion

Fast Fashion has gotten a lot of buzz recently. Hasan Minhaj devoted an entire episode of The Patriot Act to it. CBC did a documentary on fast fashion, called Fashion’s Dirty Secrets. There have also been books published on fast fashion, like Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas or Over-Dressed by Elizabeth Cline.

Zara is often the brand people think about when they think of fast fashion. It is the world’s largest fashion brand, producing more than 450 million items in 2018.[1] Zara was a pioneer in fast fashion, and it has changed the apparel business paradigm. Other retailers have since gotten on board.

Essentially, under the model of fast fashion, brands take designs from top-tier fashion designers. Then they produce a cheaper version with worse fabric and sell it at low prices to middle-market consumers.[2] It’s called fast fashion because production and sales have been sped up.[3] Between 2000 and 2014, the number of garments doubled: 100 billion garments are now produced annually.[4] That amounts to fourteen new garments annually for everyone on the planet.[5]

In a way, fast fashion has democratized or massified fashion – bringing high design to regular consumers. But fast fashion has also caused a lot of problems

As a result of fast fashion, we have lots of poor-quality clothes and we don’t wear them for very long. On average clothing is worn seven times before being disposed of,[6] mostly to landfill. Shoppers buy five times more clothing now than they did in 1980.[7] In 2018, the average consumer bought 68 garments.[8] 

French designer Jean Paul Gaultier has said: “The system doesn’t work… There aren’t enough people to buy them. We’re making clothes that aren’t designed to be worn. Too many clothes kills clothes.”[9]

Offshoring and the Fractured Supply Chain

Another important change, to set the context, has been the globalization of clothing supply chains. This change is often called “offshoring”, which basically means relocating factories in countries with low labour costs. Offshoring has changed the industry dramatically over the last thirty years. In 1991, 56.2% of all clothes purchased in the United States were American-made. By 2012, it was 2.5%.[10]

And today that supply chain is not only offshore, it’s also fractured. Fabric is woven and dyed in one place, cut in another, sewn somewhere else, and then zippers and buttons are attached in another location.[11] Brands rarely own the factories that make their clothes. They contract to suppliers, who often subcontract to other suppliers.

Together, this creates challenges for ensuring workers’ safety and rights. And that matters: “fashion employs one out of six people on the globe, making it the most labor-intensive industry out there – more than agriculture, more than defense. Fewer than 2 percent of them [garment workers] earn a living wage.”[12]

The fashion industry’s supply chain has roughly six stages:

1.     Planting and harvesting the raw materials (e.g., cotton)

2.     Weaving the fibre into cloth

3.     Finishing and shipping the cloth to distributors

4.     Producing the garments

5.     Shipping finished products to the warehouse

6.     Distribution from the warehouse to the storefront

Within each of these stages, there can be different steps. For instance, dyeing isn’t included in here, but it will occur in most cases. For blue jeans the supply chain will also typically include distressing at a washhouse. These steps may occur in different locations.

Sweatshops

The garment industry has had sweatshops since the Industrial Revolution. In the 1830s, the invention of the lockstitch sewing machine made possible mechanization of clothes-making.[13]

Cotton mills in particular were horrorscapes. Both Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote about the conditions they observed in cotton mills, where death, mutilation, rape, and illness were common. Engels was so horrified by what he saw that he called mill work a new form of enslavement.[14]

One of the most famous incidents in historical sweatshops was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which took place in 1911. 146 employees died in that fire (123 women and 23 men). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was NYC’s worst workplace disaster until 9/11.[15]

After a lot of activism, workers’ protections were introduced. In America, Frances Perkins, Labour Secretary under FDR, introduced a number of legislative protections for workers, which cleaned up the manufacturing industry.[16]

Unfortunately, when production moved offshore in the 1990s, “the old-style sweatshop system came roaring back to life.”[17] The EU is still a major apparel exporter, but most garments are exported from Asia. China is the top apparel supplier, followed by the EU, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, and Turkey.

Offshore sweatshops today look a lot like the sweatshops of the 1800s and early 1900s. They are hot, unsanitary, dusty, and unsafe. There is often no food or clean drinking water. Workers work long hours for low wages. They often don’t get breaks and are forced to work overtime for no pay. Buildings are often locked. Workers sometimes can’t talk to each other. And as most workers are women while most supervisors are men, sexual assault and rape is endemic.

In wealthy countries like the US and Canada, there are domestic sweatshops, too. When the FDR-era reforms got rid of legal sweatshops, sweatshops became less common – but they didn’t disappear entirely. There are still sweatshops in wealthy countries, but they exist illegally and are run by organized crime. Because of their illicit nature, these sweatshops are also hubs for human trafficking and money laundering. [18] Domestic sweatshops are a particular problem in the US, and especially LA, because of the large undocumented immigrant population. About half of the apparel manufacturing workers in LA are estimated to be undocumented workers who make as little as $4 per day.[19]

Rana Plaza

Beyond the generally shitty working conditions, there are still frequent sweatshop disasters on the same scale or larger than the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

One of the most famous ones took place in Bangladesh in 2013. On 13 April 2013 there was an explosion at the Rana Plaza garment factory. It ripped a hole in the wall. Engineers wanted to condemn the building immediately, but the owner refused.[20] The next day, workers returned. The power went out and, as backup generators went on, the building began to quake. Then, “It went down.”[21] Rana Plaza was the deadliest garment factory accident in modern history. 1,134 people died and another 2,500 were injured.

