People generally like to look the best they can, and keep up with their peers. But when the planet is at stake, and the vanity and wastefulness of fast fashion is accelerating, something needs to be done.
Very few people realise that the majority of the clothing they wear is made from oil, and much of the rest comes from old-growth forest. Just like kids in America don’t know where milk comes from…
Here are some facts to consider:
- The production of clothing is very water-intensive. According to the 2017 Wrap report the average water footprint for a kilo of cotton (equivalent to pair of jeans and a shirt) is 10,000-20,000 litres. Compare that to drinking 2 litres per day.
- India and Pakistan are major suppliers of cotton clothing, but both countries suffer from high levels of water scarcity. People could literally die from your fashion needs
- Clothing has a larger carbon footprint than air travel and shipping combined.
- It has been estimated that there are 20 new garments manufactured per person each year and we are buying 60% more than we were in 2000. Were we short on clothes in 2000??
- 60% of all clothing is thrown away within one year of manufacture
- Cotton production is now responsible for 18% of worldwide pesticide use and 25% of total insecticide use
- More than 90% of that cotton is now genetically modified
- Fabric dyes used for cotton contain hazardous materials like mercury and lead, these types of chemicals do not break down and are extremely harmful for aquatic life and the health of millions of people living by those rivers banks
- Microplastic waste includes a form of synthetic microfibers (less than 5mm in length) that detach from our synthetic clothes during washing. A city the size of Berlin releases a wash-related volume of microfibers equivalent to approx. 500,000 plastic bags – every single day
- Globally, customers miss out on USD 460 billion of value each year by throwing away clothes that they could continue to wear…
- 60% of German and Chinese citizens admit to owning more clothes than they need
- 73% of clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated, 12% is sold on to poorer countries and 1% is recycled back into clothing. 14% is wasted along the journey
- Polyester, nylon, spandex use almost 342 million barrels of oil a year.
- Together the apparel and footwear industries generated between 5 and 10% of global pollution impacts in 2016. Footwear alone represents approximately one-fifth the impact of the apparel industry, about 1.4% of global climate impacts (700 million metric tons CO2eq), while apparel represents 6.7% of global climate impacts (3,290 million metric tons CO2eq). Combined, they account for an estimated 8.1% of global climate impacts (3,990 million metric tons CO2eq).