What are you wearing? Take it off: Edda Hamar at TEDxKurilpa

Have a look at what you are wearing right now. Do you know where it was made? What was on the tag? Do you really need this particular item? Edda Hamar takes it off and tells us a story of sustainable fashion.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Hello

A few years ago,

I bought this dress

for fifteen dollars.

Bargain!
(Laughter)

I was going out to meet up
with some friends.

I thought, my friends,
they know all my other dresses.

I'm gonna need something new.

And naturally, I went and picked up
something new.

Before I continue,

I’d like to ask you all to consider
what you're wearing today.

Where it’s from,

and if you remember
what was on the tag.

Because little did I know,

that there were seven sneaky facts 
about the dress that I just bought.

This dress is made
of cotton and polyester.

To grow enough cotton
to create this dress,

you need 10,000 liters of water.

That’s a small swimming pool.

To bleach and dye this dress,

toxins are run off into
Chinese ecosystems, killing wildlife.

The design process
of this dress created waste.

This waste is called “off-cuts”.

And usually it’s traded as rubbish
and sent straight to land field.

This dress was made in China,
in a sweatshop.

It was most likely made by someone,
who works 16 hours a day

with less than minimum pay.

Last year, there was a factory collapse
in Bangladesh,

which killed a thousand people

because the health and safety standards

weren't up to scratch.

The distribution of this dress,
the carbon footprint, I should say,

is huge.

Often a dress will start in Europe,

it will then source material from India,
will then flight to China

to be manufactured,

well then often come back to Europe

to have hand-made
or more finer details added to it.

And then, it's shipped
around the world for retail.

Collectively,

Australians purchase one billion items
of clothing per year.

There is 22 million of us,

which makes it nearly an item per week.

Do we really need that many clothes?

Did I need to buy this particular dress?

The company I bought this dress from
doesn't have a recycling scheme.

Unfortunately, 5 % of our land field

is made up of an unwanted
clothing and textiles.

My name is Edda.

I am the director of Undress Runways,

a sustainable fashion show
here in Brisbane,

and now Melbourne.

I discovered sustainable fashion
four years ago

when I saw our local designers
were doing great things

with very little support.

We curate sustainable daywear,
evening wear, lingerie, and swimwear

from around the world.

We bring these clothes together

to one location

on one night

once a year

Think organic fibers,

garments dyed with turmeric and red wine,

zero-waste collections,

ethically produced garments,

bamboo underwear, 

and much more.

At Undress Brisbane,

we started off

by taking it off.

And we began to think more sustainably

about the way

we create our clothes

and shop.

If you don’t know where it was made,

where it came from,
or where it will end up,

take it off.

What I'm wearing now

is what we call "sustainable fashion".

It is made from bamboo,

which only requires rain water to grow.

It is treated with
a low water-dying process.

and the waste water is recycled
to preserve our ecosystems.

It is made of off-cuts.

These three sections are actually off-cuts
from another collection.

And the off-cuts of the off-cuts

are then used
in the rest of the collection.

It is made in Australia.

in a place that has
healthy working conditions

and with fair pay.

It came from Melbourne.

They're off-cuts
from a designer in Melbourne

and it was made here in Brisbane.

So the carbon footprint was much lower.

The use phase:

I always wash this on cold

and it use non-toxic laundry detergent

to conserve water and the environment.

Actually, I borrowed
this dress from a friend.

So, I will be returning it to her later today.

Borrowing clothes is actually a very
sustainable way to pick your next outfit.

I'm passionate about changing
the fashion industry,

about providing
sustainable clothing options,

and supporting designers
who are doing the right thing.

Everything you are wearing today

has a story

with contributors.

And change comes
from people like you,

the everyday consumers of clothing.

And together,

we can change the fashion industry.

Sustainable fashion is like turning
the lights off when you leave your room.

It's like turning the tap off
when you’re brushing your teeth.

And it’s like using chemist bags
when you go shopping.

It is an easy choice we can all make.

Next time you go shopping, 

have a look at the tag.

And think about where
this piece of clothing came from.

My Australian dream

is to create a world where we,
the consumers of fashion,

use our dollar

to vote for a sustainable
fashion industry.

An industry where we treat
our fellow human beings

as worthy individuals

and take care of our Earth

because we've only got one.

So remember,

you’ve always got the option

to take it off.

[Applause]