Your clothes and the planet: The steep costs of fashion
By now, you may be familiar with the fact that the fashion industry is one of the most damaging industries to the planet. In fact, according to a number of leading sources, it is the fourth most pollutive industry behind energy, transportation, and agriculture! Of particular concern is “fast fashion”, or clothing that is designed, produced, and marketed at rapidly high volumes, often making it lower quality as well as more trendy in nature and therefore destined to hit the end of its life faster than a timeless, high quality piece. Today, we’re going to talk a little bit about the problem with our current system, its environmental consequences, and the alternatives available to us so we can feel good in and good about the clothing choices we make!
The fashion industry, by the numbers
In a nutshell, here is the issue: Clothing is made as cheap as possible and with current trends in mind. That means our clothes become worn out, shapeless, and out of style more quickly and we need to discard and go buy more on a very short timeline. Here are just a few figures to highlight the issue:
Garments are worn an average of 7 times before they are discarded
Most people are using only 20-30% of the clothing in their closets
400% more clothes are being produced compared to 20 years ago (versus a population increase of about 25% - in other words, individuals are purchasing more clothes for themselves than in 2002)
As opposed to releasing two collections per year (Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter), brands are releasing an average of 52 micro-collections each year
These numbers are courtesy of Sustain Your Style, a European-based not-for-profit promoting sustainable fashion practices and innovation.
The environmental and social costs
The production of all of this clothing does not come without costs - as mentioned, the fashion industry is the fourth most pollutive industry in the world! There are a number of ways that our current system damages the planet spanning water, waste, emissions, as well as people.
Water
In many cases, untreated wastewater that is created during the manufacturing process is dumped into nearby bodies of water like rivers. This wastewater contains all kinds of harmful things like mercury and arsenic, which can be extremely damaging to aquatic ecosystems as well as to human health. The fashion industry also consumes an astounding amount of water throughout the manufacturing process as well as during the cultivation of raw materials, like cotton. Just as it is with our agricultural systems, we are often growing these raw materials in unsuitably dry climates, meaning we need to use more water throughout the process. This creates water scarcity, which is a major problem, and a massive culprit behind desertification - the changing of environments into man-made deserts that, unlike natural deserts, serve no ecological function.
Waste
Piles of clothing discarded in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Estimates from Sustain Your Style suggest that the average western-world family discards about 30kg of clothing each year, of which over 25kg goes directly to the landfill with the remainder recycled or donated. In the landfill, much of this clothing waste takes centuries to degrade due to the presence of synthetic fibres.
So big is our clothing waste problem that there are places in the world where fast fashion clothing, some of it unable to be sold (in other words, thrown out before it is even worn) is accumulating as mountains of textile. The most prominent of these spaces is the Atacama Desert in Chile, where it is estimated that 59,000 tons of clothing arrive each year.
Emissions
The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions according to Sustain Your Style. Energy is used both during the production process as well as during transportation of the finished product to points of sale. Production is typically powered by coal in many of the countries where our garments are made, which is an extremely dirty type of energy.
Other
Image courtesy of Roya Ann Miller
There are a number of other ways that the fashion industry damages our planet:
Deforestation for raw materials like rayon and viscose as well as for leather production - deforestation also contributes to the process of desertification that was mentioned previously
Chemical pollution during production
Microfibre pollution during washing
The social costs
The unfortunate reality is that our desire to pay rock-bottom prices for clothing means that costs need to be kept to a minimum by the manufacturers that produce them. As a labour-intensive industry, one of the biggest potential costs for these manufacturers is people’s time. As you can probably deduce, this means that manufacturers are constantly trying to reduce their labour costs and garment workers are frequently severely underpaid, have effectively non-existent workers’ rights or job security. This creates an extremely exploitative industry where those who are most vulnerable are taken advantage of.
What can be done
The good news is that as consumers, we can contribute to a more environmentally and socially responsible system by changing our consumption habits.
Shop less: The obvious solution is to shop less. We can do this by investing in quality pieces that are classic and timeless in nature, meaning they can and will transition with us from year to year. We can make better use of our closets (and avoid buying) by keeping our closet organized and ensuring we can actually see what we own! Taking care of our garments also ensures that they will last. Try to wear your garments a few times before washing them, be sure you are washing them according to instructions and on cold if possible, and air dry them!
Shop second hand: You can also consider shopping secondhand for your clothes, but try to be mindful when you do. It’s still a good idea to consider whether you really need an item when purchasing secondhand and try to pay special attention to supply. For example, if temperatures are dropping and you see a winter jacket at your local thrift shop that you love but the overall supply of jackets in the shop is low, consider leaving this item for someone who may need it if you don’t
Shop smart: When you do need to make a purchase, shop smart and informed! Choose organic, natural fibres with low water consumption. Support brands that have a proven focus on environmental and social impact (watch out for greenwashing!).
Discard responsibly: When you do need to get rid of clothes, be sure to try to donate them if possible, swap with friends, sell online or see to it that they are brought somewhere to be recycled. You can also try to repurpose your clothes - they make great rags and there are even some incredible craft ideas online!
Cover photo courtesy of The Love Post
