The Fashion Industry's Waste Problem And What You Can Do

The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the world. We produce way more clothes than we need and we discard them after a couple of wears. And the worst part is, the majority of our clothes goes to landfill, even though we could easily reuse or recycle them.

So how bad is the waste in fashion?

Let me break it down for you:

• Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned.

• An estimated $500 billion value is lost every year due to clothing that's barely worn and rarely recycled.

• Less than one percent of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing.

• Worldwide, clothing utilization—the average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used—has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago.

• Clothes release half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles.

• On top of that, the fashion industry alone releases greenhouse emissions of 1.2 billion tonnes a year.

Not only that, some vibrant fabrics, colors, and prints are made from toxic chemicals. Textile dying is one of the leading sources of pollution in our water. Polyester fabric is the number one fabric used in clothing, yet the more that is produced and washed, the more plastic that gets dumped into our oceans. Crazy, right? You wonder how fast fashion companies can have new arrivals every week–it’s because they never stop working and never stop wasting. Some fashion brands believe that staying ahead is the only way to sustain a business in the fashion industry. Regardless, the effects that these fast fashion companies are having on our environment do not put us ahead; instead, they contribute to the major issues our planet is already facing.

The way we get dressed now has virtually nothing in common with the behaviour of previous generations, for whom one garment could be worn for decades.

“It’s about quality, not quantity – not landfill,” said Vivienne Westwood.

Together, we can combat the waste problem in the fashion industry, one garment at a time.

Source: https://www.spireandco.com/blog