Fashion - the problem

The clothing and fashion industry have a disastrous impact on the environment and the 2nd largest polluter in the world, behind the oil industry. Clothing industry impacts the environment in the following aspects : 

​

1. Water pollution : treatment of textiles often used environmentally detrimental chemicals. These are often released directly in rivers and profoundly affect aquatic life as well as human health, due to the presence of arsenide, lead, mercury and other toxic waste. In addition, the use of fertilizers in the fields for the growth of cotton is reflected in the evaporated and runoff water.

​

2. Greenhouse gases emissions: The fashion industry is generating a lot of greenhouse gases due to the energy used during its production, manufacturing, and transportation.Synthetic fibers (polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc.), used in the majority of clothes, are made from fossil fuel, making production much more energy-intensive than with natural fibers. Most of clothes are produced in China, Bangladesh, or India, countries essentially powered by coal. This is the dirtiest type of energy in terms of carbon emissions.  

 

3. Water consumption: For a ton of dyed fabric, up to 200 tons of fresh water are needed for the dyeing process. In addition, raw material such as cotton need a lot of water to grow and heat, and is grown in the wrong climates, requiring additional water. Up to 20 000 L of water are needed for 1kg of cotton ! 

 

4. Rainforest destruction: Every year, thousands of hectares of endangered and ancient forests are cut down and replaced by plantations of trees used to make wood-based fabrics such as rayon, viscose, and modal. This threatenes the ecosystems, reduces the absoprtion of Co2 and endangers indigenous communities. 

​

5. Microfibers released in the ocean: Microfibers present in synthetic garments such as polyester, nylon release about 1900 individual microfibers in oceans. These are then eaten by small fish which are later eaten by bigger fish, introducing plastic in our food chain. 

​

6. Waste accumulation: Clothing has clearly become disposable. As a result, we generate more and more textile waste. A family in the western world throws away an average of 30 kg of clothing each year. Only 15% is recycled or donated, and the rest goes directly to the landfill or is incinerated. Synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are plastic fibers, therefore non-biodegradable and can take up to 200 years to decompose. Synthetic fibers are used in 72% of our clothing.

​

7. Chemicals for dyeing and treatment: Chemicals are one of the main components in our clothes. They are used during fiber production, dyeing, bleaching, and wet processing of each of our garments. The heavy use of chemicals in cotton farming is causing diseases and premature death among cotton farmers, along with massive freshwater and ocean water pollution and soil degradation. Some of these substances are also harmful to the consumer

 

8. Soils degradation: The fashion industry plays a major part in degrading soil in different ways: overgrazing of pastures through cashmere goats and sheep raised for their wool; degradation of the soil due to massive use of chemicals to grow cotton; deforestation caused by wood-based fibers like rayon.