Another commodity in our daily lives is the very clothes on our back. Not only do we rely greatly on them for basic cover and warmth, they also demonstrate socio-economic status and personal identity. However, with the advent of fast fashion trends, we have come to consume much more clothing than we need, often even discarding pieces of clothing after one or two times of use. How much pollution does fast fashion really produce? Let’s explore some of the fashion industry’s ugliest effects.
In Production:
As shown in the video above investigating the working conditions and surrounding environments of tanneries in Dhaka, there is large scale pollution of the communal river and water supply with chemicals such as chromium, which are used in treating leather hides. Nearby residents are chronically exposed to such chemicals because they cannot afford to buy water or fish from unpolluted locations. They are also in direct contact with the chemicals when they work in the tanneries, as well as when they use the river water for cleaning. This is merely one example of how, in places with poor regulation of industrial waste, textile and leather industries are able to excessively pump dye chemicals into the air and water. Using only chromium (often used in tanneries and in paints and dyes) as an example, chronic exposure can result in:
- Increased chance of cancer in the respiratory tract
- Respiratory irritation
- Severe skin illnesses and scarring
- Liver abnormalities
Moreover, you may be surprised to find out that in order to produce 1 cotton T-shirt, 2700 litres of water is needed. You can find out more about the textile industry’s usage of water by watching this mini-documentary here.
This is an excessive wastage of a resource necessary for every living being in the world. Not only does this demonstrate the textile industry’s inefficient usage of the resource, but at the same time highlights the contamination of that same resource.
In Disposal
Shockingly, one garbage truck volume equivalent of clothing is dumped or burned in a landfill every second and the fashion industry’s carbon emissions make up 10% of the global total, with fashion companies on average burning 30% of their total stock produced (McFall-Johnsen, 2019). Such emissions contribute greatly to air pollution worldwide, particularly with the increasingly high turnover rates of clothing in stores and subsequent shorter time before excess clothing enters the dump.
Aside from such air pollution, water is another natural resource rampaged by the fashion industry. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) approximates that 35% of all oceanic microplastics are due to synthetic textiles from clothing, particularly polyester, which is non-biodegradable in water bodies. Such microplastics eventually reach the ocean such as through the release of water from washing clothes and can be absorbed by aquatic organisms and humans as well. Several thousand additives are used by the plastic industry and thus such absorption and the ambiguity surrounding the toxicity of microplastics is worrying. Furthermore, the risk of ingesting other harmful chemicals and organisms attached to the plastic (pathogenic bacteria and viruses for instance), are another concern. Microplastics are still very much a new area of research and the continual release of them from the fashion industry specifically remains unchecked and prevalent.
Many young adults our age are passionate about fashion and self-expression, and should such passion go towards holding the fashion industry accountable for their environmental impacts as well, much can be done to change the tide. If you are interested in learning more about both the fast fashion industry and its counter – the slow fashion movement, do check out the content below:
Authors: Alicia Tiu and Madeleine Shutler
References
Environmental Health and Medicine Education. (2008). Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=10
McFall-Johnsen, M. (2019, October 21). The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10
WWF. (2013). The Impact of a Cotton T-Shirt. Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-impact-of-a-cotton-t-shirt