The infuriating thing, though, is that it was the third high-profile sweatshop disaster in Bangladesh within three years. A December 2010 fire at the That’s It Sportswear garment factory killed 29 and injured more than 100. Gap had just finished inspecting the factory.[22] In November 2012, a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory killed at least 117 and left 200 injured.[23] Sears, Walmart, and Disney products were produced there. Overall, between 2006 and 2012, more than five hundred Bangladeshi garment workers died in factory fires.[24]

After a 2010 fire, NGOs created the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement. It went unsigned until winter 2012.[25] Then, a handful of companies signed on when ABC News ran a story on the 2010 fire. Most other brands did not act until after the Rana Plaza explosion. And even then, a number of brands went with a watered-down voluntary agreement called the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which was not legally binding.

There have been some changes since Rana Plaza, but unsafe sweatshops still exist there.[26] And as of 2017, 95% of buildings in Dhaka still do not have a fire exit. A recent study found that firms support factory safety but aren’t willing to increase prices, so factories have to absorb these costs themselves. And although the incidence of sweatshops went down after Rana Plaza, there are still problems of low wages, long working hours, overtime, abusive supervision, and union busting. The optimistic way of framing this is that activism and public pressure can work, but it needs to be sustained in order to really generate progress.

A garment factory fire in New Delhi killed 43 people in December 2019.

Child Labour

The garment industry is also a hotbed for child labour. Child labour has been an unfortunately common practice in the apparel industry going back to the advent of mechanized clothing production. Lots of sweatshops have children working in them.

For example, in 2016 “H&M, Next, and Esprit were found to have Syrian refugee children sewing and hauling bundles of clothes in subcontracted workshops in Turkey.”[27]

Sometimes children are lured from their homes to work in sweatshops. For instance, a report by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) found that: “recruiters in southern India convince parents in impoverished rural areas to send their daughters to spinning mills with promises of a well-paid job, comfortable accommodation, three nutritious meals a day and opportunities for training and schooling, as well as a lump sum payment at the end of three years.” (from the Guardian) But in reality, “Girls and young women are being lured from their home villages by false promises and are working under appalling conditions amounting to forced labour” (SOMO and ICN).

Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan are particularly notorious for child labour in the textile and garment industry.

Child labour occurs at different phases of the supply chain, from the production of cotton seeds (Benin), cotton harvesting (Uzbekistan), yarn spinning (India), and “cut-make-trim” garment production in factories (Bangladesh). An investigation by SOMO found that 60% of the workers at spinning mills in India were under 18 when they started working there (the youngest workers were 15).

Forced and child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry is particularly egregious. “Every year […] approximately 1m people – including teachers, doctors and students – are dumped in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields to pick “white gold”. They are taken from their jobs and their schools, sometimes threatened with expulsion or dismissal or physical violence, and compelled to meet quotas to help the government earn some hard cash.” (From the Economist) This is a unique case of state-sanctioned mass mobilization of child and forced labour.

The Uzbekistani government sets cotton quotas. If famers don’t fulfil their quotas they can be kicked off of their land. But farmers can’t afford extra farm hands for harvest, so state officials order state employees (e.g. doctors and nurses) and students into the fields. A study by the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London found that between 86 and 100 percent of schools in the districts that they studied were subject to compulsory recruitment of children in grades 5-9 (ages 11-14). Students were employed in the cotton harvest for between 51 and 63 days without breaks and under unsanitary, unhealthy, and nutritional conditions.

The Responsible Sourcing Network has convinced 314 companies to pledge to eliminate Uzbek cotton from their supply chains. You can check out the list of brands here. As a result of advocacy efforts, the export of Uzbek cotton has been reduced from 2.5 million bales to 0.7 million bales in the last decade. The pledge was launched in 2011. American Apparel, as of December 2019, still has not signed the pledge. It is one of the last remaining American brands to do so. Polo Ralph Lauren is another non-signatory. I also did not see Roots Canada on the list.

Outside of Uzbekistan, child labour in the garment industry may not be state-sanctioned, but this does not make it any less harmful.

Forced Labour

The fashion industry is also one of the biggest sources of modern slavery. The Walk Free Foundation estimates that $127.7 billion USD worth of garments imported annually by G20 countries are at-risk of modern slavery.

Last year it was revealed that China is operating forced labour camps in Xinjiang province. Uighurs detained in “re-education camps” are reportedly working in factories producing cars, cotton, and clothing. Brands so far have said that they haven’t found evidence that the labour in these factories is forced, but investigative journalism has come to a different conclusion.

