Why is Fashion so Damaging to the Planet? (3 min read)

I absolutely love clothes…. and I will hold my hands up and say up until 6 months ago had no idea that the fashion industry was so damaging to the planet. I understand that it is the third largest polluting industry in the world behind energy and transportation! I am now learning about sustainability in this industry and how I can contribute to making us “a little less bad”. 

I am the sort of person that is motivated by taking responsibility to do good things that make a difference to people, usually little people who are just starting their journey in life. Despite knowing very little about starting an apparel business and sustainability to start with, this hasn’t put me off because I can learn that, probably through lots of mistakes and ups and downs! I thought it would be useful to you if I shared what I have found out so far about why the fashion industry is so damaging and then it is easier to understand why caring about where your children’s clothes come from is so important for their future.

What does the industry do that is so bad?

Like me you may instantly think that it’s all about buying clothes that are ‘organic’ but there are lots of steps in making clothes that cause damage to the planet.

Water Pollution

Growing cotton and dyeing material takes huge amounts of water that is taken from aquatic sources, which affects the eco system of plants and animals that rely on it. If there is a shortage of fresh water it is then taken from the ground which cannot be replaced by natural sources as quickly as it is being taken, this causes destabilisation of the ground. We have to share a very small amount of water between us all and only 3% of the water on the planet is suitable for human consumption. 

To be a little bit less bad businesses that make clothes can choose to use fibres that have been recycled or fibres that can be produced using low water consumption. Consumers can wash your clothes more sustainably. How do you do that? Well, I have started washing less. This started when I bought a pair of Hiut jeans (they have a great story by the way) and there was an option to join No Wash Club

which is a commitment you make to go as long as you can without washing your jeans and as they say it may not be 

for everyone but it works for them. 

‘The longer you can leave a new pair of jeans without washing them, the more beautiful a pair of jeans you will have at the end of it.’ Hiut Denim

It worked for me too because it made me think about whether I needed to wash my clothes as much as I did. Is it just a ritual? Are they actually dirty? Do they smell? All great reasons to wash them obviously. I do 15 minutes yoga/HIIT three times a week in the morning and I use the same clothes all week and then wash them. I think that’s ok. 

At the other end of the water supply chain is where all our waste water from washing ends up. Thanks to one of Britain’s greatest treasures, Sir DavidAttenborough, most of us know about the plastic particles in the sea, some of which come from our clothes which shed micro particles during the washing process. Using a Guppy bag stops this process. You can buy them on the internet for about £25, I really love that Sweaty Betty sell them now. 

Clothing Waste

I’m pretty sure that I heard that the average person keeps an item of clothing for 1 year and then they throw it away. Large amounts of clothing are thrown in landfill every year and if they contain plastic fibres it can take hundreds of years to decompose. 

To be a little bit less bad keep your clothes longer, this might mean getting them repaired or pass clothes on to others or buy clothes that are biodegradable. I understand that this is difficult sometimes when you are in a shop trying to read the labels but 100% organic cotton is good and you won’t have to use your guppy bag to wash it either. When I go shopping, which isn’t very often, I would spend quite a bit of money on one item if I had fallen in love with it and it was really good quality, flattering, on trend etc but because I spend quite a lot of money on clothes I keep them for years and years. I even have a stash of jeans that I love but can’t get into anymore but I can’t throw them away because I love them so much and maybe one day I will be a size 10 again 😉 I think we will all have to start treasuring clothes and maybe finding a reliable, transparent company that has sustainability at the core of their values as your go to shop. 

Use of chemicals, the greenhouse gases that are produced and the soil degradation that is caused as a result of the production of clothes also have a harmful impact on the planet.

I increasingly feel the belief that we all need to take some responsibility for looking after our planet, for our children and their children. Even if it is doing something as simple as checking if you really need to wash your jeans this week.

Here is something that really made me sit up and listen… Our consumption is currently three and a half planet earths, this is clearly not sustainable and we cannot carry on at this rate. Nobody can be 100% sustainable but if we can raise awareness and make one small change to the choices we make then we will be making a difference and lots of little changes make a big change.

Next week I am going to invite you behind the scenes and introduce you to my mentors. Have a great week and let me know if you have made a small change x