The Environmental Impact of Fashion
The apparel industry has a significant impact on the environment. Fashion is a 3 trillion dollar industry, and it is continuously growing. Unfortunately so is the environmental impact. We should all ask us the questions: what do we want to do & what can we do about the harm caused by our industry. To be able to take action, we first need to understand the problem. What makes the industry so polluting and what can be done about it?
Let’s take a look at how the apparel industry is impacting the environment.
Water Pollution
In many countries, the wastewater from textile factories is dumped directly into rivers and lakes. The wastewater contains toxic substances that are very harmful to the people living next to these waters, and especially to the aquatic life. These poisonous substances accumulate and spread their way from local rivers to the oceans around the globe. To lower the industry’s water pollution, you can make garments in factories that follow stricter environmental regulations. These depend on what countries the factories are located in.
The fertilizers used for cotton production is also a significant contributor to water pollution. Besides being harmful to the people, animals, and plants living off these water sources, they are detrimental to the cotton farmers and even the end consumer…
