Disposable fashion is filling the planet with textile waste: we throw away 811% more clothes than in 1960

Disposable fashion is filling the planet with textile waste: we throw away 811% more clothes than in 1960

Trousers for 7 euros, t-shirts and sweatshirts sometimes for 5 euros. H&M, Zara, Primark, just to give a few examples, have challenged the clothing industry by launching low-cost garments which, however, are not good for either the environment or our health.


Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Trousers for 7 euros, t-shirts and sweatshirts sometimes for 5 euros. H&M, Zara, Primark, just to name a few, have challenged the clothing industry by launching capi low cost which, however, are neither good for the environment nor for our health.




Low cost fashion is not sustainable, it certainly didn't take long to understand it, but unfortunately it continues to be the most popular, either because of the low costs, or because by now for many t-shirts and shorts they have become disposable. Quantity is more concerned with quality.

Every year, landfills around the world incinerate 12 million garments and their Co2 emissions contribute substantially to thegreenhouse effect, so much so that the textile industry in terms of pollution is second only to oil.

From 1960 to 2015 there was a textile waste record with an estimated increase of 811%. In 2015 alone, 1630 tons of clothes ended up in landfills. It is estimated that each person, every year, consumes 34 clothes and throws away 14 kilos. And we are not consoled by the fact that many tons have been recycled, because the figures continue to be scandalous. Yet every year 62 million tons of clothes they come out of factories and according to the United Nations, the textile industry also contributes to greenhouse gases and water pollution.

The data

150 thousand million garments are produced every year, that is about 62 million tons of clothing and accessories.
Of these, 30% are sold at low cost, while another 30% are never sold, while 50% of clothes made by low cost chains end up in the trash in less than a year.

In the garbage or rather in the incinerators ending up generating new tons of CO2. And if we wanted to give an example, we could say that burning a kilo of clothes means generating 1,36 kilos of carbon dioxide per mega watt hour. It is more polluting than burning coal (1,13 kilos per mega watt hour) or natural gas (61 kilos per mega watt hour).



This is why before buying, we should stop and think about what lies behind this industry, starting with cheap materials, of poor quality, often toxic and harmful to the environment and health.

Then there is the whole question of underpaid foreign labor, sometimes with child exploitation, without contracts and without protection. The result is productions that cost a lot to the environment and little to man and that are used as disposable.

The current model is therefore not good, competitive prices, low quality, limited duration, for this it would be necessary that governments put pressure on companies to make a turnaround.
Many brands already have sustainable lines, however the road is still uphill and real conscious consumption seems like a mirage.



Read also:

  • The True Cost: the documentary that reveals the dark side of low-cost fashion
  • From Armani to Benetton: all the European fashion giants who exploit workers in Romania

Dominella Trunfio

add a comment of Disposable fashion is filling the planet with textile waste: we throw away 811% more clothes than in 1960
Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.