Tag: fashion

#13: One Man’s Trash is Still Another Man’s Trash

AliciaThe Solution

Now let’s talk about the impact we have when we dispose of household objects we don’t want with the intent of someone else reusing the item, or the item being recycled into more useful materials. Huge amounts of waste are produced annually in 1st world countries, and to lessen that guilt and environmental cost, many people attempt to at least recycle some of their waste. While recycling is definitely a more eco-friendly solution than simply incinerating all trash, we often overestimate its environment-saving potential. Moreover, indiscriminate recycling, or aspirational recycling, actually serve to hinder, and even nullify the benefits of recycling.

 

The act of recycling usually comes from a good place, but lack of information and laziness often reduce the potential goodness that can come from this waste solution. Thus, it is important to learn a couple things about how recycling is actually carried out by waste management companies.

 

  1. Throwing non-recyclables into a recycling bin hinders the recycling process.

Did you know? Non-recyclable items in recycling bins can cause an entire batch of recyclables to be thrown into the landfill or incinerator. This is because non-recyclables such as greasy pizza boxes and low-grade plastics can contaminate other perfectly recyclable objects. Moreover, it is difficult for waste management companies to sift out a few of these offending objects amidst tonnes of recyclable waste. Recycling companies still depend on making a profit after all, and it is not cost-efficient to employ people to sort through every object recycled. This required cost to manage recyclables, combined with the decreasing prices for selling recyclables, put pressure on recycling companies to package and export recycling more hastily. Not to mention, in 2018 China greatly reduced the imports of “foreign garbage” (Albeck-Ripka, 2018), banning certain types of recyclables and only accepting recyclables that are no more than 0.5 percent contaminated (World Trade Organisation, 2017). This means that much more recycling is in fact going to landfills, especially if people recycle indiscriminately. Do your part and check out this list of non-recyclables.

 

2. Recycling still negatively impacts the environment, just at a slower rate.

There are limitations to recycling. Not only does a portion of recycling still routinely end up being incinerated or dumped, but the process of recycling also consumes energy and emits pollutants. Many countries are still dependent on exporting their recycling to other countries who are willing to process it. This process requires fuel to sort through and transport recycling to the designated country. Moreover, increased fuel consumption also means more air pollution generated as a result of burning fuel. While recycling is a beneficial process, it may be more effective to reduce the rate of consumption altogether by encouraging reuse of objects, thus reducing waste output, as shown in this TED talk video below:

 

 

3. Clothing recycling is not as effective as we are likely to believe.

Have you ever come across a clothing recycling bin in fast fashion stores like H&M (below)? While clothing retailers might lead you to believe that you can lessen the burden of fast fashion by recycling clothes, the technology required to properly recycle clothing is unable to catch up with the sheer speed of consumption. Not only does the process of breaking down clothing fibres reduce the quality of the fibres, but the amount of clothing being thrown out is too much to process with the current level of technology (Bain, 2016). A lot of fabric is still dumped in the trash, and the remainder is being ‘donated’ (read: dumped) by the tonnes in developing countries like Africa, where it causes further damage at its final destination (Rodgers, 2015).

 

Author: Alicia Tiu

 

References

Albeck-ripka, L. (2018, May 29). Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html

Bain, M. (2016, November 30). Recycling or donating your unwanted clothes “is not a solution” for the planet, Greenpeace says. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://qz.com/849209/greenpeace-takes-aim-at-clothes-recycling-for-doing-next-to-nothing-to-reduce-fashions-environmental-footprint/

Miller, K. (2017, January 14). 13 Advantages and Disadvantages of Recycling. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://futureofworking.com/13-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-recycling/

Rodgers, L. (2015, February 11). Where do your old clothes go? Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30227025

We Want Refill. (2018, August 14). Aspirational Recycling: When Good Intentions Have Harsh Consequences. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://wewantrefill.com/aspirational-recycling-when-good-intentions-have-harsh-consequences/

 

#5: A Deadly Passion for Fashion

AliciaThe Problem

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:

 

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For a local fashion industry heavily reliant on off-shore manufacturing, budget wholesale distribution and importing finished goods, what does fashion revolution mean when applied to the context of Singapore? . Are we prepared for the imperative shift that is required on a much larger scale and get down and dirty to rally change for systemic issues? Are we equipped with the knowledge and resilience to scale Fashion Revolution to a local context? . I am feeling optimistic today. As we thread carefully with respect and dignity for the world, how can fashion be represented ethically and fairly? . What does fashion revolution in Singapore mean to you? #fashionrevolutionweek #fashionrevolution #fashionrevolutionsingapore #noordinaryprotest

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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