HOW FAST FASHION AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT

      THE REAL COST OF YOUR CLOTHS !!

Today, the billion-dollar fashion industry is the second most polluting industry on the planet, and a major contributor to fashion pollution is 'fast-fashion'. Fast fashion refers to easily consumed and disposable fashion, that is produced and priced at extremely low rates and does not last for longer than a season. 

Today, there is a global annual production of 150 billion new articles of clothing. Most of that clothing is produced unethically, transported using coal-based machinery, and disposed off with little to no efforts made to be environmentally conscious.

           ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Different fabrics have different impacts, depending on what they're made of:

 POLYESTER

Made from petrochemicals, these synthetic are non-biodegradable as well, so they are inherently unsustainable on two counts.  Making polyester uses large amounts of water for cooling, along with lubricants which can become a source of contamination. 

Polyester is one of the most polluting fabric. Polyester is a plastic-like material made from coal, oil, and water. It's made in a lab and is used to create many things such as home furnishing, seatbelts, tents, and the cover stock for diapers. Because it's mass-produced it has become a cheap material to buy. 4 reasons why you should avoid wearing polyester clothes;

* While polyester feels strong, it's unbearable to wear. There is no breathability in the fabric, the unnatural chemicals are not made for constant human contact. Manufactures love to use polyester because it's cheap, thus putting all the cost on the customers who suffer and sweat in this sticky material that's supposed to be cool and refreshing.

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* Polyester is advertised as being wrinkle-free, but due to the harsh chemicals that go into making these clothes, polyester is not only hard but can be disastrous on sensitive skin. The chemical can be rough on skin and lead to rashes. Wear organic cotton instead for a fabric that is great for the environment and soft on the skin.

* Polyester emits a huge amount of waste into the earth. We already know plastic is super harmful. When polyester breaks down it can only be reduced into microplastics which stays, non-biodegradable, in our oceans, land, and water.

* Just creating polyester takes about 70 million barrels of oil. And this is just for the polyester that is used for fabric. That's a lot of carbon.

 

NYLON 

Nylon manufacture creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Nylon is a synthetic fabric and manmade. Nylon is not biodegradable, it may take up to 200 years for synthetic textiles such as nylon to decompose. Nylon production is destructive, micro- fibers wash off and contaminate water systems, nylon is  made from petrochemical that pollute the environment, nylon production is energy intensive and generates high levels of pollution, nylon releases nitrous oxide when manufactured, synthetic materials rely on petrochemical industries, meaning synthetic materials dependent on fossil fuel extraction.

Nylon is in part derived from coal and petroleum. In addition to supporting some of the world's dirtiest industries, the manufacture of nylon has several other direct environmental impacts.

* GREENHOUSE GASES

Producing nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

* WATER

Manufacturing nylon is a very thirsty process; large amounts of water are used for cooling the fibres, which can be a source of environmental contamination and pollution.

* ENERGY

Manufacturing nylon is a very energy-hungry process, which contributes to environmental degradation and global warming.

RAYON (VISCOSE)

This is another artificial fibre, made from wood pulp, which on the face of it seems more sustainable. However, old growth forest is often cleared and/or subsistence farmers are displaced to make way for pulpwood plantations. Often the tree planted is eucalyptus, which draws up phenomenal amounts of water, causing problems in sensitive regions. To make rayon, the wood pulp is treated with hazardous chemicals such as caustic soda and sulphuric acid.

Rayon  is not a natural fiber. Rayon is a generic term for fabrics that are made from plants that you could never imagine as soft, silky fabric: bamboo and trees. These tough plant materials are broken down through a chemical and mechanical process involving sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide into a viscous liquid, that is then spun into threads using sulfuric acid. This chemical-heavy, industrial process is why it is considered a semi- synthetic fiber. It's also why there are no rayon producers in the U.S. It's too toxic to comply with the EPA's standards- workers are at high risk of insanity, nerve damage, heart disease, and stroke. And that's inside the factory. Once you have a factory dumping these chemicals into the waterway, the whole community can be poisoned.

