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How many of us love the ocean? How many of us love that new t-shirt hanging in our closets? Now, what would you say if I told that one was harming the other? You can probably guess which one is the bad guy here. Over the last few years the fashion industry has developed a reputation for its slew of problems around waste, pollution and unethical standards. Thankfully, there are brands protecting the oceans with sustainable initiatives that minimize waste and polluting our environment. So, if sourced responsibly, that t-shirt hanging in your closet could be doing more good than harm.
How Fashion Is Harming Our Oceans
Water Waste
A t-shirt seems like such a harmless item until you realize that it took resources to make it and that has a big impact. One of those resources is water. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the average cotton t-shirt can use almost 2,700 liters of water during production. That’s enough water for 1 person to drink for almost 3 years. A lot of this water use happens during the agricultural stage. For example, cotton is a water-intensive crop requiring 10 gallons of water for each individual plant. How does that add up for a farm producing 50,000 plants? In Uzbekistan, one region that is a prime cotton producer has been linked to the Aral Sea drying up into a desert within 50 years.
The other negative impact of the fashion industry’s water usage comes during the textile dyeing and treatment process. The U.N estimates that 80-90% of wastewater from the production process is left untreated before it’s returned to the environment. That results in rivers like the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh being stained black and becoming a health hazard to locals where simply touching the water has been linked to sores on the body. Yet, it’s not only dyes that locals who live close to textile and garment factories have to worry about. Some solvents and hazardous chemicals are used to give finishes like wrinkle or stain resistance to clothing. These have been linked to not only causing adverse health effects like cancer in humans, but also death in marine and plant life. As some headlines put it, colorful clothes are killing the environment. And, it’s estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of the world’s water pollution.
Microplastics
When clothing isn’t made from natural fibers like cotton, linen, wool or silk, it’s made from man-made materials like nylon or polyester. These are petroleum-based fibers and it’s estimated that polyester production alone uses approximately 70 million barrels of oil annually. Not only is polyester derived from a crude oil, it’s production method of mixing ethylene glycol and terepththalic acid essentially makes it a type of plastic. And, this plastic materials breaks off into tiny microscopic pieces with each wear and wash called microplastics. These filter into our waterways and it’s estimated that 8 million tons of plastics enter our oceans yearly. As these particles are not biodegradable they end up being mistaken for food and ingested by marine life and have made their way into our water supply. In fact, a study from the University of Minnesota has found microplastics in twelve different beer brands made from water from the Great Lakes.
How Fashion & We As Consumers Can Protect Our Oceans
Water Waste
Brands protecting the ocean and tackling water waste issues rely more on using more eco-friendly fibers like organic cotton which is believed to use 91% less water than its conventional counterpart. Other brands look to circular fashion as a solution by designing with materials that we already that are either recycled or deadstock instead of extracting new materials from the earth.
If you’re looking to reduce water waste in your own home, one way to begin is by supporting brands that use less water intensive crops like organic cotton. Or, shop brands that focus on circular fashion and recycling. When you bring items home, ensure that you wash them only in full loads to minimize your water use. Did you know that the average family uses 12,000 gallons of water annually on laundry? You can minimize your water waste by taking small steps to pre-soak stains, skip the extra rinse and wash items in cold water.
Water Pollution
Before synthetic and chemical dyes plants were used for clothing. Considering the fact that studies have shown that our bodies absorb the chemicals in our clothing through our skin, it’s also a health benefit to invest in brands that focus more on plant-based dyes. Plants like turmeric, avocado pits and madder roots can offer a range of colors that aren’t known to have adverse side effects on our health or that of the planet. These items are also biodegradable and compostable, so that they can be disposed of safely.
Invest in brands that dye their clothing ethically. Some brands will list using plant-based dyes as part of their sustainable initiatives. Other brands only work with factories that use non-toxic dyes and treat water before putting it back into the environment. Either are a good investment for your sustainable wardrobe and a way to support brands protecting the ocean.
Microplastics
The best way to minimize microplastics is for designers and consumers to minimize our dependence on the materials and say ‘no’ to plastics. Designers are saying ‘no’ to plastic fabrics like plastic and ‘yes’ to natural biodegradable fabrics as well as using recyclable materials like cotton or paper in their packaging.
If you’re looking for a few plastic-free alternatives for your everyday lifestyle, The Wellness Feed has compiled a quick list of things you can do today to move closer towards a plastic-free lifestyle.