Buy Better, Buy Less!
The business of saving our planet...
Fast fashion clothing retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M make cheap and fashionable clothing, but the cost comes at a high price.
Why is fast fashion bad?
According to Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500.000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
Fast Fashion Environmental Impacts
Among the environmental impacts of fast fashion include the depletion of non-renewable sources, emission of greenhouse gases and the use of massive amounts of water and energy. The fashion industry is the second largest consumer industry of water, requiring about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2.000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Business Insider also cautions that textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water, since the water leftover from the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams or rivers.
Learn more about the ecological and social impact of the fast fashion insdustry...Three key actions for sustainable clothing:
- Look for fair trade.
- Search for sustainable materials.
- Buy products from nearby countries.