Women’s Rights and Sexual Assault

Fast fashion is fundamentally a gender inequality issue. Approximately 80% of workers in the garment industry are women between the ages of 18 and 35.

Rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment are big problems in sweatshops. For instance, a study by the Fair Wear Foundation and Care International found that 43% of women interviewed in Vietnamese factories said they had suffered at least one form of violence and/or harassment in the last year. Research by ActionAid found that 80% of garment workers in Bangladesh have either seen or directly experienced sexual violence or harassment in the workplace.

So Why Is Everything So Shitty? 

Here is where the fractured supply chain comes in: when disasters and abuses like these happen, brands often claim that they are not responsible, that the sweatshops in questions were not authorized suppliers. Basically, big brands have approved suppliers, and those approved suppliers subcontract to sweatshops. When a scandal happens, brands that claim to be sweatshop-free will “often claim they had no idea their “approved” contractors were subcontracting to sweatshops.”[28]

Are Things Getting Better?

Not really, no. These problems are fundamental to how fast fashion works: there is a need to get clothes made really quickly and really cheaply. People and the environment inevitably suffer.

There have been some changes, though. The first industry shift was a move toward supplier codes of conduct. In the mid-1990s, American apparel brands faced criticism over offshore sweatshops. “In response, some started drafting “codes of conduct”: a list of standards that a company expects its suppliers to respect.”[29] Levi Strauss approved fashion’s first code of conduct in 1992.[30]

The independent audits that are used to enforce the codes aren’t great. Visits are often announced in advance. And the monitors themselves have no oversight, so things like bribery can happen.[31] Still, this IS progress. In 1998 about 15% of company codes of conduct included freedom of association and collective bargaining, and now nearly all do. [32]

Another big move is transparency: it is becoming more common for brands to publish supplier lists.[33] Fashion Revolution and other NGOs have been instrumental in pushing fashion brands to be more transparent.

How You Can Act to Promote Human Rights in the Clothing Industry

Fashion Revolution

Fashion Revolution promotes a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry. Their manifesto is pretty holistic (it covers dignified work, fair and equal pay, labour rights, cultural appropriation, solidarity, environmental impact, the throwaway culture, transparency and accountability).

Fashion Revolution was founded in reaction to the Rana Plaza disaster. It is most well-known for publishing an annual Transparency Index. But Fashion Revolution also organizes Fashion Revolution Week and runs the #whomademyclothes and #imadeyourclothes campaigns.

Fair Wear

Fair Wear is an organization that is working to promote worker and human rights in garment production. They focus on the sewing, cutting, and trimming processes because those are the most labour-intensive parts of the supply chain. 133 brands have signed onto the Fair Wear Foundation’s Code of Labour Practices. You can check them out here.

Environment

The environmental impact of clothing comes from three different stages of production: the impact of producing the fabrics from which clothing is made; the impact of moving those fabrics around, turning them into garments, and selling them; and the impact of clothing disposal.

Fabrics

Fashion’s environmental footprint is mostly from manufacturing textiles – so, growing or making, then spinning, dyeing, and finishing the fabrics.[34] Examining the environmental impact of clothing means looking at the different fabrics that make up our clothing. The most commonly used fabrics in clothing today are cotton and polyester. They make up 75% of the global fibre market.[35]

Polyester

Polyester is everywhere. It is present in 60% of clothing.[36] There has been a 157% increase in the use of polyester between 2000 and 2016.[37] That is because polyester is the backbone of fast fashion: “it is the cheap, easy-to-produce material that an industry built on low price and speed depends on.”[38]

Polyester is plastic. It is made from fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and contribute to climate change. The demand for polyester and other plastics drives investment in petrochemical refining.[39]

Polyester has a huge waste problem. Because it is plastic, polyester does not readily biodegrade. And we really have no plan for what to do with the massive volumes of polyester we are producing. Right now, only a very small amount of polyester clothing uses recycled plastic, and typically this is from plastic bottles rather than plastic clothing.[40] And of course, go back to our laundry episode to hear more about how it sheds plastic microfibres.

Given that polyester is everywhere, if you want to buy the best version of the stuff, try to seek out recycled polyester or polyester that is certified hazardous substances free.[41]

Other synthetics – Spandex, Nylon, Acrylic, Polyurethane, PVC

There is a variety of synthetic fibres in clothing, and they are all slightly different. Nylon is present in 5% of clothing, making it the second most common synthetic fabric, next to polyester. Acrylic is the third most common synthetic material. It is present in 2% of clothing. It is a cheap alternative to wool. Spandex makes stuff stretchy. Polyurethane is used in things like coatings and faux leather

Most synthetics seem to have problems with carcinogens, and they all take a lot of energy to make.[42] As with polyester, Elizabeth Cline recommends looking for synthetics with safe-chemistry labels, as well as recycled synthetics.[43] She also recommends avoiding all polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used for vinyl and some faux leather, since it often includes a chemical that is linked to endocrine disruption.[44]

