Buying kilts is bad for the environment!

**Blu (Ontario)** · 13th September 06, 04:41 PM

What on earth is environmentally friendly about having to dryclean a kilt every time it's worn? At least those that rent it hope it's been drycleaned!

**Southern Breeze** · 13th September 06, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Blu (Ontario)

What on earth is environmentally friendly about having to dryclean a kilt every time it's worn? At least those that rent it hope it's been drycleaned!

Good point!

**Pleater** · 14th September 06, 11:16 AM

I have done a lot of garment making over the years, and have accumulated bags full of perfectly good bits of cloth despite an ongoing production of patchwork quilts.

'Normal' dressmaking is very wasteful.

Only smocked tunics and kilts seem at all frugal, in that although they use a considerable amount of quality cloth you then have an item which will last and last, and is fairly repairable or reusable. There is very little wasted fabric - in fact with some cloths there is none.

Once made they seem to be desirable items - there is quite a trade in smocks as well as second hand kilts. This is totally different to - for instance, second hand denim, which appears to have no value at all.

I have even remade my first kilts, despite them looking rather sad and faded after a long hot summer. Disassembly, a gentle wash and press and then careful computation of where to put the new folds resulted in a 'new' garment which showed my increasing skill at the making of kilts, my reducing circumference, and something perfectly wearable and respectable looking, and which will probably last several years now that I have more kilts to wear.

Kilts should be 'pushed' as an environmentally friendly item of clothing.

**McClef** · 14th September 06, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Pleater

Kilts should be 'pushed' as an environmentally friendly item of clothing.

Of course - look at the savings in underwear alone!

**Tartan Hiker** · 14th September 06, 12:42 PM

You know, I just have to think the original article was a joke...at least I hope it was.

**turpin** · 14th September 06, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by The-Kilted-Goth

The manufacturing of the materials cant be bad for the environment..

Have you ever seen what woolen mills use in dyeing the wool? It's not so bad today, but they used to discharge things like methylethlawful and other nasty things into the rivers. You have to consider the entire lifecycle of a product, not just the weavers and tailors plying their trades.

**Southern Breeze** · 14th September 06, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by turpin

Have you ever seen what woolen mills use in dyeing the wool? It's not so bad today, but they used to discharge things like methylethlawful and other nasty things into the rivers. You have to consider the entire lifecycle of a product, not just the weavers and tailors plying their trades.

What's the option? Kilts made of Fig Leaves?

**Colin** · 15th September 06, 08:37 AM

I was rethinking about this and had to laugh. My ford explorer uses how much gas, is made of how much raw material, and adds how many pollutants to the air....and I should be worried about sharing a kilt?!? Besides, the way they are built, my Scottish handmade kilt will long outlast the lifespan of the ford exploder.

Maybe I should sell the truck (used once in 4 weeks) and buy more kilts.....

**taxdragon** · 28th July 07, 10:57 AM

I will volunteer to recycle any of your unwanted kilts...especially those in a 42 waist..The others I would be glad to find a new home via the ebay recycle system.....

**Archangel** · 28th July 07, 12:44 PM

...when your kilt goes out of style 3-400 years later, I think we can all find good homes to recycle it too.

Obviously, this organization, or story editor, failed to study the waste stream of kilts for hire. Each one that comes back is dry cleaned, OMG I hope so. How much damage does that do to the economy. And then they're sold off-hire, and we're back to where we started. When my eye is better, I'll try to track the original story.