Sustainable Storytelling is in Fashion

When asked about the origin of Lost Generation, I always start with my grandmothers. How they were born into the actual Lost Generation, and how I grew up with the values of that time despite the decades between them and me.

The piece that can get lost along the way is how this generation, these folks born at the dawn of the 20th century, were the very embodiment of sustainability. And if we can tap into their values just a little bit, any one of us can improve our own sustainability in a genuine way.

Waste Not

Does your grandma save a pretty food jar? Fold up the wrapping paper after you open your presents? Tell you that you don't need to use as much soap/product/toothpaste as you're squeezing out each time, and then when you get to the end of the container, to cut it open and use up what's left? It's easy to have a laugh at how silly or thrifty she is, but you know she's right. 

As consumers, especially in the United States, we've been inundated with ads that both stoke our appetite to buy more things, but also tell us how to use the things we have. We see the full squeeze of toothpaste with the tweak at the end and internalize that that is how much we need. Meanwhile, your dentist will tell you a pea-sized amount is enough. 

The rabbit hole of consumerist culture and how deeply it affects our behavior is a topic for another day. Today, I want to look at it through Grandma's eyes. As someone who has been here through the decades and has seen the trends ebb and flow. She knows that you don't really need to buy as much as you're told to, that you don't need to throw it all out, and that if the packaging is so bad that you can't get to all of your product (hello, lotion pumps), a pair of scissors is a reliable friend. 

Yes, Grandma saved all of the little things. And she found a way to use those little things, too.

Take Care

The find: A beautiful piece from decades past that is in incredible condition. Whether you got it from vintage shopping, or from Grandma's closet, there's a common thread for how it landed in your arms so intact: Care. Before fast fashion, even before malls and massive-scale boutiques, it was common for anyone who was not very rich to have just a few pieces of clothing. A man would have one suit, a woman several dresses, both one coat. A pair of dress shoes, a pair of everyday shoes, and a hat. Each one, chosen carefully. well made, and intended to last for years to come.

Today, we think of the things we wear every day as getting run into the ground. These are the pants that wear thin in the rear, shoes that get thin-soled and soft. Stained, pilled, ragged-looking pieces. Meanwhile, in the old days, these pieces would have been mended and repaired as needed, but also, simply tended day to day. Leather pieces were cleaned & conditioned. Hats brushed. Fabric pieces dried in the fresh air, or just hung for freshening rather than washing everything wholesale. 

Today, we overuse, overwash, overheat (in the dryer), and underappreciate our clothing. Which means that these pieces of ours will not last for our kids, grandkids, or for that joyful shopper at the thrift store. Instead, the more we trash our clothes & shoes, the more we end up sending them to the landfill–and undeniably contributing to the problem of waste & unsustainability.

What's the Answer?

The answer is not within a product, nor within a brand. Not even this one. The answer comes from embracing a different philosophy for life & living. 

• Waste Not
• Take Care

Do more with what you have. Use your pieces & products in a way that actually makes sense. Don't follow the marketing dept's instructions that just want to sell you moremoremore. Shop with the longterm in mind, not just for today. And learn to care for your pieces both to appreciate them more right now, and to have them around for the long haul. And when the time comes, hand that piece down to the next generation with love and pride because you've put all this care into one small, but lovely thing.

✂︎

 

We're trying to tell a new fashion story here at Lost Generation. One that future generations will read as one small piece of a moment in time when the tide finally turned toward real sustainability. When enough of us finally made the million small changes, the values adjustments, and committed actions to stop the gears of the worldwide fast fashion machine, and instead, we embraced some of these old ways of living that actually make the most sense. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

 

XO, F