Fashion Forward. Can consumers push an eco-conscious future for fashion?
Lets talk planetary threats.
You may be surprised to learn that the textile industry is positioned as one of the largest environmental polluters and threats to our planet; second only to the oil industry. The deleterious environmental impacts of this industry span all stages within the supply chain and many companies forego improvements due to lack of regulation and cost. Fortunately, as consumers, we have an important hand to play that may decrease the environmental impact of the fashion industry to protect our land, food and water supplies. This hand includes our spending and our daily/weekly habits. Since fashion literally touches every person every single day, we all count! The little things we collectively do can add up to make a meaningful difference for our planet.
HOW IS FASHION IMPACTING THE HEALTH OF OUR PLANET?
CO2 Emissions: The textile industry releases 1.2 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, more than all annual international flights and maritime shipping combined. Emissions are linked to increased speed of global warming.1-3
Microplastic Contamination: Research suggests that 20% to 35% of all micro plastics in the marine environment are fibers from use of synthetic clothing and this number continues to increase.4
Man-made fibers now represent 70% of global fiber production.5
A single polyester fleece can produce more than 1900 micro-fibers per wash.6
During tests conducted to measure micro-plastic release during washing, jumpers made of 100% polyester, 65%/35% polyester-cotton blend and 100% acrylic were tested under several varying wash cycles. The amount of fibers shed by polyester and acrylic knits was highest during the first washes, while there were no significant changes for the polyester-cotton knit. For an average wash load of 6 kg (13.2 lbs), the acrylic sample released, over 700,000 fibers per wash, polyester, almost 500,000 fibers per wash. Polyester cotton blend had lowest release, 138,000 synthetic fibers.7
If every person on earth (7.53 Billion) did one load of acrylic based fabric wash weekly this could result in 527,100,000,000,000,000 microfibers entering our water systems weekly – yup that’s 5.271 Quadrillion microfibers.
Pesticide Use: Cotton cultivation accounts for approximately 17% of the worlds pesticide use. Pesticides are linked to water contamination, soil contamination and serious health concerns.8-9
Landfill Waste: 70lbs. The amount of clothing and other textiles the average US citizen throws away annually. Multiply that by the number of US citizens and we are sending over 22 billion pounds of waste, from textiles alone, to landfill annually.10
85%. The percentage of clothing and other textiles that is not recycled and goes to landfill.10
For a great resource to learn more visit The Council for Textile Recycling http://www.weardonaterecycle.org/about/issue.html
ECO-IMPACT AND CONSUMER USE. HOW CAN CONSUMERS REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
Iron less, Air Dry, Wash Less and/or Wash Low Heat.
Elimination of tumble-drying and ironing and lowering the wash temperature could lead to around 50% reduction in the global climate change impact of textiles.11
Due to the nature of clothing maintenance (frequent washing, ironing etc.) and the fact that all people in the world perform these chores, these small changes together can amount to significant reductions in environmental impact.
Choose your cleaning method wisely.
Limit Dry Cleaning: Dry cleaning utilizes chemical solvents to clean clothing; these solvents are related to negative health impacts such as increased cancer risk.12 Dry-Cleaning also requires much more energy than regular laundering and can result in environmental hazards, like ground water and air contamination, when not handled safely.13
Opt for Professional Wet Cleaning: Wet cleaning is more energy efficient than regular laundering or dry cleaning and poses the least risk to human health and the environment. Ask your cleaner if they offer professional wet cleaning.
Choose The Right Machine: Limit water use and microfiber production by choosing the right machine. New machines are more environmentally friendly due to improved efficiency requirements and automatic water level adjustment. Additionally, front-load machines seem to produce less microfiber particles per wash.14
Shop savvy.
Shop Eco-conscious labels: By investigating brands and asking questions, you can do your part to decrease the impact of fast fashion make your opinion heard. Every time you buy consciously, you send a message to brands that produce with lower standards – you’re not going to take it anymore.
