With the recent rise of fast fashion, clothes are increasingly accessible and more affordable than ever – making the task of dolling up so much easier with myriad collections tailored to all ages. But, to all fashionistas out there, are you aware of the environmental impacts associated with your hobby? It is okay if you’re not as pollution impacts from clothes are less obvious and straightforward. Read on to find out more!
The advent of fast fashion has led to an increase in clothing purchases, fed by the doubling of clothing production since the 2000s. On average, people bought 60% more clothes in 2014 than they did in 2000 (McFall-Johnsen, 2020). Sounds relatable? You are probably one of them too given the ease of purchase with the proliferation of technology and e-commerce platforms. However, while people bought more clothes in present-day, clothes are only kept for half as long – probably to keep up with the changing trends?
Yet, the production and consumption of clothes are highly polluting and harmful to the environment.
Production
Fashion is a water-intensive industry, constituting the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. This can be attributed to the use of cotton in clothing. While clothing is made up of various materials, often a blend of fabrics,- cotton is found in 40% of all clothing (Boggon, 2019).
Yet, cotton is a highly water-intensive plant. This has resulted in negative environmental impacts as water bodies risk being depleted when used to irrigate cotton cultivation. A notable example of such a case is the depletion of the Aral Sea resulting from the diversion of two rivers that fed the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton plantations in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (Boggon, 2019). See the state of Aral Sea in 1989 (left) and in 2008 (right):
Source: (Boggon, 2019)
Consumption
Post-production, clothes are purchased and consumed by us. Bagging our newly purchased clothes, the excitement to try them on is real. However, with every wear of our clothes, we put it to wash in preparation for the next display of it.
Yet, the act of washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year! That is equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles (McFall-Johnsen, 2020). You may wonder, how so?! Synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon are present in 72% of all clothes (Boggon, 2019). And polyester is a form of plastic that does not break down in the ocean. It, therefore, contributes to marine pollution with the introduction of microplastics. This is supported by a 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which estimated that 35% of all microplastics in the ocean came from the laundering of synthetic textiles like polyester (McFall-Johnsen, 2020).
Post-consumption
Even at the end of their lifecycle, clothing continues to pollute the environment due to the improper disposal of unwanted clothing. Land pollution is the most common as up to 85% of textiles from unwanted clothing go into landfills each year. That’s enough to fill the Sydney harbour annually (McFall-Johnsen, 2020).
As such, having known the ‘dark’ side towards clothing production and consumption, will you be more mindful of your consumption from now on?
References:
Boggon, C. (2019, March 18). How polluting is the fashion industry? https://www.ekoenergy.org/how-polluting-is-the-fashion-industry/
McFall-Johnsen, M. (2020, January 31). These facts show how unsustainable the fashion industry is. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/fashion-industry-carbon-unsustainable-environment-pollution/