Cotton

Cotton makes up about a quarter of global fibre production.[45] The majority of cotton is grown in China, India, and the United States.[46]

Cotton can be tricky to grow, so usually it is farmed with a lot of pesticides and fertilized. As a result, cotton uses about 6% of all pesticides, which is more than any other major crop.[47] Twenty percent of insecticides are devoted to producing conventional cotton, even though it is grown only 2.5 percent of the world’s arable land.[48] The WHO has classified 8 out of 10 of America’s most popular cotton pesticides as hazardous.[49] These pesticides can poison workers, as well as the people and environment around cotton farms (when it gets into the air, water, and soil).[50]

Cotton is also super thirsty. Growing one kilo of conventional cotton requires 10,000 litres of water (2,600 gallons). And processing cotton requires even more: about 5,000 gallons for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.[51] The good news is that organic cotton can be grown with up to 91% less irrigated water than conventional cotton.[52]

And almost 60% of all cotton is grown in water-scarce regions.[53] That means stuff like this happens…

The Aral Sea in Central Asia was once the world’s fourth largest lake, but today it has almost completely dried up. That is because in the 1950s the Soviets began using the rivers that feed the Aral Sea to irrigate surrounding agricultural area. It is a practice that has continued into today. As the Aral Sea has dried, it is releasing salts and carcinogens into the air, which has caused throat cancer and respiratory diseases for people in surrounding villages. How is this relevant to the fashion industry? Well, because the river is being used to irrigate 1.47 million hectares of cotton.

Where you can, try to find organic and/or fairtrade certified cotton, as well as recycled cotton.[54]

Viscose Rayon (Cellulosic Fabric)

This fabric type will show up on labels in a variety of ways, including viscose, rayon bamboo, modal, lyocell, eucalyptus, and Tencel. Some of these are identical and others are slightly different. But basically, all of these fabrics are made by chemically dissolving food from eucalyptus, beech, or bamboo trees; the chemical pulp is then reformed into a fibre.[55]Viscose or rayon (which are the same thing) makes up about 70% of this category of fibres.[56]

Cellulosic fabric and its compatriots are essentially a cheaper cousin to silk or cotton. Cellulosic fabric is also often marketed as ecologically conscious or sustainable, even though it may not be. So, you really have to be careful about greenwash with these fibres. There are some forms of viscose rayon that can be more sustainable (like lyocell).

Cellulosic fibres take a lot of energy to produce and the materials have a higher greenhouse gas impact than the manufacture of polyester or cotton.[57] They also produce a lot of waste: 70% of the tree becomes waste in the manufacturing process.[58]

And cellulosic fabric is driving deforestation. Ancient and endangered forests are being used in the manufacture of these fabrics. This includes the Amazon and Indonesia’s rainforests. But Canada’s boreal forests and Great Bear Rainforest are also being threatened by these practices. The NGO Canopy is working with clothing companies like Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer, and H & M to protect forests.

If you are going with a cellulosic fibre, try to look for lyocell (also called Lenzig Tencel), since it is the most sustainable cellulosic fabric. Look also for safe-chemicals certifications, and buy from brands that are working with Canopy.[59]

Wool and Leather

Although we did not focus on animal welfare in this episode, it is worth noting the environmental impact of animal-based fibres.

Leather has a big carbon, water, and land use footprint – we’ll do a full episode on leather, but let’s just mention that here.

Wool can be sustainable, or it can be bad for the environment – a lot depends on where it is produced and how the animals are raised.[60] Although there are different wools out there, sheep’s wool is 95% of the market.[61] Cashmere comes from goats.[62] Wool production can cause erosion when animals overgraze.[63] Cleaning raw wool creates high quantities of wastewater.[64] Also, it produces a lot of methane.[65] On the other hand, wool lasts longer than most other fabrics, so Elizabeth Cline recommends buying timeless wool products and mending them to make them last.[66] She also suggests buying organic and safe-chemicals-certified wool.[67]

Check out our Winter Gear episode to learn more about choosing between animal and synthetic materials.

Bast Fibres (Linen, Hemp, Jute, Ramie, Flax): Best Fibres

Linen is the oldest known fabric. It is a natural fibre, cultivated from the flax (linseed) plant. Together, bast fibres are about 5.5% of the global fibre market.[68] Bast fibres use less energy and fewer chemical inputs, so these fibres can be cultivated sustainably.[69] There are few environmental issues with purchasing these fabrics, but why not also look for recycled or organic bast fibres?[70]

Buying Conscious Fabrics

Whichever fibre you choose, there are a few certifications that you can look for to signal effort on one aspect of environmental stewardship.

The first set of certifications are safe-chemicals certifications, which guard against the use of hazardous materials. Some common safe-chemicals certifications include: Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Oeko-Tex, and Bluesign-approved.

Next, organics standards prohibit the use of pesticides. Some organics labels to look for in clothing include: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Organic Content Standard (OCS), and Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified.

