The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second. 85% of textiles go to landfills every year. People bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, though they only kept the clothes for half as long. But what do these statistics really mean?  They mean that clothes are piling up in landfills, creating islands in the oceans, killing animals who ingest them. Although clothing is not the only trash creating these issues, it is quite a big contributor.  

Materials

Synthetic fabrics are usually produced from oil and account for 63 percent of the material input for textiles production. These fabrics are not biodegradable because they are made of plastic. When they are thrown away, they don't just disappear. They take up space in landfills and take hundreds of years to decompose. Additionally, every time these clothes are washed, they break down slightly, and release microplastics that are washed into the oceans and other major water sources. Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of plastic microfibers into the oceans annually, about 50 billion plastic bottles. Overall, microplastics are about 31% of the plastics polluting the oceans. Many of these fibers and pieces some from polyester, a fabric commonly used in fast fashion. Microplastics are ingested by other animals, and slowly work their way up the food chain, releasing harmful chemicals like BPAs that can compromise immune function as well as disrupting reproduction. 

Cotton is a material that is used very often, but it has drastic environmental impacts. Our planet's drinkable water is a finite resource, meaning it will eventually run out. Cotton is an incredibly water-consuming plant. Farms have drained huge natural water sources in order to feed the growing demand for this material. It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. That's more than enough for one person to drink eight cups per day for 10 years. It takes about 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt. That's enough water for one person to drink at least eight cups per day for three-and-a-half years. 

water on earth.jpg

Processing

The cotton farming process also uses many pesticides, that leech into the earth and taint clean water. Not only is this process using up water, it is also making more water unusable an undrinkable. 

Animal-derived materials like leather are biodegradable, but the process of manufacturing is much more harmful. Firstly, the animals raised to produce the leather create large amounts of methane, a very strong greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases heat up the planet by trapping the energy from the sun inside the atmosphere. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. This causes the destruction of many ecosystems and animal habitats, extinctions, and even danger for humans because of rising sea levels.  

The dyeing process uses enough water to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools each year. The chemicals used to process the materials and extremely toxic, causing cancer and skin conditions for workers. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of industrial water pollution worldwide. Many of the chemicals used to dye and process are dumped into the water sources of the workers and communities in the region. 

greenhouse gases.jpg
holger-link-wZTiKB6rQYY-unsplash.jpg

Carbon Emissions

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, that's more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. These come from running machines to make the clothes, transporting the materials and bringing the clothes to your front door or a store where you buy it from. The textile waste sent to landfills releases methane as it decomposes, heating the atmosphere. This further disrupts ecosystems and animal habitats, creating more species in danger of extinction.  

But the effects of fast fashion aren't limited to the environment. The people who make garments are also harmed.