Essential Facts

92 million tons of textiles are produced every year.
Between 80-100 billion new clothing items are produced every year.
87% of materials and fibres used for clothing production will end up either in incinerators or landfills.
On average, people own 60% more clothes than 15 years ago.

Since graduating from film school in 2004, I have always worked in independent film, which means that tight budgets dictated what was possible. Looking back, I can see that many practices I implemented on my sets were sustainable long before sustainability entered the mainstream film and video production conversation. Realising that I could and should use whatever I had access to for free kept my budget low enough to allow me to produce a film.

Throughout my career, I have bought one costume for a film (“The Man with the Spying Glass“), which was later reused for painting on the building side.

When it comes to costumes, I frequently use clothing from my wardrobe and my mum’s. While producing “Anna & Modern Day Slavery“, I asked actors to wear their own clothing, which they were happy to do. Since those early days, I’ve learned that casting directors might ask for extra pay for actors if they wear their own clothing. However, if you have no budget to pay the actors to use their own clothing, you can refuse and source costumes differently. (The list below should help you.)

There are many creative and already existing ways to ensure that your costume department is environmentally friendly, and little goes to waste after the production wraps.

I feel that the list below is pretty comprehensive, but if you have experience working yet Another Way, please give me a shout so I can update the list:

Make costumes from scratch using materials already in circulation (as Scarlett O’Hara did with her curtain dress).
Re-designing already existing costumes and/or clothing.
If you need to buy new materials, make sure they are responsibly and sustainably sourced. This will be more expensive, so that needs to be reflected in the budget.
Buy costumes second-hand from other productions or charity/thrift shops.
Plan what you will do with your costumes once the production wraps. Are you donating, passing them on to another production, or organising a sale? If you are donating the costumes, make sure they are in good enough condition to be sold. Maybe it would be better to turn them into other costumes or materials.
Borrow jewellery or expensive designer bags/clothing. I understand not every production will be able to borrow from designers, but you can always try to borrow from family and friends. Costume departments are full of responsible people, so I’m more than certain the expensive items will be well looked after. You can always get extra insurance if you need the security cushion.
If you are running a crowdfunding campaign, you could offer clothes sales as one of the perks. Or, if you already know what your characters will wear, you could offer to use specific items as perks during the campaign.
If you need to buy new clothing, shop creatively and see how you could use one item a few times. And it goes without saying, try to avoid fast fashion. If you’re after fast fashion, charity shops are the places to go to. You could even ask if it would be okay if you went through items that aren’t on display. (Charity shops are inundated by fast fashion.)
Consider creating a minimalistic capsule wardrobe for the characters.
Trad clothing with the local community, family and friends. Offer garments you have from previous productions in exchange for clothing you could use for a new production. It would operate on the same principle as a clothing swap.
You could offer people cameos in your film if they lend clothing for your production. (idea cleverly utilised in Devil Wears Prada)
Setting up clothing sales with family and friends of the production cast and crew.
Hire costumes from costume rental companies. Those still exist in a few places. Look for one in your local area or the closest location to reduce transport needs.
Recycle outfits from other productions.
Turn to local designers (I would even say local designers who use natural, organic, recycled materials) and see if you could collaborate on the production or if they could dress one character. Always negotiate a win-win deal. However, in this exchange, keep in mind the length you will need the costume for, as most designers don’t have that many samples on hand. Be honest about your production’s needs.
Create a research board for all the costumes and each character. This way, you could map out how and from where you could source the clothing for each character.
Use natural and organic fabrics instead of synthetics when buying or making costumes. (Fashion waste adds 9% of annual microplastic pollution to the Oceans. theroundup.org)

I hope the list opens up possibilities for any production, regardless of budget, to incorporate sustainable costume design within its budget.

I’m a big believer in planning and being prepared. If you plan well in advance and early enough, you will be able to make your clothing department at least environmentally friendly, if not sustainable. In my experience, all of the above is doable. But if you feel overwhelmed with the concept or the pressure gets too high, just do what you can. Every small action counts, and you can improve next time.

Above all, as in any collaborative creative process, surround yourself with good people who share your vision and can at least support your sustainability values.

PS. I’m #MadeByDyslexia – expect big thinking & small typos.

Resources

The Costume Directory

How the fashion industry is grappling with “deadstock”

Bibliography

https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/11-things-you-might-not-know-about-film-and-tv-costumes

https://www.quora.com/How-do-costume-designers-pay-for-the-clothing-used-in-TV-shows-films

https://fashionista.com/2015/04/costume-designer-budget

PS. I’m made by Made by Dyslexia, so expect small typos and big thinking.