Green is the New Black

WEEKENDER   |  Tue, 06/30/2009 2:21 PM  |  Greenlifestyle

Wear green and you run the risk of looking like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Still, the color has its charms. Once, I felt so chirpy that I decided to wear an all-green outfit, and then had lunch with my mother. She – whose sense of fashion I obviously did not inherit – cringed at my garden-inspired ensemble, took a deep breath and shook her head in distaste.

Aware that I looked more like a halibut than a Halle B., I sought out other ways to be green – ways that do not necessarily involve donning the color. This is Stella McCartney’s kind of green, the green that my mother would certainly approve of, and so would you!

First of all, remember that the greenest thing a girl (or boy) can do is not to consume, because being green is all about sustainability and that means wearing your stuff till usage do you part. (Sorry, shopaholics!) That is easier said than done, indeed, but believe me it can be fun. You can begin by experimenting with your wardrobe, finding a distinct style of your own.

Go through your collection – you’re bound to find hidden gems or long-forgotten items that you haven’t worn for years (or ever). Nobody but you will know they have just come out of the closet, so to speak. Ask your friends to do the same, and then organize a party where you trade items with one another. Each of you will come home with new items for your collection, without spending any money, and the traded items will have an extra lease of life in their new dressers!

Learn to take care of your clothes; mend them and sew on those missing buttons. For washing, use mild detergents and natural ones, if you can. Forget the “extra-strong” detergents – all those added chemicals are not good news for the environment. Instead, add white vinegar to your wash – it whitens your whites and retains colors by stopping them from bleeding.

Try using soap pods or soap nut solutions to wash your clothes. You can buy them at batik shops or markets (ask for sabun batik or sabun lerak). If you’re using a washing machine, only do full loads of laundry, using as little water as possible, and at a lower temperature. Dry your clothes on the line instead of using the dryer.

What to do with all those worn-out items? Well, recycle them. The website Sewing Stuff (http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mcshelpsite/sewingstuff/freepatterns.html) provides free downloadable patterns and guides to transform your long-suffering pair of jeans into a sexy skirt or a cute bag. If you have yellowing white shirts, soak them for several hours or overnight in a basin of hot water with plenty of lemon slices, and – voilà – those T-shirts will turn crispy white again (and smell fresh, too!). The hopeless ones can be re-dyed using natural coloring: Mangosteen rind will turn them purple, while onion skin makes them yellow. You can learn to make various natural dyes at Creative Kanawida studio (http://creative-kanawida.blogspot.com).

If the urge to shop gets the better of you, consider donating some of your old stuff first. Toko Kado (Jl. Kramat Pela III No. 1, Petogogan) accepts used clothes, shoes and bags that are still good enough for them to sell and helps channel ones that do not meet their standards to others who will take them. Otherwise, find a garage sale to which you can contribute your stuff, or organize your own sale. The blog akuinginhijau (http://akuinginhijau.org/download/garage-sale/) provides a service that allows you to list your event.

Now, if you do go on a shopping spree, take your own shopping bag(s) with you. Bagoes Bags (http://www.greenlifestyle.or.id/content.php?products&ID=11) provides tote bags that can be folded into palm-sized balls – put one of those in your arm candy and glove compartment, and you’ll never have to use those plastic (or paper) bags from the shops again.

Also consider XS Project (http://www.xsprojectgroup.com), which makes beautiful shopping bags and purses out of recycled garbage. You can also learn to make your own recycled bags with the ladies at Garasi-Baca (http://garasibaca.blogspot.com/), or with Ibu Ningsih (022-92212306) if you are in Bandung.

Whenever possible, do not buy items that have to be dry-cleaned as the dry-cleaning process involves harmful chemicals. Consider buying items that are made from fibers other than cotton, because cotton farming – except the organic ones (still a rarity) – requires a huge amount of pesticides. The town of Garut in West Java produces fabric made from pineapple and ramie fibers, while Pekalongan in Central Java experiments with batik made of teak fibers. The independent clothing company Firebolt (at Cihampelas Walk, Bandung) makes supersoft T-shirts from organic cotton.

Last but not least, focus on quality rather than quantity, as good quality items will certainly last longer, and can even be handed down from one generation to the next!

That’s what we call real vintage clothing.

+ Rani Elshanti

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