Why should you stop buying new t-shirts for 10€?
Start here: Understand fashion
For most people living in developed countries, the world we know today is made of an endless amount of things available in no time. This abundance of everything is seen by most of us as a given and for a long time, we have not paid much attention to how things are made, where they are coming from or what happens to everything we consume once we throw it away.
The first step towards better consumer choices is understanding what is going on. Here is a first guide to help you have a critical eye for your future fashion decisions!
92 MILLION
92 million. this is the estimated amount of tons of textiles wasted globally each year. And to be clear, this number is not expected to go down anytime soon. On the contrary, the fashion industry is still growing and if you have stepped into a shopping mall or a shopping street during the pandemic, you have for sure noticed the huge lines in front of major stores. Consumers are still hungry and willing to buy more, obviously hoping to take advantage of great deals offered due to the overstock situation many retailers were facing.
And let’s not fool ourselves, the vast majority of those 92 million tonnes of clothes does not get recycled (an estimated maximum 10–15% of the total amount gets recycled). Although there is huge progress to be acknowledged in the recycling methods and capacity, we are still unfortunately far from being able to recycle most of our clothes at scale.
MAJOR POLLUTER
Pollution: the fashion industry is among the largest polluter in the world. The reasons for the highly polluting aspect of the industry are numerous and the good news is, there is a lot we can do about it!
To get an idea of the big picture, McKinsey released a report that you can download here showcasing where greenhouse emissions are generated across the whole supply chain.
WATER CONSUMPTION
From the materials we choose to the way we take care of our products, we have a huge responsibility in improving what is.
Some fibres require a large amount of water to be produced. Our beloved cotton, largely used in the industry, requires 20.000 litres of water to produce one kilo. Other materials such as linen, recycled fibres or organic cotton are much more water efficient. Hence, the materials we choose to buy can impact largely the big picture.
Beyond the creation of garments, treating and applying colours to products also requires a lot of water. We all love colours and this world would be sad if we would all wear our clothes in their original colours, but we can try to avoid the worst ones for the environment such as neon colours that are often requiring the use of chemicals, or products that have gone through lots of modification steps. In general, the closer a material is to its natural look and feel, the better.
Last but not least, and probably the part we have most control on, washing our clothes accounts for the biggest part of water consumption in the industry. This unconscious action of ours of washing our t-shirts or pair of trousers after having worn them for only one day or even a couple of hours in some cases is the easiest habit to change that can make a huge difference. Also have a think about whether you really need to wash your clothes with hot water or not, this guide gives a good idea and shows that for your everyday clothes, cold washing works! And by the way, you will save a lot on your energy bills.
WATER POLLUTION
The biggest problem about water pollution is that it is invisible for most consumers. Or let’s say it differently, the impact is indirect and there is little media coverage of the damages the fashion industry provokes on the environment (although this seems to be changing!).
The first type of pollution comes from the way raw materials are produced. In order to grow natural fibres, a large amount of pesticides are used and ultimately end up in waterways. When it comes to synthetic and biosynthetic fibres, chemicals are widely used and also released in waterways if not managed properly. Here again the choice of material is crucial and the brands we select as well.
Another disastrous step in the manufacturing process is the dyeing/bleaching and treatment step. An estimated 20% of the total water pollution of the industry is linked to the treatment and dyeing of products. The problem here is that in most countries where garments are produced, manufacturers dump the waste directly into the river and waterways end up full of toxic substances.
MICROFIBERS
The next point we need to consider here is the water pollution coming from our own activity. We saw earlier that domestic clothes washing can be done in a way to improve our water consumption, and this can also help reduce water pollution. Some of the materials we wash release microfibres in the environment, that most of the time end up in the oceans. Synthetic fibres (mostly polyester) are to be blamed here and beyond polluting the water of the oceans, some aquatic organisms ingest those microfibres that are then eaten by fish and by us. Plastic is part of our food system because of us. Again here the choice of materials we buy and the way we decide to treat our clothes could move the needle. Some solutions exist such as Guppyfriend, have a look!
SOIL POLLUTION
It’s not a secret that chemicals are used to grow any natural product from the ground. It is true for the fruits and vegetables we eat, and it is also true for the natural fibres we wear. Damaging the soil where natural fibres grow has a long lasting impact on our planet and once again, the direct negative consequences are weighing mainly on the local population where production takes place. That’s another aspect that we, as consumers, are not aware enough of and I am sure most of us would be willing to act upon if only we would know how to. And it is actually very simple: when it comes to buying natural fibres we have to go for the ones grown with the environment in mind. For example, while “normal” cotton production requires a huge amount of pesticides and chemicals, organic cotton and even better organic cotton grown through regenerative agriculture practices allow not only to reduce the harm made to the environment, but would also improve the health of the soil, allowing to prepare it perfectly for future crops.
TRANSPORTATION
Once our future clothes are produced, they have to be transported to us. And it is funny to think how that step of the process can be hidden. Have you ever thought about how are the products transported when reading “made in China” on the label? If we do not actively look for it, we have little to zero knowledge about the effect this has on our planet. The truth is, most of the items going from one continent to another are shipped. And container ships are huge contributors of GHG emissions globally. Not only do they pollute the air we breathe but they also affect the oceans making their water toxic. Buying more in a globalised economy means transporting more, and eventually polluting more. Shipping is not great, and neither is transportation through freight trucks. Although not related directly to water pollution, billions of miles are covered by those trucks every year and the worst is, they are often driving partially or fully empty. The equation is very simple, if we want to reduce our environmental impact, the easiest is to buy less, and buy more local.
BETTER STARTS NOW
I tried to summarise the major reasons why the current fashion industry is not sustainable and mentioned some of the things we should have in mind in order to solve, little by little, the scary picture we have been creating over the years. At the end of the day, we do not have a choice. Time is running and if we continue doing the things we do, we will keep causing global warming hence natural catastrophes, hurting animals and human beings. We need to make things better and change fast!
Thank you very much for reading this quick guide and look out for more articles that should help you navigate your way through a conscious and fair behaviour in fashion!
