Eco-fashion
Find out why the truth behind our en vogue attire isnt always as pretty as it looks on the hangers.
Fashion is fickle - high street stores have a fast turnover of new clothes lines to meet consumer desires for up-to-the-minute wears. But while a top for under a tenner might seem like a bargain, what's the real cost to the environment and humanity?
Crimes of fashion
Millions of people around the world work in appalling conditions to make high fashion for the high street. Many of these are employed by factories that provide low wages, long hours and health and safety risks. These types of factories are also known as sweatshops. 80% of the world's textile workers are women, who often face gender discrimination, sexual harassment and other forms of oppressive behaviour. Children are also commonly exploited as they provide a cheap workforce for doing tasks such as picking cotton and hand-sewing.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Workers' Unity Council, most Bangladeshi garment workers are paid £7 to £9 per month, which is the lowest in the world and is often not enough to cover a family's basic food bills. For the majority of these workers there are no guaranteed weekly days off, holidays, guaranteed maternity leave, or annual leave.
Also, while about 160 countries export today's fashion products to just 30 of the world's richest nations, Chinese factories provide the goods for about 60% less than the cost of competitor countries. In return for producing such low-cost, design-savvy clothes, the Chinese garment worker receives about 16p per day. What's more, attempts to raise standards for workers by unionising factories are met with strong opposition, since unions are illegal in China.
If you don't want sweatshops making your sweaters (or any other garment, for that matter), you can find out more on how to help put an end to them from Oxfam or UNICEF's Make Child Poverty History campaign. You might also want to take action by joining Amnesty International, which promotes human rights issues around the world.
Dirty laundry
The textile industry is also one of the worst offenders in terms of environmental damage. Despite its reputation as a 'natural' fabric, cotton may not be the best choice for those in search of natural clothing. This is because more chemicals are used on cotton than any other crop. In fact, although cotton accounts for less than 3% of the world's farmed land, it consumes about a quarter of the world's pesticides, many of which are highly toxic to humans and wildlife.
The textile industry as a whole creates numerous negative impacts on the environment. One example is the process of dyeing and printing; this can release toxins into the air that are particularly harmful to human health, while also consuming vast quantities of water and chemicals. Cheap, easy-care and man-made fibres such as polyester, elastane and lycra are hard to recycle, with nylon taking 30 to 40 years to decompose.
Fortunately, eco-textiles are now entering the market. Environmental damage caused by cotton production has led to an increased production of alternatives such as unbleached or organic cotton, while new eco-friendly textiles have even been developed from plants such as algae, bamboo, hemp and nettle. Some companies also make fibres from recycled plastic bottles, which can then be used to make items such as fleece sweaters.
Recycle your rags
If you've got a wardrobe bursting at the hinges with decent clothes that you don't want to wear anymore, don't forget that you can have a clear-out and feel good about yourself by dropping them off at a charity shop. If your old outfits have simply seen better days, you may be able to dispose of them via a textile-recycling collection scheme provided by your local council. Alternatively, you can donate them to Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development (TRAID). By selling clothing that's been reconstructed and redesigned from unwanted textiles, TRAID raise money to fund international projects whilst helping to promote recycling and waste reduction in the UK.
Shrink your clothes pile
If you want to get eco-conscious about your clothes, a good way to start is with considering how much you buy in the first place. After all, the less you buy, the less likely you are to contribute to exploitation of human rights and environmental damage.
Article produced by the Choose Action Alliance.
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