Have you ever considered how apparel is made while online shopping? It surely is a virtue to buy clothes whenever and however we want. From top to bottom, we can ornate ourselves with the color of the rainbow with a click on the online market. But never have I considered the environmental impacts of apparel productions. Every year, the fashion industry is polluting our planet through cotton farming, textile dyeing, and releasing pollution.
Cotton is known to be one of the most commonly used and durable materials used by the fashion industry. The light and soft fabric is used in shirts, pants, dresses, saris, and even blankets. Thus, cotton is used in 21% of the fashion industry. However, contrary to its positive functional traits, cotton farming has been a serious problem due to its hazardous impact on our marine environment. Cotton farmers use 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt, which is enough for one person to drink 8 cups of water for 3 and a half years, according to weforum.org. The production of a pair of jeans approximately uses 2000 gallons of water. Thus, the production of one cotton shirt and a pair of jeans uses approximately 3000 gallons of water.
In Uzbekistan, for instance, cotton farming used too much water from the Aral sea that after 50 years, it dried up.
(Image: NASA)
Now, what are some initiatives we can take to reduce water usage and water pollution? In March 2021, the United Nations–UN– initiated the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion to reduce pollutants and the number of wastes produced from cotton farming and dyeing. The UN also decided to promote environmentally friendly brands and sustainable brands. Students and adults can support this movement by purchasing garments with certification labels controlling chemicals such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) logo. Now, as inhabitants of Earth, we must collectively advocate such eco-friendly movements.
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