Sustainable Fashion and Pollution - Uncovering the Obvious Link
People are doing a lot to save the environment and stop the downward spiral that has resulted from increased industrialization. People are planting more trees, installing energy-efficient lighting and heating, and even carpooling. But while all these measures are helpful, could fashion be ignoring the persistent problem related to fashion choices? This guide explores how they have shaped the environment and why it might be time to change the approach.
Where Fashion Industry Goes Wrong - The Glaring Truth
An outfit is just an outfit, right? Not quite. Before you get your hands on any piece of clothing, a lot of work goes into it. Someone grows the fabric, another designs the clothes, another processes the fabric to match the design, and finally, someone else sells the complete product to you. But what you see is the final product. Unfortunately, the end does not justify the means in fashion. As the years have gone by, people have uncovered just how bad the current fashion practices are for us and the environment. Consider the following:
Environmental Damage
The fashion industry contributes to at least 10% of global carbon emissions. To give you an idea of how bad this is, it is more than what international flights contribute! And even if you added maritime shipping to the math, the fashion industry would still win hands down.
Besides carbon emissions, the fashion industry is also responsible for a lot of waste. Every year, at least 90 million tons of clothes end up as waste. Moreover, clothing industries use tons of resources (think water and chemicals) to produce clothes. Add synthetic chemicals used in farming, and you can see just how widespread the environmental damage is and how bad it will be if people keep up this trend.
Human And Animal Exploitation
Back to the production chain - Having people working on farms and industries and distributing the clothes. Many of them work long hours in poor working conditions and barely get enough money to earn a good living - some of them are even children who have no option but to put up with the hard work to survive another day.
Animals also get mistreated and abused in the making of clothes - think of all the leather, fur, feathers, silk, and more such animal products in clothes. Estimates show that billions of animals pay the price for fashion choices.
Health Complications
Did you know that many people develop health problems resulting from their clothing choices? It's not surprising when you think of the handling of clothes from the start to the end. On the farm, the raw materials get sprayed with all kinds of chemicals to make them pest-resistant so they can result in a big harvest. Then, they move on to the factories, where manufacturers use even more chemicals to ensure they look and feel good enough to attract their target audience. As such, by the time consumers get to them, they are full of dyes, preservatives, and other chemicals that result in sensitivities. In some cases, the reactions can be so bad that they can result in fatalities.
When you think of all these aspects, it's clear that if continuing down this road, these fashion choices will destroy the societal fabric and the environment. It's time to consider the alternative. But what is it?
Is There Hope in Sustainable Fashion? Changing the Tides
Current fashion practices have negative effects that must be addressed in order to protect the environment. Sustainable fashion encompasses all measures that people take to reduce or eliminate these effects by approaching fashion in an ethical manner. So, what does it entail?
Organic farming
Rather than spraying plants with chemicals, the focus is on organic farming, where farmers use little to no synthetic inputs. Moreover, such methods are less wasteful as they require fewer resources.
Eco-friendly clothing
This approach starts at the farm, where farmers focus more on sustainable crops such as hemp and bamboo while reducing their emphasis on resource-heavy plants. It then extends to the production processes, which feature minimal chemicals. Finally, it trickles down to consumers who embrace measures such as thrifting, swapping, and upcycling to reduce their overall consumption.
An end to overconsumption
The biggest threat to the environment is heavy overconsumption, which results in millions of tons of waste. A great way to avoid this is to embrace high-quality clothes that can last the test of time and stop buying from fast fashion companies.
Taking these steps can reduce environmental destruction by lowering the overall carbon footprint and conserving resources while reducing the overall textile waste. Also, build better and healthier communities by advocating for safer clothing and better working conditions for people in the fashion industry.
Conclusion
The current fashion practices are polluting the society and the environment as a whole. It is high time to step up to the plate and avert the looming crisis that could destabilize the world. Luckily, making this change is as simple as embracing sustainable fashion, which promises to reduce adverse environmental effects while creating a better world for us all.
