Clothing - Buying, Mending/Altering, Recycling and Washing

Clothing/Fashion Industry

Why does it matter?

The fast fashion industry is inherently degenerative. Worldwide, the combined emissions for the clothing and footwear industry are roughly 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The fast fashion movement is renowned for underpaying their employees

10 Statistics About Fast Fashion Waste (information sourced from https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/ and based on US statistics

1. 92 Million Tonnes of Textiles Waste is Produced Every Year 

Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. To put things in perspective, this means that the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up on landfill sites every second. If the trend continues, the number of fast fashion waste is expected to soar up to 134 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade.

2. The Apparel Industry’s Global Emissions Will Increase by 50% by 2030

If a business-as-usual scenario prevails in the coming years – meaning that no action is taken to reduce fast fashion waste – the industry’s global emissions will likely double by the end of the decade.

The fast fashion industry often underpays their workers, provides poor working conditions, uses non-natural fabrics and “dumps” a lot of clothing. The fast fashion industry puts pressure on our community , especially our youth, to consume, to look a certain way. Let’s encourage our younger generation to resist this pressure to consume and conform, and encourage them to love and embrace their unique gifts and abilities. 

3. The Average US Consumer Throws Away 81.5lbs of Clothes Every Year

In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis. That’s equivalent to approximately 81.5 pounds (37 kilograms) per person per year and around 2,150 pieces per second countrywide.

4. The Number of Times a Garment is Worn Has Declined by Around 36% In 15 Years

The throwaway culture has worsen progressively over the years. At present, many items are worn only seven to ten times before being tossed. That’s a decline of more than 35% in just 15 years.

5. The Fashion Industry is Responsible for 20% of Global Waste Water

Dyeing and finishing – the processes by which colour and other chemicals are applied to fabrics – are responsible for 3% of global CO2 emissions as well as over 20% of global water pollution. Along with yarn preparation and fibre production, these two processes have the highest impacts on resource depletion, due to the energy-intensive processes based on fossil fuel energy.

6. It Takes 20,000 Litres of Water to Produce One Kilogram of Cotton

Besides being a huge source of water pollution, fast fashion also contributes to massive quantities of water being wasted every day. If this is difficult to picture, just think that about 2,700 litres of water are needed to make just one t-shirt, which would be enough for one person to drink for 900 days. Moreover, a single load of washing uses between 50 and 60 litres of water.

7. $500 billion is Lost Each Year Because of Under-wearing and Failure to Recycle Clothes

The worst aspect of our reckless thrown-away culture is that the vast majority of clothes being tossed each year is not recycled. Globally, just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. Much of the problem comes down to the materials our clothes are made from and inadequate technologies to recycle them. “The fabrics we drape over our bodies are complex combinations of fibres, fixtures and accessories. They are made from problematic blends of natural yarns, man-made filaments, plastics and metals.”

3. The Average US Consumer Throws Away 81.5lbs of Clothes Every Year

In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis. That’s equivalent to approximately 81.5 pounds (37 kilograms) per person per year and around 2,150 pieces per second countrywide.

4. The Number of Times a Garment is Worn Has Declined by Around 36% In 15 Years

The throwaway culture has worsen progressively over the years. At present, many items are worn only seven to ten times before being tossed. That’s a decline of more than 35% in just 15 years.

5. The Fashion Industry is Responsible for 20% of Global Waste Water

Dyeing and finishing – the processes by which colour and other chemicals are applied to fabrics – are responsible for 3% of global CO2 emissions as well as over 20% of global water pollution. Along with yarn preparation and fibre production, these two processes have the highest impacts on resource depletion, due to the energy-intensive processes based on fossil fuel energy.

6. It Takes 20,000 Litres of Water to Produce One Kilogram of Cotton

Besides being a huge source of water pollution, fast fashion also contributes to massive quantities of water being wasted every day. If this is difficult to picture, just think that about 2,700 litres of water are needed to make just one t-shirt, which would be enough for one person to drink for 900 days. Moreover, a single load of washing uses between 50 and 60 litres of water.

7. $500 billion is Lost Each Year Because of Under-wearing and Failure to Recycle Clothes

The worst aspect of our reckless thrown-away culture is that the vast majority of clothes being tossed each year is not recycled. Globally, just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. Much of the problem comes down to the materials our clothes are made from and inadequate technologies to recycle them. “The fabrics we drape over our bodies are complex combinations of fibres, fixtures and accessories. They are made from problematic blends of natural yarns, man-made filaments, plastics and metals.”

What can we do?  Donating or Swapping, Repairing, Re-making

You can learn how to best care for your existing wardrobe by reading clothing labels. Pretty obvious, but how often do we read and follow the instructions? (or is it just me who can’t be bothered to find my reading glasses )

Do less laundry, less often. The washing of clothes is connected to the plastic pollution crisis in our waterways, a high proportion of residential CO₂ emissions, and also wears clothing out faster.

Wash at a lower temperature, dry on the washing line, rather than a drier, Save the rinsing water and use on the garden  The information below is taken  from a guide on responsible laundry It is based on UK and US statistics, but one would imagine that the principles are the same.

• Lowering the temperature of the wash, combined with air-drying, could make a big difference to cleaning up your laundry-related carbon emissions. As this also uses less electricity, it could also save you money.  For instance, a load of laundry washed at 60C, then dried in a washer-dryer, produces the equivalent of 3.3kg of CO2, compared to just 0.6kg for the same load washed at 30C and dried on a clothesline.
• An analysis by the Sustainability Consortium (US),  estimated that if one load of laundry a week was washed on a cold cycle rather than warm or hot, each household could reduce its carbon footprint by 23kg a year.

Choose environmentally friendly washing powders,  or make your own –we are doing further research on what and where to buy locally. Let us know if you have a favourite local place to purchase