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We’ve heard plenty of concerned people and organizations talk about the rapidly increasing issue of environmental damage. And one topic that’s quite prominent around the subject is waste generation. While it is impossible to explore the entire subject in a single article, my aim here is to get you thinking about it and to encourage you to discuss it with others. If you’re reading this article, you probably have a phone or laptop, which means you can also probably afford at least a drawer full of clothes every year. Have you ever thought about how much waste must’ve been generated during the making of these clothes? No, you only think about yourself (just kidding). But seriously, have you ever thought what percentage of the clothes that you own are what you actually wear regularly? Let’s discuss.
The Harsh Truth
In her book called You Are What You Wear, Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner says that most people only wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. In a recent study, on average, consumers throw away 60% of their clothing in the first year. Now, let's take me for an example. I make clothing for myself every now and then and at least 20% of the fabric that I use to make a garment becomes fabric scrap. I have accumulated at least 2 large bags of fabric scraps just by making a few clothes for myself (which hasn't been discarded yet). Now imagine how many fabric scraps other people like me who make their own clothing must have generated and also discarded. Still, waste generated from clothes simply thrown away from households is only the tip of the iceberg. The fashion industry is one of the biggest and most prominent sources of waste generation. According to a recent World Economic Forum report, fashion waste costs the global economy a whopping $400 billion plus every year. Half a million tonnes of microfibre waste every year ends up in the ocean (which is, by the way, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles each year) which in turn, of course, harms aquatic life in ways that are unimaginable.
This information has probably been shared with a large number of people across the globe with innumerable articles and books written about it. Yet, it continues to be ignored by those in power. By those in power I don’t just mean world leaders who run the system, but also people who are in the system.
What you and I can do
Be mindful of what you buy and own: A big reason why the fashion industry continues to produce the way it does is because of the rapid increase in buyers and hoarders over the generations. A change can start with us. Buy clothing mindfully. I have a personal rule, I call it the 60-40 rule. I only let clothes take up to 60% of my entire wardrobe space, leaving 40% of the space empty. (PS- don’t ask how I calculate, it’s only intuitive)
Stop buying from fast fashion brands: Fast fashion is one the biggest reasons for industrial waste, as we’ve all been hearing for the past few years but care little about while purchasing that trendy crop top from Forever 21. What fast fashion promotes is the idea that more is better. The more they produce, the more we buy and the more we buy, the more they produce and the cycle keeps repeating until we have a large land filled (pun unintended) with enough fabric waste to harm the ecosystem in horrifying ways.
Although I have to admit, being a fashion enthusiast myself, I am not there yet. I still can’t resist certain offers and discounts from fast fashion brands that sell clothing that fit current fashion trends. But I’m slowly trying to inculcate better buying practices and there’s no reason you shouldn’t either.