Image credit: Gill King/Flickr
Sometimes I have so many statistics, measurements and timelines buzzing around in my head it can feel overwhelming. They can jumble and combine as I cram more and more information into what can already feel like an overloaded mind!
When thinking about fashion waste, these statistics can help to communicate the scale of the problem, and why we need to change our habits, but sometimes I think we tune out as it just feels all too much.
All we really want to know is this: Can changing our fashion habits make a difference, and what can we do to help without breaking the bank?
For me, there are a couple of simple stats that stand out. The first one is the context:
We’re currently producing twice as many clothes as we were 15 years ago, and we’re wearing them for almost half as long (40% to be exact).
There are various reasons for this, but largely, I think that globally we’re not producing more clothing because we need more clothing, we’re producing more clothing to sell more clothing, which is somewhat different.
Unfortunately, this extra production is creating huge amounts of excess clothing – too much for our Op Shops to handle – and it’s being shipped off overseas. It’s being dumped in the desert, ending up in our oceans and catching fire in overflowing landfills. Out of sight and out of mind. It feels incomprehensible.
And now for the second stat:
All this excess production is also creating a huge amount of air pollution, so much so that according to the UN, the fashion industry is more polluting than shipping and aviation combined.
This stat blows my mind. We naturally tend to think of transport, particularly flights, as one of the biggest causes of pollution. And it’s certainly not to be dismissed, but the above indicates that the fashion industry outstrips flying in spades, and that our wardrobes are responsible for far more pollution than our holidays.
So, to the big question – what can we do to help?
The good news is there’s a lot!
I recently read a report (by McKinsey in partnership with Global Fashion Agenda) on what the fashion industry can do to reduce this pollution.
As well as the solutions (and stats!) aimed at fashion executives, I also found some practical tips on what we can do, as consumers. Here are my top two:
Simply changing from hot to cold washes is something we can all do, without a hassle, and we know that it’s making a difference. Wearing our clothes for longer; by patching a hole, deciding not to buy a new dress for that upcoming occasion and wearing what we already have, renting or buying second hand, are all actions we can take that will contribute to the solution.
What’s more, we can do this without cramming more detailed information and metrics into our busy minds. The Stats prove it.🌵
Want to know more? Here are some resources:
