FASHION IN LANDFILLS
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Have you ever tried that technique where you hang the clothes in your closet in one direction, then when you wear them, you put the hanger in the other direction? That way you can figure out what should stay in your closet and what should go. Then by the end of the year you realize you wear the same 4 or 5 things all the time regardless of how many cute tops you’ve bought recently.
You’re not alone. The average person has an absurd amount of clothing, 127 pieces in their wardrobe actually. NGPF notes a study done in the UK on 2000 women revealed that an article of clothing was worn 7 times on average before disposal. Think back, you’ve probably purchased an item or two for a special occasion with no intention of ever wearing it again. Maybe you purchased something that was a ‘good deal’ because heck who can’t waste a few hours wages on a cute top that will sit in their closet for 2 years with the tags still on?
The really unfortunate part of our obsession with purchasing as consumers is the amount that we waste. OneGreenPlanet posted that the US EPA revealed Americans alone produce 250 million tons of waste each year and 5.2% of that is textiles alone. That might not seem like a huge percentage, but this is just the US we’re talking about. TheBalanceSMB says that 16.2 million tons of textiles are wasted, not recycled and thrown into the trash by Americans alone each year. Synthetic clothing can take up to 200 years to decompose. 16.2 million tonnes. Imagine, 16.2 million full grown cows or smart cars sitting in a pile for 200 years. Now imagine 16.2 million cows or smart cars added the next year, and the next year.
Now for a global scale. The World Economic Forum says that 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year, meaning only 15% is recycled or reused. The global waste is equivalent to one garbage truck of clothing that is dumped into landfill every second of every day. If you think back to the detrimental environmental impacts that fashion production has on our planet - it seems pretty ridiculous to go through all of the water consumption, pollution and deforestation just to dump 85% of the textiles back onto the earth to create MORE pollution, don't you think?
The important thing is to become aware of these issues so we can change our ways for the better. Start recycling your clothing, sell it second hand, swap with a friend or donate it. There are plenty of ways that we can be more effective in our disposal process and help our planet at the same time.
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