Sales shopping is one of the unavoidable events that happen throughout the year, particularly during important events and holidays. These events kind of decoy some simple-minded into believing that they could be more buoyant if they brought another piece of something new. For shopaholics and brands, sales events bring several joys and benefits to keep their closets loaded. Sadly, these events are not much joyous for the environment which is almost on the brink of keeping up with the never-ending human desires.
A lot of us who cannot escape the temptation of newness might not realize what we are costing the planet when we hit the sales events to get that instant gratification of buying something new. Sales events are one of the biggest polluters, the second biggest polluter after oil and gas, producing 20 percent of global wastewater, and a global waste total of nearly 13 million tons of fabric. McKinsey has estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030. The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water. It requires about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Textile dyes are the world’s second-largest polluter of water, while pesticides, widely used in cotton cultivation, contaminate soil and groundwater.
If we look at the costs of popular sales, throw-away culture comes first. What this means is that the more we buy, the more we throw away. Now, we often don’t understand where we throw our stuff away and are content as soon as they are away from our closets and house. Since there is only one space that both the clothes and their consumers are sharing, a lot of the waste that we get rid of is circulating somewhere in the environment; a staggering amount gets sent to landfills or discarded into oceans.
The garment industry uses a whopping amount of water to produce the final products that customers use. This puts a burden on water availability to the communities that are involved with the industry like the cotton-producing communities. The fashion industry consumes one-tenth of all of the water used industrially to run factories and clean products. To put this into perspective, it takes 10,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cotton or approximately 3,000 liters of water for one cotton shirt. Furthermore, textile dyeing requires toxic chemicals that subsequently end up in our oceans.
Approximately 20% of the wastewater worldwide is attributed to this process, which accumulates over time. As many factories moved overseas as stated previously, they may be in countries without strict environmental regulations, resulting in untreated water entering the oceans. Regrettably, the wastewater created is extremely toxic and in many cases, cannot be treated to become safe again.
Next, synthetic materials are the primary culprits that cause plastic microfibers to enter our oceans. To be exact, approximately 35% of all microplastics are from these synthetic materials. For example, many of the fibers are made of polyester, consisting of plastic, and tend to release far more carbon emissions than cotton. Furthermore, plastic is slow to degrade in the ocean until a long time has passed. When plastic finally breaks down, it creates a toxic substance with a harmful impact on the marine ecosystems. As these plastic microfibers cannot be removed, they end up in the human food chain through aquatic life, causing many negative health effects.
Another way garment production and consumption harm the environment is through the waste produced by the garment industry. In countries where the textile industry doesn’t follow a systematic treatment of waste materials, untreated toxic wastewaters are dumped directly into the rivers. This water is not like normal water but contains a lot of toxic substances like mercury, lead, and arsenic which are detrimental to aquatic animals. This toxic water poses threat to the lives of millions of people who live by the river banks and are dependent on the river water for their survival. Eventually, this waste makes its way into the sea.
Apart from this, the textile industry uses chemicals in different stages of production. For example, fertilizers are used in the production of cotton, chemicals are used in the bleaching and dying industry. Altogether, these chemicals have been considered harmful to both humans and the environment, along with massive freshwater and ocean water pollution and soil degradation.
In the light of the damage posed to the environment by the Fashion industry, it is imperious that companies design, test and invest in business models that focus more on reusing clothes and maximizing their useful life. There are other numerous ways that an individual could adopt to lessen the environmental burden of fast fashion and excessive consumerism supported by events like a sale.
Donating is not only a noble cause that could get a person many blessings and good wishes. Donating unusable clothes to a charity organization will help someone slightly less fortunate meet his/her needs, that too with an option for you to organize and update your stores. This will save the environment from the trash load by saving the clothes from being added to an already overflowing landfill.
Secondly, thrift stores are one of the most convenient options these days that have been popularizing on social media sites like Instagram. These stores have tonnes of options on their sites for clothes, shoes, bags, and whatnot. Thrift stores are one wise choice for those who are looking to declutter their closets. Additionally, thrift stores could be accessed for some economical products, along with being environmentally responsible.
Textile Recycling is another measure that could be opted for textile companies to show their environmental stewardship and stand out amongst their competitors. Today, there are only a handful of brands that are focusing on textile recycling. Beechtree now has a section of clothes that are made from recycled products. Levis is also working on producing garments that use less water than normal products do. Reportedly, these products consume 96 percent less water in the finishing process. Similarly, ELO, export leftovers, buys wasted fabric from export quality producers in Pakistan, and has created a brand from it called Polo Replica. They also sell the few hundred extras from the companies that could otherwise contribute to over 60 million kilos of waste from such activities Pakistan produces in a year.
Reduce, Reuse, and then Recycle
A rational model of consumption is needed to help balance the individual’s benefits of buying a certain product and the environmental costs of producing it. As consumers, we have a huge role to play in fighting the negative effects of fashion by changing the way we shop. A reduce, reuse, and then recycle approach is could prove a handful in this regard that could help reduce the impact of fast fashion on the Earth are:
1. Reduce: While going for impulsive clothing purchases it is important to consider the environmental damage behind it. Adopting a minimalist lifestyle is one of the greatest habits. It relates to a person’s desire to lessen material things and put more value on intrinsic values. Practicing minimalism benefits not only the individual but the environment too. Donating clothing is far better than landfilling, but it does not erase the impacts of the clothes we buy and discard.
2. Reuse: Choosing thrift stores is also an economical way to meet both individual needs as well as environmental needs. Repeating the clothes that we already have and not buying a lot more stuff is possibly the best thing we can do.
3. Choosing and supporting brands that are recycling products can increase demands for such products. This will further aid the companies in extending their production of such products.
Importantly, environmental stewardship has been preached for decades with its primary focus being on planting more trees and reducing plastic waste. However, the environmental cost of excessive consumerism and fast fashion is largely ignored. To advocate for less waste in the consumer industry, it is important to create awareness of the harms perpetrated by the industry using social media and other mediums.
Beyond everything, individual habits and responsibility could help greatly in adopting smart consumerism that benefits both the individual and the environment that she is part of. If brands could put as many billboards for environmental stewardship as they do promote sales, a lot could improve. The brand, the consumer, and the government can together create a more sustainable approach that meets the environmental needs and the needs of individuals and the fashion industry.
