“Made in Forests” - a short story about sustainable fashion with Michelle Yeoh

Malaysian-born film star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh put the spotlight on the role that clothing manufacture and consumer fashion can have for a better planet with a new video, called “Made in Forests.”

“Made in Forests” highlights how conventional material choices rely predominantly on cotton and polyester - two materials with a high environmental impact. Cotton uses large amounts pesticides and insecticides, and very large amounts of water. Polyester is made from fossil fuels: each time polyester clothes are washed they release tiny plastic microfibers that often end up in the oceans, harming marine life and polluting our food chain.

“Made in Forests” was produced by the UN Economic Commission for Europe / Food and Agriculture Organization’s (UNECE/FAO) Forestry and Timber Section together with the United Nations Television in Geneva (part of the UN Information Service Geneva / DPI) and launched at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, 16 July 2018, in New York.

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Do you know where the clothes
in your wardrobe come from,

not just if they are from the high street

or if your cupboards are packed
with designer labels,

but what they're made of?

Do they come from materials
that are harming the planet?

Are our clothes just a mirror reflection
of what is happening to our environment?

[Made in Forests]

Hi, I'm Michelle Yeoh.

I like to look good,

not only for the red carpet
but in everyday life.

The connection between our clothes
and their impact on the environment

doesn't immediately come to mind.

If a jacket, a skirt or a dress looks good
and if we can afford it, we buy it,

but the environment pays the price.

I'm going to find out
what sustainable fashion could look like

without compromising
the beauty of our clothes.

The United Nations promotes
a better future for people and the planet

through a global effort known as
"The Sustainable Development Goals".

So I've come to the UN's office in Geneva,

to learn more about what some are calling

"an environmental emergency
in the garment industry".

Paola(UNECE/FAO) :The environmental impact
of the fashion industry's actually immense

and a large part of that
is the production of textiles.

Manufacturing of clothes
is very water-intensive

and releases high levels
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

M: The fashion industry generates
around 10% of global carbon emissions.

That's more than all international flights
and maritime shipping combined.

It is also one of the world's
biggest users of water

and produces around 20%
of global wastewater.

It takes up to 10 thousand liters of water
to produce just 1 kilo of cotton

enough to make
a single pair of denim jeans.

That's as much water
as a human being drinks

over the course of 10 years.

When we wash synthetic fibers,
the other most commonly used materials,

they release microplastics into our rivers
which end up polluting the oceans.

With clothing more affordable
and more availabe than ever before,

is it time to move on
from throwaway fashion?

Today with fast and cheap production,

85% of textiles end up in landfills
or are incinerated.

So, what's the alternative?

P:Forests can provide part of the solution

using the latest technology to produce
wood based fibers for our clothes.

Of course this has to go hand in hand

with sustainable forest management.

If we are to use forests' products,

we need to make sure
the forests remain healthy

and continue to grow.

So fashion out of forests
is possible and sustainable.

Let's see how it looks like.

M: We are traveling to Biella in Italy.

So I can see for myself if clothing
that has little impact on the environment

can look as good or even better
than the ones we are all used to.

P: We have 4 young Italian designers,

all of them, wathever they do
is with sustainable fabrics.

This is the interesting concept.

M:I'm choosing a design
for a dress and a jacket

to make from natural wood-based fibers.

My dress and jacket will be made
to order here in Cittadellarte,

a place where artists come together
to explore connections

between their work
and broader social issues.

Michelangel Pistolettoo:
Welcome to Cittadellarte!

M:Its founder is the world renowned artist
Michelangelo Pistoletto.

MP: Fashion is very important

because it's bringing
the aesthetic into the society.

But for me, it's not enough.

We have also to bring the ethic.

M: Designer Tiziano Guardini

represents precisely this greater
awereness of ethics and production

that a young generation of creative
artists bring to the fashion industry.

I've picked his design.

I love the simplicity but at the same time
when you go in you see the details.

But explain to me the whole process.

TG: I use only eco sustainable materials

because, for me, it's important
to think about our future.

In the second step, I search fabrics
that can explain my idea.

M: Tiziano works with wood-based fibers

that use on average 60 times
less water compared to cotton,

and produce 50 times fewer carbon
emissions than synthetic fibers.

Wood chips from certified
sustainable forests

are processed into pulp,

reduced to a viscous solution
that produces fibers.

And ultimately,
these are turned into threads

which create soft and silky materials
with a light footprint on the environment.

Smart fashion from sustainable sources
is already widely available,

and not only from high end designers,

it is also affordable.

As we insist for our clothes
to be produced sustainably,

more and more brands
are quickly joining this new trend.

I'm in Paris,

one of the fashion capitals of the world,

where I will be wearing
my new outfit for the first time.

Wearing this dress
is a privilege, I realized.

I would have never thought
that it came from the forest.

A beautiful outfit is even more satisfing

knowing that it's been made
from natural materials -

materials that are not
harming the planet -

from the forest to the city.

I made my choice.

What choice are you making?

Subtitles by Paula Gumiero
Review by Carol Wang