You can also look for fairtrade member and certified products. Fairtrade essentially means that the workers producing a product have been paid fairly and experience some level of safety in the workplace. See our sugar episode for more on fairtrade certification, but one label we will mention here is Fair Trade USA.

Garment Production and Distribution

Water Use

The fashion industry uses a lot of water. “If fashion production maintains its current pace, the demand for water will surpass the world’s supply by 40 percent by 2030.”[71]

Emissions

Fashion also has a big emissions footprint. Apparel and footwear production accounts for 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. And clothing production is growing at a swift pace, meaning that emissions from textile manufacturing are projected to grow by 60% by 2030.

Some companies try to use carbon offsets to improve their image, check our episode on this subject to see where we land on that.

Pollution and Hazardous Chemicals

We talked about plastic microfibres in our laundry episode. But it is worth remembering that synthetic fabrics pollute waterways when they break down in the washing machine.

In addition to plastic microfibres, toxic chemicals are a big problem in the clothing industry. 46 million tons of chemicals are used to process textiles annually, and ten percent pose a potential risk to human health.[72] Some are even linked to cancer.[73]That is a problem for worker health and the environment, as well as for us because chemicals can remain on the clothing that we buy.

In 2011 Greenpeace released a report revealing that suppliers of major clothing brands are polluting the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas with toxic, hormone-disrupting chemicals. The report focuses on pollution from two facilities in China (the Youngor Textile Complex and the Well Dyeing Factory Limited). Greenpeace took samples of wastewater discharges from the two facilities and found that alkylphenols and perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) were present in the wastewater. These two facilities were linked to major brands including Abercrombie and Fitch; Adidas; Bauer Hockey; Calvin Klein; Converse; H&M; Lacoste; Nike; and Puma.

Greenpeace followed up this report with another one on the presence of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) in clothing. Their analysis of clothing bought from 15 leading clothing brands, and found that two-thirds tested positive for the presence of NPEs above the limit of detection.

Why are NPEs bad? NPEs wash off of the clothing and break down into nonylphenols, which then accumulate in the food chain. Nonylphenols are hella toxic. So even though NPEs are banned in some places… they can still end up in the water supply when people wash clothing produced with NPEs elsewhere.

Tools for Seeking Out Conscious Brands

If you are interested in finding conscious brands, there are some tools out there to help!

The Good on You App and website rates the ethics and sustainability of fashion brands. Done Good is a web directory of conscious fashion brands. You can buy directly from the website. Rank A Brand assesses and ranks consumer brands on sustainability and social responsibility. There is, of course, also Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Index, which focuses on supply chain transparency. (For more on this, see our very first episode!) And you can also consult the Ethical Fashion Report. 

End-of Life

We, as a society, are throwing out so many clothes. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles enters landfill or is burned, which amounts to a $500 billion USD loss in value due to clothing waste. In the United States, 23.8 billion pounds of clothes are thrown in the garbage annually, which is about 73 pounds per person![74] Clothing is the fastest-growing category of waste in US landfills.[75]

In addition to the problem of waste from landfilling clothes, this can be an environmental problem. Natural fibres slowly decompose. When they are trapped in the landfill, they release methane, which is super bad for climate change.[76] Synthetic clothing can take hundreds of years to biodegrade, but the hazardous chemicals they are made out of can be released into the air or ground as they slowly break down.[77] For every 2 million tons of textiles we keep out landfills, we can reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the road.[78]

Escaping Fast Fashion

Trying to incorporate ethics in clothing can be overwhelming. But the overall message to take is that we do need to reject the mentality of fast fashion, since the business model itself is causing a lot of problems.

More than 70% of the average wardrobe is going unworn.[79] Being more intentional about your wardrobe is an important first step. And, of course, just wearing what you have for longer is the biggest way to have an impact. But if you’ve got a fast fashion wardrobe full of shitty materials that wear out quickly, that can be tricky. So, what do you do?

You can work towards building a conscious closet.

The Conscious Closet

What is a conscious closet? According to Elizabeth Cline, author of The Conscious Closet: “A conscious closet is a wardrobe built with greater intention and awareness of our clothes, where they come from, what they’re made out of, and why they matter.”[80]

There are lots of different tools and strategies to build a conscious closet, and the mix that works best for you will be different than for everyone else. But Cline identifies three Fashion Personality Types that can help to guide you. Minimalists buy for keeps, have a more timeless look, and want to cut clutter from their lives. Style Seekers are maximalists; they want statement pieces and lots of change. Traditionalists are somewhere in the middle.

There are six components of a conscious closet:

1.     For-keeps: clothes you already own, love, and want to keep wearing;

2.     New-to-you: swapped, borrowed, handmade, hand-me-downs, resale, secondhand, thrifted, vintage;

3.     Rentals;

4.     Quality: timeless pieces that are built to last;

5.     Better Big Brands: clothes by the big brands that are on the right path, compared to their peers; and

6.     Conscious Superstars: the most pioneering, ethical, and sustainable brands.

Conscious Closet Inventory and Cleanout

Cline suggests starting with a Conscious Closet Cleanout, which is a good way to really examine what you own, how often you wear it (if at all), what it’s made of, et cetera. But this isn’t like Marie Kondo-ing your wardrobe. Cline wants to emphasize that you should not throw anything away.

