Following our articles about the fashion industry, I want to talk a bit more about the environmental impact. Did you know that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting of our planet? That the creation of a garment is polluting? That there is no such thing as throwing “away”?
The creation of a piece of clothing:
Everything begin from the earth. She provides us everything we need to create Most of our clothes are made from cotton or polyester.
- Cotton: As we saw in the previous article a lot of the cotton industry used to be in America. But then with the globalization as well as the 2nd and 3rd industrial revolution, cotton fields were moved to third world countries. The competition began to hit hard on the new companies, impacting directly the products used to grow and protect the cotton from pesticides due to the prices. The need to reduce their cost has not only an impact on the environment and the entire ecosystem but also the people. More chemicals are used as pesticides as more efficient. The chemicals enter in the soil and go pollute the clean water. Cotton also need, for its production a huge amount of water. It is a full circle, leading to the destruction of the ecosystem. The main issues with cotton are soil pollution due to pesticide, consumption of water and destruction of habitat to create space for cotton fields.
- Polyester: is even more polluting than cotton. It is using harmful chemicals, even chemicals that are pure gas which is then let into the air and have a huge impact on the health of people living around and on the environmental. BE CAREFUL: recycled polyester use PET ( plastic bottle) as a main material and can help with the recycled circle. Polyester and recycled polyester are different. Always prefer recycled material.
Looking at other materials you have to educate yourself and make some research. A lot of vegan people will swear against leather. However, you could state that leather is a long-lasting material which impact for the environment is not “as much” as other materials. Nowadays vegan leather such as Pinatex. The environmental impact that those materials have is lower than cotton and polyester for example. They mainly come from the ink used to dye your fabric. Some inks are harmful for humans and the soil so you should be mindful of this too.
The end of a piece of clothing:
You letting go of clothes you do not need anymore as well as giving it away to charity is having an impact on the environment. In America, 85% of the 68 pounds of discard clothing is ending up in the field.
Charities cannot give or resell again all the clothes people are using. Those end up in the field which as a huge negative impact. Chemicals used for the clothing, as well as the water and the fabrics, does not manage to be broken down and directly impact the ecosystem and the environment around us.
Here are some numbers:
I hope you liked the article. I hope you understand more the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Let us know your thoughts. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter!