Choose Best in Class: Certain fibers and materials are better for the environment than others. The Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) is a measurement tool geared toward standardization of material sustainability data within the fashion industry. The aim of this tool is to increase transparency, and standardize environmental impact measurement within the industry. This tool assesses and scores a material’s impacts from cultivation through final product.15 The MSI looks at a particular materials impact on global warming, water utilization, non-renewable resource utilization, chemical preparation and water contamination. To check out this scoring tool and how your wardrobe measures up visit MSI HIGG. https://msi.higg.org/page/msi-home
Sewing Saves.
Have you ever wanted to learn something new? Why not try your hand at sewing? Sewing saves your garment and saves your money! If you’re not into sewing, bring your garment to a local clothing repair shop to see if it can be fixed before throwing it out, you may bring new life to your favorite piece.
For more information, visit the resources outlined below! Thanks for reading and let me know your feedback via the comments below!
Resources:
1. Anon. n.d. “Circular Fashion - A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/a-new-textiles-economy-redesigning-fashions-future).
2. Anon. n.d. “Fashion Industry May Use Quarter of World’s Carbon Budget by 2050.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/fashion-industry-may-use-quarter-of-world-s-carbon-budget-by-2050-61183ref=true).
3. Anon. n.d. “A Peek Inside a Landfill - Planet Aid, Inc.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (http://www.planetaid.org/blog/the-gas-from-your-clothes).
4. Anon. n.d. “Microplastics Review.” International Wool Textile Organization. Retrieved November 7, 2018. (https://www.iwto.org/news/microplasticsreview).
5. Anon. n.d. “A Peek Inside a Landfill - Planet Aid, Inc.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (http://www.planetaid.org/blog/the-gas-from-your-clothes).
6. Browne, Mark Anthony, Phillip Crump, Stewart J. Niven, Emma Teuten, Andrew Tonkin, Tamara Galloway, and Richard Thompson. 2011. “Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Woldwide: Sources and Sinks.” Environmental Science & Technology 45(21):9175–79.
7. Napper, Imogen E. and Richard C. Thompson. 2016. “Release of Synthetic Microplastic Plastic Fibres from Domestic Washing Machines: Effects of Fabric Type and Washing Conditions.” Marine Pollution Bulletin 112(1):39–45.
8. Anon. n.d. “Guiding farmers toward sustainable cotton production: Managing the water footprint on cotton farms.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Guiding_Farmers_Towards_Sustainable_Cotton_Prod_2017.pdf).
9. Anon. 2015. “Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big Oil.” EcoWatch. Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://www.ecowatch.com/fast-fashion-is-the-second-dirtiest-industry-in-the-world-next-to-big--1882083445.html).
10. Anon. n.d. “Council for Textile Recycling.” Retrieved November 8, 2018 (http://www.weardonaterecycle.org/about/issue.html).
11. Allwood, Julian M., Soren Ellebaek Laursen, Cecilia Malvido de Rodriguez, and Nancy MP Bocken. 2015. “Well Dressed?: The Present and Future Sustainability of Clothing and Textiles in the United Kingdom.” Journal of the Home Economics Institute of Australia 22(1):42.
12. Ruder, A. M., E. M. Ward, and D. P. Brown. 2001. “Mortality in Dry-Cleaning Workers: An Update.” American Journal of Industrial Medicine39(2):121–32.
13. Anon. n.d. “Dry Cleaners Pollution | Environmental Pollution Centers.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/dry-cleaners/).
14. Hartline, Niko L., Nicholas J. Bruce, Stephanie N. Karba, Elizabeth O. Ruff, Shreya U. Sonar, and Patricia A. Holden. 2016. “Microfiber Masses Recovered from Conventional Machine Washing of New or Aged Garments.” Environmental Science & Technology 50(21):11532–38.
15. Anon. n.d. “Sustainable Apparel Coalition - Higg MSI.” Retrieved November 7, 2018 (https://msi.higg.org/page/msi-home).