We reproduced this impact inventory card from Elizabeth Cline’s book, The Conscious Closet.

Here are some quick tips for doing a conscious closet cleanout. First, purge by season. Focus on in-season clothes only. So, look at sweaters in winter and sundresses in summer. Your decision-making will be better this way. Also, it will be easier to responsibly deal with end-of-life (donation etc.) if the clothing is in-season. Next, if you love it, keep it. Don’t shame yourself for things you’ve already bought. Building a conscious closet takes time. Third, pay attention to what you wear most, and why they make you happy.

Eventually you will want to find your magic wardrobe number – how many clothes you need, which will be different for everyone. Cline suggests that minimalists can be happy with 50 pieces or fewer, but style seekers might want 250+ items and that’s okay. You can use a fashion fast or a capsule wardrobe to get a better sense of what your number is. De-cluttering your wardrobe is an important element of building a conscious closet, but you don’t want to go too far.

When deciding what to get rid of, here are a few tips. Aim for balance and look for things that go together. Look for pieces that don’t go with anything else. Then, either find a way to make them work or prune them. Cut back on trendy pieces. Learn from items you’ve never worn. When you are eliminating bad fabrics, focus on which fabrics wore out more quickly and what brands produced them. If you are even a little unsure, keep the item for a while and give it another go. And repair items if you can!

Reuse Plan

When you are getting rid of clothes, how do you deal with it responsibly? Cline calls this a “Reuse Plan”.

There are four different ways that you can consciously get rid of clothes, but you need to really think about the item, and which is the best fit.

1.     Donate or give away: do that when clothes are in a clean and wearable condition.

2.     Sell or swap: do this for your highest-value, on-trend, and in-season pieces when they are in pristine condition.

3.     Repair: do it where you can and either keep it for yourself or put it in one of the first two categories.

4.     Recycle: when items are worn-out beyond repair, do this.

Donations

Charities only sell about 20-25% of what we donate. The rest gets exported overseas or downcycled (turned into mattress stuffing, insulation, or rags). [81]

Exporting clothes sounds nice, but it is actually a big problem. Used clothes exports have tripled in fifteen years – the US exports 1.7 billion pounds of clothes annually.[82] Most exported clothes go to sub-Saharan Africa, where second-hand dealers distribute and sell it.[83]Although this sounds nice, the volume and low quality of the apparel that is donated means that those second-hand dealers aren’t able to make a living anymore; many are living in extreme poverty.[84] And ultimately a lot of this stuff ends up as garbage. One NGO found that 40% of all used clothing imported to Ghana is immediately landfilled rather than worn or resold.[85]

So, how can you donate effectively? Investigate first: make sure that you are giving to a reputable charity. Vet clothing donations bins. You can do this by looking for bins that are clearly marked with the organization’s name and going to their website. Find out what their acceptance policies are and where they send the clothes that they collect. Depending on what you are donating, you can often donate directly to those in need: homeless shelters, crisis centres, and churches. If you can meet a direct clothing need, this can help assure that your donation won’t end up in a landfill.

For example, Kristen’s building has a Diabetes Canada bin. The website says that their clothes are collected by the linked social enterprise National Diabetes Trust. It delivers clothing to Value Village, though, and they are not transparent about where unsold clothing goes. Kristen didn’t love this option.

Dress for Success Toronto is a charity that provides support, professional attire, and tools to help women achieve economic independence. Dress for Success international has a high (91.4%) charity rating. Kristen ultimately decided that this was the best option for the item she wanted to donate (a pair of dress pants).

It is also crucial that you follow basic used clothing etiquette. First and foremost: always, always, always clean your clothes first. It’s the best way to keep them from ending up as trash. Remove personal belongings from pockets. And tie your shoelaces together! That way the shoes don’t lose each other when they go through re-sorting. You should also mend and repair donated clothing whenever possible. Tears and stains often result in immediate landfilling: usually clothes aren’t getting repaired by the second-hand market. And never leave your donations outside unattended, because they can get rained on and then they will be landfilled.

Recycling

Most clothes are recycled through downcycling: the clothes you recycle are turned into lower-quality products like rags or insulation. That doesn’t solve the waste problem because these still eventually end up in a landfill. But it does increase the length of their lifespan, and that is good.

There are companies working on recapturing cotton that can be used again in exactly the same way as virgin fabrics, which is neat. Hopefully in the future that will be possible and affordable!

For now, though, how do you recycle clothes responsibly? If you are donating your clothes to major charities or thrift shops, a lot of it is likely already being recycled.[86] But ask to make sure! Kristen asked her local Value Village and found out that they do not do this: unsold items get shipped to Africa, where they are most likely landfilled.

