What Your Parents Never Told You About Donating Clothes
Comeback Clothes
For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to create propaganda for Comeback Clothes. Many people are utterly unaware that many textiles, including those made of synthetic fibers, are recyclable. As a result, tons of textiles wind up in landfills rather than recycling facilities. Because most of the manufacturing is already done, recycling textiles reduces the amount of energy necessary to make the garments. Many people are unaware of how much energy is required to create new fabrics. The earth’s resources are suffering from serious issues in today’s economy, which have repercussions. There are several methods for conserving the earth’s resources. The three most efficient strategies to save the earth’s resources are to reduce, reuse, and recycle items and materials. Consider the consequences of contributing discarded clothing to the landfill versus textile recycling before tossing them in the trash.
A large amount of the clothing we wear now consists of organic fabrics that are biodegradable and generated from natural resources. The website “Do Something” states, “Approximately 95% of all used clothing, footwear, and other household fabric products, such as sheets and towels, can be reused or recycled, yet only 15% of reusable textiles are recycled.” Of all recyclable materials, textile reuse and recycling has the second-highest potential for reducing greenhouse gasses. According to the article, “Why Textile Recycling Is Important: The Green Fashion Cycle”, Tracy Renning states, “The average American disposes of 70lb of clothing each year. That equates to a staggering 23 billion tons of waste textiles annually. 85% of these textiles are then either dumped in landfills or burned.” (Renning). A big part of the problem is that textiles are no longer created from recyclable materials since it is considerably cheaper for producers to utilize synthetic fabrics. The results of producing and finally disposing of these fabrics are detrimental to our environment, seas, and water systems.
Clothing donation is an easy method to practice sustainability. The fashion business is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. Throwing clothing away before they’ve been worn is a waste, recycling, on the other hand, allows the lifespan to be lengthened and another person can enjoy them. Every year, clothes donation charities help remove millions of items from local landfills. So, instead of throwing out that out-of-date blouse or the jeans that no longer fit, donate them so they may be ethically recycled and reused. Donating clothes also helps to support charities and other organizations that provide services to those in need. There are several places where you may donate clothing, including Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the Red Cross. You may also take your old clothes to local consignment shops to prevent them from ending up in a landfill, where they can take years to fully break down, releasing harmful gasses into the environment in the process.
I am very interested in this topic because I believe that the issue is extremely important. For this assignment, I created an infographic that emphasized the importance of donating and recycling clothes. I was able to apply propaganda techniques to my infographic by presenting information in a visibly appealing and informative manner. Infographics are effective because they transmit a large amount of information using symbols, visual data, and images that engage with the viewer’s experiences, culture, and emotions. Throughout my infographic, I exemplified important statistics, for example, “If everyone in the U.S. recycled their clothing and textiles for one year instead of throwing them away, it would save 30.6 million metric tons of carbon emissions”. I wanted to stress how important it would be for the environment if everyone in the United States worked together to recycle. I also bolded, “You can change the world by donating one piece of clothing at a time” in order to grab the audience’s attention and simplify the information presented. By doing this, the infographic persuades the viewer to strive to create change and, ultimately, protect our planet.
From our assigned modules, I learned that propaganda was critical to the success of Hitler’s military expansion plan. The notion of “rallying the country” was so effective in keeping the dictatorship in power because it offered something that the German people desired. The nation was in a fearful state and desired to achieve unification. To maintain trust and support, the Nazis exploited propaganda to create a sense of unity. The theme was effective because they ultimately deceived the public into believing they were attaining their goal of unity, but in reality, Hilter was utilizing this to acquire power and expel the Jewish population. Hitler also frequently utilized red text on his posters to command the attention of the audience. I utilized red in my infographic to point out the fact that 84% of our clothing ends up in landfills. Instead of targeting a specific audience, I aimed for the average citizen who could be inspired to help our environment by the graphic. My strategy was to persuade individuals to take the desired action by using a fear appeal combined with statistics. I reasoned that employing a scare tactic would appeal to the audience’s emotions by warning them that neglecting to do the action would result in disaster. Scare tactics are more like intimidating conclusions than explicit threats. Fear techniques highlight the potential negative consequences while just insinuating correlation.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this experience creating propaganda. Not only does propaganda provide us with information and news, but it also enhances our understanding of particular issues. It was a great experience to be able to design my own form of propaganda and tailor it to a certain issue through imagery and language. With this assignment, I really wanted to utilize propaganda to stress the concerns of textile pollution. I tried using propaganda techniques to elicit emotion from the audience and have them fall in love with the topic. I wanted to promote the importance of donating clothing and show the audience how beneficial it is for our environment. Lengthening the life span of fabric is crucial because it reduces waste and pollution, as unwanted items can be reused. Donating and recycling clothing also benefits individuals in need by allowing those who cannot afford new clothing to get gently worn items at a much lesser cost. Furthermore, recycling garments can help reduce the amount of energy and water required to manufacture new items, therefore lowering our environmental impact. Lastly, this allows people to give back to their communities, showing kindness and compassion to those who may not have the resources to purchase these items.
Works Cited
“Comeback Clothes.” DoSomething.org, https://www.dosomething.org/us/campaigns/comeback-clothes-2023.
Renning, Tracy. “Why Textile Recycling Is Important: The Green Fashion Cycle.” Unsustainable, 26 July 2022, https://www.unsustainablemagazine.com/why-textile-recycling-is-important/.
