The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions,
is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply,
and pollutes the oceans with microplastics.
We all have our own style when it comes to the clothes we wear, some spend a lot of time and money creating a look that they feel comfortable in, whilst others wear what they can afford and what is available to me. There is a lot of pressure from social media on what is deemed as high fashion and lots of people love to follow those trends, even if it means that keeping in fashion becomes their main priority in life and other areas get neglected. Such is the power of advertising!
I am not going to deny that some clothes have the ability to make you feel good, that we all probably have something in our closets that help us look at our best and when we wear them we shine both inside and out. But this aspect is played on and most people want to look their best all the time. I mean what does it say about you if you are not turned out all the time.
In total, up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. That's enough to fill the Sydney harbor annually.
I remember being in Ireland, listening to the radio and hearing them talk about how some parents, just don't put in an effort when they drop off their kids at school and were just turning up in 'comfortable wear'. That made me laugh, cos I can only imagine what they would say about me if they were to see what I wear.
I like to wear comfortable clothes and I have not bought any new clothes in a long time. Instead getting them from clothes swaps, flea markets or for free at the wonderful community boat were I live. My priority in life certainly has nothing to do with fashion.
Washing clothes, meanwhile, releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
I think most of us on here know about sweat shops, about the dismal amount of money that people make when they are slave labouring over high street brands and high fashion brands, They make pittance compared to the cost that those items are sold for and the working conditions are horrible, not to mention the fact that lots of children are working in those factories.
We all know that, yet the clothes keep on rolling out, high street brands continue to have huge turn overs in their fashion lines and people keep on buying them. I had a conversation with my younger sister recently and she told me that a lot of her friends would buy new underwear ever week instead of washing and re using them! I hope I am not the only one dumb founded by that?
A 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics — very small pieces of plastic that never biodegrade — in the ocean came from the laundering of synthetic textiles like polyester.
Then a friend send me on this article, that I keep quoting from and well the statistics speak for themselves. So many of the clothes we wear contain lead and hazardous chemicals. Lead is used a lot in belts, purses and shoes and top that off with the many insecticides, formaldehyde and flame-retardants that are in clothes, we are literally slowly poisoning ourselves and the environment.
Of course there are alternatives, but those alternatives are expensive, organic cotton, hemp, bamboo. But guess what they last a lot longer so in the end you definitely get your monies worth. I would love to see more people invest in sustainable clothing, I know I would like to.
It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. That's more than enough for one person to drink eight cups per day for 10 years.
I don't believe in pointing the finger at others, at placing blame, that really only creates more segregation between us all. Instead I like to inform others when I can, because nothing will change without first becoming aware.
All in all, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution worldwide
All of these frightening statistics can be found here, in this article "The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet." . Life is all about choices and we need to be aware of the effects that those choices make. Yeah it's nice to have new clothes, to treat yourself, but at what cost?.
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