There are also in-store garment recycling options. Brands (like Patagonia) sometimes will recycle or repair their own clothing, taking responsibility for end-of-life. A few other brands offer to take and recycle clothing of all brands. Depending on where you live, you may also be able have municipal clothes recycling, so look into this.

In Toronto, where Kristen lives, there is not a municipal clothes recycling program. But H&M, American Eagle, Puma, and North Face all have recycling programs that will accept any brand of clothing. All four brands use the same company (I:CO) to sort and reprocess the clothes, so is very likely that it makes no difference which of these programs you use. Clothes donated through this program are most likely to be downcycled, assuming they are in good enough condition.

Selling and Swapping

If you want to resell your clothes, you have a few options. You can use an online service that takes on the process of selling clothes for you, like thredUP and the RealReal. You can try to sell clothes yourself online through websites like Poshmark. Or you can sell in person through consignment stores.

The types of clothing that do well in the resale market include: on-trend and recent purchases; luxury and designer brands; and in-season items. If you bought something but never wore it and the tags are still on, resale might be a good option – especially if it is from a high-end brand.

Bypass resale if your clothes are damaged; if they are basics; or if they are kids’ clothes, menswear, or workwear. These do not sell well.

You can also organize a clothing swap with friends or a community group. Cline has some suggestions in her book for setting up a clothing swap. But here is another article with quick tips.

Clothes Rentals

Clothing rentals can be a great option if you are the kind of person that needs a lot of trendy pieces in your wardrobe. There are lots of options for renting from clothes rental companies, as well as a few where you can rent items from your wardrobe.  

There are basically two different kinds of clothing rental options: onetime rentals and monthly subscription plans. Rental companies will clean and repair clothes, so no worries there. With rentals, there are shipping and packaging concerns to think about. But this is minimal in comparison to the environmental impact of making clothes.

Your location will determine what your clothes rental options are. In Toronto, there are a few companies.

Dresst is a Toronto-based clothing rental subscription company. When you purchase a membership, you can rent a set number of items for each month. At the end of the month you return the item(s) and they clean it and rent it to someone else. Dresst charges $49/month for one item or $99/month for three items.

Fitzroy is a dress rental company in Toronto. If you are in need of a luscious party gown, this is a great option. Most of the rentals were around $100.

Reheart is a rental website where you can lend or rent. As a lender you get a cut of the profits from renting your item (less than 50%, but Reheart deals with cleaning et cetera). It can be a good way to de-clutter.

Escaping fast fashion is about valuing your clothes more, from the time you are deciding whether to purchase (or rent) them until you have responsibly disposed of the item. Try to think about clothes as an investment, rather than something disposable. Ultimately, you’ll save money and love your wardrobe more!

Endnotes

[1] Thomas, Dana. (2019). Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes. New York: Penguin Press at p.1.

[2] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.31.

[3] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.31.

[4] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.34.

[5] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.35.

[6] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[7] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[8] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.3.

[9] Cited in Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.36.

[10] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.5.

[11] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.35.

[12] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.6.

[13] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[14] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.45.

[15] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[16] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[17] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.47.

[18] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.41.

[19] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.40.

[20] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[21] Shila Begum, worker at Rana Plaza, quoted in Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.57.

[22] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[23] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.55.

[24] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.54.

[25] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[26] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[27] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.6.

[28] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.42.

[29] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.50.

[30] Thomas, Fashionopolis.

[31] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.51.

[32] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.65.

[33] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.65.

[34] Cline, Elizabeth. (2019). The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good. NY: Penguin Randomhouse.

[35] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[36] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.199.

[37] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.199.

[38] Cline, The Conscious Closet at p.162.

[39] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[40] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[41] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[42] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[43] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[44] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[45] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[46] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[47] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[48] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.70.

[49] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.70.

[50] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[51] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.71.

[52] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[53] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[54] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[55] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[56] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[57] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[58] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[59] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[60] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[61] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[62] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[63] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[64] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[65] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[66] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[67] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[68] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[69] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[70] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[71] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.71.

[72] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[73] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[74] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[75] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[76] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[77] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[78] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[79] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[80] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[81] Thomas, Fashionopolis at p.194.

[82] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[83] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[84] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[85] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

[86] Cline, The Conscious Closet.

Episode 03 - Ethical Teeth

One of the earliest lessons we learn in life is how to brush our teeth. We spend about 1,460 minutes every year meticulously scrubbing those pearly whites. Given how much of our time is going to dental hygiene, how could we calibrate this daily habit to match our values?

Toothbrushes

It pays to think about the sustainability of your toothbrush, since this is a product that you replace fairly regularly. It is recommended to replace toothbrushes about every three months, which means that you will go through a dozen of them every three years.

Waste-free mavens (like Trash is for Tossers) point to the virtues of bamboo toothbrushes. And they’ve got a very good point. In the US, somewhere between 1 billion and 3.5 billion toothbrushes are thrown away annually. That accounts for approximately 50 million pounds of plastic waste every year. The waste from discarded toothbrushes ends up in landfills and oceans. As such, toothbrushes are a significant cause of plastic pollution in our oceans. In total, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually. Bamboo toothbrushes, unlike their plastic counterparts, will biodegrade if properly disposed of in a compost bin. There are plastic toothbrushes made from recycled materials (like this one), but ultimately these will still contribute to plastic waste.

