As time passes, fashion continues to evolve and transform. 80 billion new clothes are manufactured each year, which leads to a 400% increase in consumption when compared to twenty years ago. The main culprit is fast fashion. “Fast fashion” is a term used for cheaply made and priced clothing that copies the most recent catwalk styles and is dispersed quickly throughout stores to capitalize on current trends. The fabrics that clothes are made from eventually break down into microplastics that contaminate water sources, and the process of manufacturing garments plays a detrimental role in increasing carbon emissions.
Microplastics
Microplastics are small plastic particles that are smaller than 5 millimeters in size. In this case, they come from the breakdown of clothing items. These microplastics take around 100-1000 years to decompose, claiming 35% of the non-biodegradable plastic in the ocean.
Polyester, nylon, and acrylic are some of the most common and harmful synthetic fibers used in clothing that break down into microplastics over time. When the plastic eventually breaks down, dioxins and furans are created, which are considered some of the most toxic substances on Earth. This substance has an extremely harmful impact on the aqua-marine life. Europa.eu states that about 35% of the ocean’s microplastic comes from textiles. The first couple of times that clothing is washed is when the microplastics escape into waterways.
Water
The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water. Earth.org states that 700 gallons of water are needed to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons for a single pair of jeans. Textile dying is the world’s second-largest water contaminator, with the remaining particles being disposed of into streams and rivers.
Leather is considered the most environmentally harmful manufacturing process within the fashion industry. The chemicals used to tan leather include mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, oils, and dyes that have astronomical negative effects on humans and the environment. Dyes are not biodegradable and contaminate water sources, as well as, the other listed chemicals. To raise livestock that the leather is gathered from; it strains many valuable resources, including food, land, water, and fossil fuels.
Many factories move overseas to countries with significantly less strict environmental regulations, dumping untreated water into the ocean.
Energy
The production of clothes wastes energy in serval ways. The transportation of fabrics and finished products contributes to carbon emissions due to the length of travel. According to earth.org, “Making plastic fibers into textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids like hydrogen chloride”. Ten percent of all carbon emissions are produced from the clothing industry, creating an unsustainable pressure on our Earth.
Cotton is used in various amounts of clothing, but it threatens the farmer’s health who cultivates the fiber. The pesticides used for the growth of the cotton are considered toxic and can contaminate nearby crops.
Clothing is often manufactured in countries like China and India, which primarily rely on coal-fueled power plants, increasing the energy wasted for each item. Theconsciouschallenge.org states, “More than 60 percent of textiles are used in the clothing industry, and a large proportion of clothing manufacturing occurs in China and India.” Additionally, these companies manufacture out of the United States because the cost of labor is much lower.
What is being done to help
Most people can agree, from the statistics, that the fashion industry is majorly contributing to pollution worldwide. However, some in the industry are working to reduce the contamination of the planet.
The EU wishes to minimize textile waste and expand the length of clothing life by recycling. Others, like the “Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change” have a bold goal of achieving “net-zero emissions by 2050, states genevaenvironmentnetwork.org. Although this is an ambitious goal, it is exciting to see that no emissions are possible in less than thirty years.
https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/7/20/the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-the-environment
https://www.theconsciouschallenge.org/ecologicalfootprintbibleoverview/clothing-energy
https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/
