We have all had that moment when we stare into our closets and decide that it's finally time to donate or get rid of our clothing that has recently served no purpose besides filling up closet space. Whether you are tossing away your clothes because they are no longer wearable or have never been worn, your clothes will most likely end up in landfills where they will spend the next (on average) 200 years decaying while simultaneously emitting greenhouse gases. 84% of all world's textiles and pieces of clothing end up in landfills or are burned in third world countries.
Specifically in the United States, the average American has been estimated to throw away around 37kg of clothes per year. By 2030, it is estimated that we will be discarding more than 134 million tons of textiles a year according to BBC. This is especially dangerous for the environment as it takes clothing and textiles 200-plus-years to fully degrade. Even clothes sent to thrift shops often end up in landfills as it's estimated that 14 million tons of clothing from American thrift shops alone are sent to landfills in impoverished countries. As these clothes decompose, they emit methane which is a greenhouse gas more destructive to the environment than carbon.
So, what can we do to help better our environment? The simplest option is to invest in quality clothing that can last for a long period of time, and to buy less clothing in general. If you are looking to sell or donate your old clothing, dispose of it properly by selling them to individuals instead of companies. Other than physically selling your clothes to buyers, there are sites like Poshmark, Depop, and eBay that allow you to sell your clothing for a profit in the comforts of your own home. Mending your old clothes and supporting designers that do create sustainable fashion are other ways to help our crumbling environment. But, the most important component that can hinder its destruction is to stop buying fast fashion products.
Clothing companies that quickly create and produce clothing mimicking new popularised trends or luxury fashions are known as fast fashion brands. Fast fashion clothing is normally always affordable due to the fact that the clothing is made with cheap materials. Many fast fashion brands such as Topshop, Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 (just to name a few) have been exposed for labor exploitation, as their clothing has been made by underpaid and unfairly treated workers. These labourers work in sweatshops located in impoverished countries where they are forced into labor and face inadequate conditions. Big fast fashion brands rely on these workers to manufacture new trendy clothing that consumers normally only wear for a year before the cheap material proves that it’s in fact cheap, or they no longer find interest in this particular trend. For many, the cycle of buying new trending clothes, discarding them, then buying more, is never ending and dangerous.
Although it's easy to become swayed by the low prices and trendy pieces, it’s important to think about the long term aspect of the pieces you plan to buy. Thrift shopping is an option that is often overlooked but is a great way to find stylish well made clothing for affordable prices, depending on where you live. When thrift shopping, I often find unique and well made pieces that I still wear today, and plan to continue wearing in years to come. The second most polluting industry in the world is the fashion industry, but I have faith that if we change our shopping habits, this can change for the better.
- Emma Basso-M`Timkulu
Works Cited
Fast fashion & the destruction of developing countries https://www.forgerecycling.co.uk/blog/fast-fashion/
Why clothes are so hard to recycle
A Complete List of 25 Fast Fashion Brands to Avoid and Why
Are Our Clothes Doomed for the Landfill? https://remake.world/stories/news/are-our-clothes-doomed-for-the-landfill/
The Problem with Fast Fashion https://www.bwss.org/fastfashion/#:~:text=Fashion%E2%80%94a%20%242.5%20trillion%20sector,on%20Earth%2C%20right%20behind%20oil.&text=Fast%20Fashion's%20negative%20impact%20includes,clean%20water%20globally%20after%20agriculture.
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