Sustainable Fashion

Reusing Your Clothes Saves the World

There is so much talk about what people can do to help out the environment. The experts emphasize the use of renewable energy and reducing one’s carbon footprint. There are even things that can be done in the fashion industry to reduce harming the environment.

Here are some stats interesting stats:

• To make just 1 cotton shirt, it takes about 2,700 liters of water.
• To manufacture jeans, it can require up to 2,000 gallons of water. [i]
• Cotton uses just over 2% of the world’s crop land as well ad about 24% of insecticide use.
• Polyester manufacturing (used for clothing items like workout apparel or footwear) leaves a massive carbon footprint. In 2015, manufacturing released the equivalent annual emissions of 185 coal-fired power plants.[ii]

The problem isn’t just with the manufacturing, but also with growing the products[iii]:

• Production of non-natural fibers can release nitrous oxide, which is nearly 310x more destructive than carbon dioxide.
• It is estimated that more chemical pesticides are used for cotton plants than any other plants.
• Over 15 million tons of textile waste is generated in the United States alone every year, doubling the totals in the past 20 years.[iv] 

What these statistics show is that the fashion industry accounts for a great deal of the pollution issue across the globe. This can be devastating. These are toxic chemicals that have a very negative impact on the health of people. A cotton farmer in America may have developed a brain tumor due to exposure to these chemicals. In India, children who were born to cotton farmers have developed birth defects. There is even the impact it has on crops. Another big issue is due to the genetic modification of cotton, leading it to be more resistant to pests in order to increase the yield and reducing the need of harmful pesticides. The problem with this is that this could lead to issues like superweeds, which require more toxic chemicals to treat. These are even more harmful to livestock, the environment, and the health of the farmers.[v]

Thankfully, there are things that can be done to help this. Repairing clothes saves the environment. Rather than throwing out something because a button falls off, fix the button. Patch clothing when possible. If not, there are businesses that can help you with this. If people outgrow clothing or want to find more fashionable options, consider doing a tag sale, selling clothes online, or donating them. Reusing clothing also can be helpful to the environment. On a grander scale, fashion companies can do more to recycle in their businesses to reduce the level of waste.

Clothing production and manufacturing can be very harmful to the environment and to the overall health of the people who work in these industries. Through smart manufacturing processes and eco-friendly consumer actions, there are things that everyone can do to help save the planet. The numbers are scary but working together, the industry can change for the better. Until then, small actions like repairing or recycling your own clothing can be an excellent start.

At Tad More Tailoring we work with our customers, so they are comfortable and happy with their clothing providing the alterations and mending services they need. Our mail-in alterations service saves valuable time and our affordable prices work with any budget. With Tad More Tailoring, you can reduce waste, save time and look great!

References:

[i]https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzzpjm/your-jeans-are-ruining-the-earth-v24n7

[ii]https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics

[iii]https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-williams1/the-environmental-impact-_1_b_13546078.html?guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_cs=imFPgttvmSk1pQT77aD7Dw&guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly9ndWNlLm9hdGguY29tLw&guce_referrer_cs=NR0211iaNqpo3lKpIKvvzg<

[iv]https://www.thebalancesmb.com/textile-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878122

[v]https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/environment-costs-fast-fashion-pollution-waste-sustainability-a8139386.html