The clothing that we buy and discard has a significant impact on our environment. According to this article from Ecowatch:
” Fashion is a complicated business involving long and varied supply chains of production, raw material, textile manufacture, clothing construction, shipping, retail, use and ultimately disposal of the garment. While Fisher’s assessment that fashion is the second largest polluter is likely impossible to know, what is certain is that the fashion carbon footprint is tremendous. Determining that footprint is an overwhelming challenge due to the immense variety from one garment to the next. A general assessment must take into account not only obvious pollutants—the pesticides used in cotton farming, the toxic dyes used in manufacturing and the great amount of waste discarded clothing creates—but also the extravagant amount of natural resources used in extraction, farming, harvesting, processing, manufacturing and shipping.”
Here is an interesting story about someone who re purposes and repairs old clothing, selling it as high fashion.
Be mindful of your clothing purchases, and try to get as much use as possible out of each piece. When you are done with it, donate or re purpose old clothing. There are collection boxes for clothing and textile recycling around the area, including one at the Highland Park Recycling Center, 1180 Half Day Rd.
