Eco Dress Sense
The clothing industry causes enormous damage to the environment.
But, we, the consumers, can change that.
The environmental costs of the clothing industry are enormous. However, this is a problem that we can solve. We are the consumers. Whilst there is no gainsaying the pressures of advertising and marketing, and the peer pressures that many of us face, we can make a change. It is in our hands as consumers.
Things are many things we can do:
- Think before you buy – do I really need another item?
- If you need to buy, learn a little about environmentally better materials and ethical brands.
- Swap clothes with friends and family.
- Buy second-hand – there are some fantastic bargains out there.
- Wear your clothes longer. We mostly discard clothes before there are worn in any significant way.
- Give your old clothes to charity shops.
The Environmental Footprint of Fast Fashion Geneva Environment Network 19 November 2021
- The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2018)
- Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic (UNEP, 2019)
- 500,000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
- The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined (UNEP, 2018). If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050 (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
- Some 93 billion cubic metres of water – enough to meet the needs of five million people – is used by the fashion industry annually, contributing significantly to water scarcity in some regions (UNCTAD, 2020)
- Around 20% of industrial wastewater pollution worldwide originates from the fashion industry (WRI, 2017)
% of water pollution from textile treatments and dyes
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Tons of dyes introduced to the environment each year
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% of major brandes tested found hazardous chemicals
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From sustainyourstyle.org – Whats wrong with the fashion industry