It might sound surprising to hear that the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world. When we think of high polluting industries we probably think of transportation, mining or energy, but not clothing. But when we take a deeper look, it starts to make a little more sense.
Did you know that it takes a whopping 2,700 litres of water to produce just one cotton t-shirt? That’s enough drinking water for one person for almost 3 years!
What about the dye that turns the t-shirt fabric into that on trend colour? It’s estimated that 17 to 20 percent of all industrial water pollution comes from fabric dyeing and treatment.
With the advent of cheap ‘fast fashion’ we’re consuming far more clothing than we ever have, and it’s ending up in landfill sooner. According to Fashion Designer Patrick Grant, we have enough clothing on the planet right now to clothe the next 6 generations of the human race.
While our grandmothers patched holes in trousers, we’re more likely to send our holey pants to the rag pile and buy a new pair. The problem is, this means more pollution and more waste.
So, what can we do to help? The longer we wear our clothes, the less waste we produce.
Op shops are being overwhelmed with cheap fast fashion, and much of it goes to landfill rather than a second home. If a donated item has marks or holes it goes into the landfill pile.
Extending the life of an item of clothing by an extra nine months reduces its environmental impact by 20 to 30 percent. By repairing clothing, covering marks, and up-cycling items, we're keeping them in rotation and out of landfill for longer, and that's a big win for the planet, and us.
So at Cactus Revival we‘re channelling our grandmothers and repairing clothes and reintroducing them back into the market. We work to wash, mend and up-cycle garments that may not be looking their best, but are far from “cactus”. We’re turning leggings into bike shorts, keeping ballet skirts twirling, and patching well-loved jeans.
