DID YOU KNOW ?
Did you
know the fashion industry uses 1,600
chemicals in their dyeing processes (only one per cent of which have been approved by the
Environmental Protection Agency) ?
Did you
know it takes more than 2,000 litres of water to make just one T-shirt ( that’s equivalent to 10 bathtubs) ?
Did
you know that
this same T-shirt can travel up to 3,500 km before it lands on a
consumer’s back?
From
the pesticides used to make cotton grow, to the unfair wages and the horrible
conditions of the workers (they work 18 hours a day, earning not
even enough money to send their children to school and all to create clothing
that we buy for 4 euros at Primark, H&M,
Zara...), to all
the toxic chemicals used to dye this T-shirt and which end up in our water
system...
The
fashion industry has been referred to as the second
most damaging industry on earth, behind the oil industry!!!!
But the industry is not the
only guilty one ; the consumers are too.
“Fast fashion, pop culture, and traditional as
well as social media have created a cult of consumerism that’s more rabid than
ever before.”
Today the majority of us (myself included) all use fast fashion :
( fast fashion : makes up the majority of the fashion
industry and includes big brands like Urban outfitters, Forever 21, and New look. These brands constantly sell new styles according to
trends, which quickly become popular and then die out. With as many as 52 “micro-seasons” a year, the fast
fashion industry continually pushes new, trendy, cheaply made, “disposable” clothing on consumers.)
Moreover, an economist said that : “we consume
400 per cent more clothing today versus 20 years ago and the average garment is
only worn seven times before it gets thrown out.”
WHAT CAN WE DO ?
“It’s funny, because every day you get dressed, but research
shows that even when a person adopts a more sustainable lifestyle — whether that’s because they’re more aware of it because they have children or because
they’ve recently had an illness —
fashion is the last thing they change,”
says Kelly Drennan, founding executive director
of Fashion Takes Action.
Small steps make a big difference
But we can change, just thinking about it, reading articles, blogs ,
watching Youtube videos about it... just realising that the world we live in is
not always what we thought it was :
There are plenty of solutions :
+ thrift shop! Vintage items are
trendy nowadays so make the most of it !!!
+ Sustainable
fashion brands take measures to minimize their impact on the environment : Buying clothes labelled under the Fair Trade Act is
sustainable on several levels: You can be sure it was produced under safe
working conditions, it's sweatshop free, and the person who made it earned a fair
wage. But it is most of time more expensive.
+ use the
seven Rs: Reduce,
Reuse,
Recycle,
Repair ,
Research.
+many organisations were created to
first make the consumer find out about this issue such as :
Ethical Fashion Initiative
Green Carpet
Challenge
And I truly encourage you to check their websites (see the link at the end)
The Green Carpet Challenge movement made 3 major figures in Hollywood wear
a sustainable dress at the Met Gala 2016 :
Emma
Watson, Margot Robbie and Lupita Nyong'o
Emma Watson wears a Calvin Klein dress made
from recycled plastic bottles : 
The dress was lined with organic silk and made from used
plastic bottles that were spun into yarn. Even the zippers were made from
recycled plastic.
SO
Next time you go shopping
don’t forget to ask yourself these questions :
- Who made it?
-Were they paid and treated
fairly?
-What was the cost to the
environment?
- How long will this item be in
your life?
Green Carpet Challenge : https://www.mochni.com/what-is-the-green-carpet-challenge/
Fashion takes
action : https://fashiontakesaction.com/
Emma K
No comments:
Post a Comment