{"id":29662,"date":"2020-02-21T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T07:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=29662"},"modified":"2020-05-22T14:35:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T12:35:33","slug":"clothes-longer-life-better-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/clothes-longer-life-better-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Give your Clothes a Longer Life and Help the Planet in the Same Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The clothing industry is known to be the second biggest polluter in the world. Some eye-opening facts and tips on how to give your clothes a longer life.<\/h2>\n

Right after the oil industry, clothing production is known to be the second biggest polluter in the world. Is not that surprising? We have collected some eye-opening facts about the industry\u2019s environmental impact. Additionally, some tips on how to give your clothes a longer life, therefore better the planet.<\/p>\n

Environmental impacts of clothing manufacturing<\/h2>\n

Toxic and intense water consumption<\/h3>\n

As the industry continuously grows, all the adverse effects of production have a bigger and more significant impact<\/strong>. (sustainyoustyle.org<\/a>) In most of the mass manufacturing countries, there are no laws on how to treat the toxic wastewaters (infested with arsenic, mercury, and others). Instead, it gets directly deposited<\/strong> into rivers and oceans. This can later, directly affect the habitats of the water. The toxics can also pile up and enter into the tap water systems of millions of people.<\/p>\n

Not to mention the water consumption<\/strong> relating to cotton production. Traditionally, companies use around 10,000 liters of freshwater in order to produce 1 kg of cotton (bettercotton.org<\/a>). And it does not stop there. Subsequent to the creation of that fabric, companies use another enormous amount of water throughout the dying process. All this water consumption is pressuring the resources. The Aral Sea is a devastating example<\/strong> of the consequences of extensive cotton production.<\/p>\n

\"Old
Old fishing boats, Aral Sea. Photo by: Teo Romera, via: Flickr<\/div><\/div>\n

As \u201c85 % of the daily needs in the water of the entire population of India would be covered by the water used to grow cotton in the country. While 100 million people in India do not have access to drinking water<\/strong>.\u201d Says Stephen Leahy in a The Guardian interview. Luckily, some fibers require less water for their production. Please read further for our recommendations!<\/p>\n

Waste and greenhouse gases<\/h3>\n

The harmful effects of the fashion industry do not end with water consumption. There are tremendous amounts of textile waste<\/strong> all over the world. Just one single-family in the western world dispose and average of 30 kg of textiles each year. While around 15-20% of this managed to be recycled or reused, the majority still ends up at landfills<\/strong>, where it takes approximately 200 years to decompose, if it is a synthetic material.<\/p>\n

\"Factory
Factory chimney smoke. Photo by: @veeterzy, via: Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

With each kg of fabrics produced the companies\u00a0create 23 kgs of greenhouse gases. Just by wearing the same items several times<\/strong>, we can cut down the carbon emission used. Researchers could connect 400% more CO2 discharge to the same garment if we wear it five times instead of 50.<\/p>\n

The substantial degradation of the soils all over the world is one of the leading environmental issues right now. The clothing industry not only takes part in this with the extensive use of chemicals, but the overgrazing of the sheep and goats<\/strong> for their wool is a big issue too. For the wood-based fabrics, like rayon and viscose, thousands of hectares of ancient forests are cut down<\/strong> each year and replaced by \u201ca more useful\u201d species of them.<\/p>\n

The average European wardrobe facts<\/h2>\n
\"Wardrobe.
Wardrobe. Picture by: @anotherlovely, via: Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

Here are the main data relating to the environmental impact of our clothes, reported in the Great British Wardrobe Report<\/a>:<\/p>\n