A New Perspective on Back to School Shopping

The environmental harm of fast fashion and what we can do to help.

Last weekend, my favorite time of the year finally came-- Back To School Shopping! There I was, walking the sparkling floor of Old Navy, surrounded by racks and racks of beautiful brand new irresistible clothing. Little did I know that while I was standing in the checkout line, waiting to pay for my prized possessions, I was complicit in one of the most destructive industries in the world: Fast Fashion. For all of those who haven't heard of fast fashion, fast fashion is cheap, mass-produced clothing that imitates major fashion trends and meets customers' desires for appealing clothing. But all the major designs fast fashion provides us come with a profound cost.

The unprecedented growth of the fast fashion industry is a serious risk to our environment, both in the sheer amount of energy required to produce our clothes as well as the environmental impact of its waste. Unfortunately, most of us are unaware of this impact and are unwitting partners in its harming our environment. We need to educate ourselves i on the consequences caused by our clothing and explore what we can do to help. First, I will share how much energy is consumed in producing our clothes. Then I will share about the waste generated from our clothes. Lastly, I will discuss potential ways we can do our part to reduce the impact of our clothes.

The amount of environmental resources consumed in producing clothing is disturbingly high. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. (Geneva Environmental Network). Over 2700 liters of water is used to produce one average cotton shirt. This same amount of water can fill around 30 or more bathtubs. (learn more by watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiSYoeqb_VY). Additionally, washing some types of clothes can result in microplastics being deposited into the water supply. Finally, not only can the production of the shirt cause severe damage, but also the textile dying process. Many dyes are comprised of toxic chemicals and can cause hair damage, burn your skin, cause stomach issues, and increase the likelihood of diseases (consciouslifeandstyle.com). We need to appreciate the environmental cost of every piece of clothing we wear and purchase new clothing sparingly and responsibly.

"85% of all are clothes end up in landfills or are burned, sending 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

The waste produced by our clothing is unimaginable. 85% of all clothes end up in landfills or are burned, sending 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2022). Some of these textiles can take 200 years or more to decompose. Christina Dean, founder of NGO Redress and the R Collective, reports, " Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned globally." An increasing amount of clothing is made with polyester, a man-made material comprised of toxic chemicals. Polyester takes over 200 years to decompose and can leach toxic chemicals into the water. Sadly, polyester has grown to become the number one synthetic fiber and can be found in almost everything we wear.

Proposed solutions

It's clear from the trends that the fashion industry, environmental consumption, and extreme waste is not ending anytime soon. However, there are many ways we can do our part to help combat environmental destruction. We can choose to purchase only clothing that is made from textiles with a reduced impact on our environment, such as organic cotton, linen, hemp, and recycled fabrics. We can choose to recycle our clothing by donating them to close friends, pet shelters, or the homeless. If only one average US citizen changes from dumping clothes to donating them, we can over 70lbs of textile waste. We can also upcycle clothes by repurposing old clothing into new clothes, bags, decorations, and blankets. Finally, we can educate others and advocate for laws that regulate or incentivize the fashion industry to help reduce waste and to produce responsible clothing.

The scariest thing about this is that the fast fashion industry continues to expand. In just one year, the global fast fashion market is expected to grow from $91.23 billion in 2021 to $99.23 billion in 2022. If the fashion industry maintains its course, it will increase its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within a decade. (United Nations Environmental Program). We need to do our part to change the tide. Next time you walk into Old Navy and H&M, be aware of what you buy. Even one jacket can create significant harm to our world.