Upcoming Library Program Calculates The True Cost Of Fashion

For many people, the cost of their clothing depends on whether it is on sale or not. However, the price is much higher.

East Brunswick Public Library (2 Jean Walling Civic Center Drive) hosts the program “The True Cost Of Fashion” to explore this topic at the library on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:00 pm It is led by Kathleen Webber.

Who makes our clothes, and where and how they are made are all ethical questions related to the almost three trillion-dollar-a-year global fashion industry. How has our love for buying cheap clothing come at a high cost to the people who make it and the planet? In this talk, we will examine solutions for a more sustainable future for the global industry, now in a crisis, through innovation, policy reforms, and conscious consumerism.

Webber, an associate professor or journalism and professional writing at The College of New Jersey, has been a freelance journalist covering sustainability issues in fashion. Her work has been featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Women’s Wear Daily, Modern Family, Sierra Magazine and GreenPhilly News.

Prior to her career in journalism, Webber was a product developer for Macy’s and a textile buyer for designer Michael Kors. Her textile research with Circular Philadelphia is currently being featured in the “The Ecology of Fashion” exhibit at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia’s Drexel University.

“The True Cost of Fashion” can be viewed online. For more information, visit www.tinyurl.com/ebp12925. The program is for adults and teens (ages 13 and older).

This program is part of the Option Green series of programs co-sponsored by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and the East Brunswick Public Library.