On the sustainability front, toothbrushes with bamboo shafts are an easy choice. You can also buy bamboo toothbrushes with replaceable brush heads, which would reduce the amount of bamboo that you are consuming and disposing. Bamboo toothbrushes are now available in many grocery stores, as well as natural foods stores. You can also buy them online, but this often requires more packaging.

Things get a bit trickier when we move to the bristles of the toothbrush. There are some trade-offs. Vegans especially should take note: as this article highlights, you will have to choose between a fully-compostable toothbrush with pig hair bristles and vegan toothbrushes that use one of two nylon compounds for the bristles. The trouble with nylon is that it will not break down in a consumer compost bin.

Nylon-4 has been demonstrated to be biodegradable in lab studies, but it is not compostable. Nylon-11 is made from castor oil and can be recycled, but only if you remove them from the bamboo handle with pliers and find a nylon recycling facility.

My current toothbrush is from Brush with Bamboo. 

For the curious, we looked into electric toothbrushes and found this interesting article that compares electric vs disposable toothbrushes. Between the disposable heads, the batteries, and the energy usage of an electric toothbrush, we’ve decided we land on the side of disposable, especially if the handle is bamboo.

Toothpaste

Here’s how toothpaste works:

Toothpastes contain mild abrasives that scrub away plaque, which is acidic and breaks down the enamel. Fluoride strengthens/protects tooth enamel (the outer layer of the tooth). Some toothpastes also include: detergents (make the toothpaste foam); humectants (e.g. glycerin; these help the toothpaste to retain moisture so that it doesn’t try out); preservatives (prevent the toothpaste from growing bacteria); and flavouring/colouring agents.

If you’re interested in looking at the recipes Kyla used to make her own unsuccessful toothpaste, you can find them here and here.

What’s the deal with fluoride in toothpaste?

A lot of vegan and waste-free toothpastes out there do not have fluoride. This has to do with concerns about the health risks of fluoride, which are largely unsubstantiated. Fluoridated toothpaste has been shown to be safe and effective in preventing tooth decay. Too much fluoride can be bad - you shouldn’t be swallowing your toothpaste - but if used appropriately fluoridated toothpaste is a safe and effective way to prevent cavities.

The prevalence of fluoride-free toothpaste also has to do with regulatory rules. Essentially, whether or not toothpaste is fluoridated is a key determinant in how toothpaste is regulated. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration requires that toothpaste with fluoride in it be regulated as a drug and a cosmetic. Toothpaste without fluoride is regulated as a cosmetic. Cosmetic products don’t require FDA approval before they go on the market, whereas drugs do.

In Canada, if you put fluoride in toothpaste (and some other things), it has to be regulated as a “Natural Health Product” - which is the pathway for non-prescription health products like vitamins. Natural health products are a subset of the wider category of drugs. There are specific rules about the concentrations you can use, what safety statements need to go on the product (e.g.: do not swallow), etc. Toothpastes without fluoride are regulated as cosmetics. Producers of non-fluoridated toothpaste have to represent their product as a cosmetic. So, for example, a “kills germs” is a drug claim but “kills bacteria that cause odour” is a cosmetic claim. Natural health products require a licence before they can be sold, whereas companies just need to notify Health Canada that they are selling a new cosmetic. Cosmetics have to be safe, but regulation is complaint-based. So, it is more onerous to sell a fluoridated toothpaste, which is perhaps why so many waste-free/vegan toothpastes don’t have it.

When discussing fluoride in tap water and food, Kyla cited 123dentist.com, Metro Vancouver, and Epcor. When she decided to try adding cacao as a fluoride replacement, this is the study she was basing that information on. We don’t think there has been enough research to count on this as an actual alternative, and she probably added the wrong ingredient to get the benefits anyway, but she figured what the heck and tried it for fun.

Dental Floss

Dental floss is another product for which cruelty-free and waste-free objectives often clash. You can get waste-free dental floss made with silk. Silkworms are boiled alive in silk farming. So, if animal welfare is important to you, this may be a no-go.

There are vegan dental flosses, but they are usually made with nylon (a petroleum product which is difficult to recycle). And because it can’t be composted, nylon floss can end up in the ecosystem where it may injure or kill animals. So, nylon dental floss, too, is less than ideal for animal welfare.

I was able to find a brand that is both vegan and compostable. Flosspot Gold is made from corn fibre and coated with candelilla wax. It comes in a small jar, which you can refill. Flosspot Gold is less readily available than the silk Flosspot, which might make it difficult for you to find. You can buy it online, but none of the companies I was able to find have a plastic-free packaging guarantee. Sustain commits to reducing and reusing packaging where possible, so you may wish to go with them. If you are in Alberta, the Apothecary in Inglewood may also be an option.