COTTON

Cotton's most prominent environmental impacts result from the use of agrochemicals (especially pesticides), the consumption of water, and the conversion of habitat to agricultural use. Diversion of water and its pollution by cotton growing has had severe impacts on major ecosystems such as the Aral sea in central Asia, the Indus delta in Pakistan and the Murray darling river in Australia.

SOIL EROSION AND DEGRADATION

Cotton cultivation severely degrades soil quality. Despite the global area devoted to cotton cultivation remaining constant for the past 70 years, cotton production has depleted and degraded the soil in many areas. Most cotton is grown on well-established fields, but their exhaustion leads to expansion into new areas and the attendant destruction of habitat.

POLLUTION

Conventional production practices for cotton involve the application of substantial fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides threaten the quality of soil and water, as well as the health of biodiversity in and downstream from the fields. Heavy use of pesticides also raises concern for the health of farm workers and nearby populations.

WATER CONTAMINATION

Runoff of pesticides, fertilizers, and minerals from cotton fields contaminates rivers, lakes, wetlands, and underground aquifers. These pollutants affect biodiversity directly by immediate toxicity or indirectly through long-term accumulation. 

LONG TERM NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC FIBERS !!

* Synthetic materials which are by-products of petroleum are non-biodegradable, synthetic products take a long time to decompose, creating long-term pollution.

* Nylon is hard to recycle, making them hard to decompose, accumulate landfills more. Polyesters are easy to recycle which makes them less harmful to the society. Recycled polyesters are used to make eco-fashion, which is fashion that is more eco-friendly.

* Synthetic fibers also taint the water bodies, from a waste product derived from textile factories to dyes, they are all flushed into our waterways and sewers, making the environment more harmful and dangerous.

WATCH THESE DOCUMENTARY'S AND TAKE A DEEP KNOWLEGE ABOUT SYNTHETIC FIBERS  

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Biodiversity Impact from the Apparel Industry - The Cotton Example. (2020, june 8). Retrieved from https://www.joobwear.com/blogs/news/the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-the-environment-the-cotton-example

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Environmental impacts. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.greenchoices.org/green-living/clothes/environmental-impacts

Jayashree Bhosale, E. B. (2019, september 24). Cotton production may rise 20% on good rain. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/cotton-production-may-rise-20-on-good-rain/articleshow/71269319.cms?from=mdr

LIN, C. (2017, JANUARY 17). 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID WEARING POLYESTER. Retrieved from https://siizu.com/blogs/fabric-talk/5-reasons-why-you-should-avoid-wearing-polyester

Magan, S. (2019, april 22). 10 Facts That Prove Fast Fashion Is Destroying Our Planet, One 'New Season' At A Time. Retrieved from https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/fast-fashion-is-destroying-our-planet/

myntra. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.myntra.com/rayon-dresses

NYLON. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://healabel.com/n-fabrics-materials-textiles/nylon

Puente, M. (2018, FEBURARY 23). “SYNTHETIC POLYMERS": environmental impact, issues... Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsQ7YtI14tc&t=1s

Sarkar, P. (2016, march 13). What Construction to Use to Get 110 GSM Fabric in Rayon? Retrieved from https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2016/03/what-construction-to-use-to-get-110-gsm.html

Stoned, W. A. (2019, JANUARY 9). Choosing Natural Clothing // Why I Don't Wear Polyester. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRJ-TdooAAs&t=28s

The Dangers of Synthetic Fibers and Fabrics on the Environment. (2018, feburary 19). Retrieved from Superego: https://superegoworld.com/blogs/the-world/the-dangers-of-synthetic-fibers-and-fabrics-on-the-environment

Uniformly - Deep Turquoise. (n.d.). Retrieved from CROFT MILL: https://www.croftmill.co.uk/polyester-uniformly-deep-turquoise

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USagainLive. (2010, NOVEMBER 5). The Environmental Impact of Textiles. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy1veQmLKME

Wicker, A. (2017, june 14). Greenwashing Alert: Rayon Viscose Is Made From Plants, but Is Also Toxic and Destructive. Retrieved from https://ecocult.com/greenwashing-alert-that-natural-fabric-made-from-plants-might-be-toxic/