According to an article in Business Insider Malaysia from October 2019 “The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet.”
The article sited a variety of concerns, some of which I had not previously known about. As always, learning more about how we impact the world around us can be an eye opening experience.
I have been reading about ‘fast fashion’ as a problem for a few years now and try to keep it in mind when purchasing clothing. Luckily for me it’s a bit easier than some, I don’t really like shopping much anyway and have rarely followed designer brands or fashion rules. However, even a mostly jeans and t-shirt, thrift store donating and shopping kind of gal like me can always make improvements, so I try to stay informed.
Here are some things to think about:
- Clothing production doubled the last decade, yet people are keeping items only half as long.
- That means more clothing is ending up in landfills, or worse – it is burned.
- Washing clothing releases microfibers into the oceans. Especially items containing polyester.
- Polyester is a plastic, producing it releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton, and polyester does not break down in the ocean.
- Cotton is better than polyester on the backend, but it is a very water-intensive plant.
- It can take 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans, 700 gallons for one cotton t-shirt.
- There is a lot of water used and or polluted in the making of most clothing.
- Dyeing of fabric is also a major contributor to water pollution.
Sounds a bit daunting and depressing to put it together like that, but my goal here is to inform, expand my own base of knowledge and provide inspiration towards positive change.
So. What can I (you, we, all of us) do?
- Buy less – don’t be a slave to fashion trends or disposable clothing.
- Wash less when possible. Do you toss a shirt in the laundry after one day of wearing indoors? I’m not talking about your favorite workout outfit that you sweat all over, but really think about what you can wear multiple times between washes.
- While we are talking about laundry – consider your cleaners and their packaging. More on that in other posts, I promise.
- Also use cold water, lower drying temperatures or line drying to extend the life of the fabric.
- Get to know your fabrics and try to make decisions that are gentler to the environment.
- Learn more about synthetic fabrics that pollute the oceans to avoid.
- Seek sources of cotton or other materials that are being utilized in more sustainable ways.
- Shop at and donate to thrift stores, vintage shops. Find creative ways to keep using older clothing.
- Learn to sew, mend and repair clothing items that begin to wear out. Let’s bring back the popularity of patches!!
- Seek out recycled and upcycled fabrics. I have a favorite shopping bag made from an upcycled sari.
Most of all and always:
Research, read, educate yourself, share what you learn with others. Be positive, encouraging and non- judgmental because all efforts help. We have a long road to re conditioning ourselves to think about how we are treating this planet. Together we can make difference.
Cassandra Complex 