In one of her famous books, Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes, fashion journalist, Dana Thomas, states that, on an average, an American buys sixty-eight (68) clothes every year. According to similar research done by the Newsweek, Americans throw away eighty (80) lbs of clothing every year. Ecologically speaking, the problem with production of clothes is twofold – firstly, the manufacturing of clothes requires incredible amount of natural resources, and secondly, once these trendy clothes become obsolete, their disposal leads to further environmental damage. According to the United Nations, a pair of jeans requires a whopping 7,500 – 10,000 litres of water (which is 10 years’ worth of drinking water for one person). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in one of its studies, shows that the average number of times a piece of clothing is worn has decreased by 36% between 2000 and 2015. In the same period, clothing production doubled. Due to lengthy supply chains and energy-intensive production methods, apparel and footwear industries generate 8–10% of global carbon emissions, superseding emissions from the aviation and shipping industries combined (European Parliament, 2021). This brings to light the dire need to re-evaluate the values and standard business practices of the fashion industry.
Source: Barandbench
