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| Cleaning up the earth with fashion from Thrash |
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Use and throw – as never
before. According to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the estimated thrash produced by
Americans is approximately 4.6 lbs per person every day. Another
newspaper report suggests that on average, each person in the UK uses over
200kg of paper a year. Only 61% of this is recycled.
Little thought is given to what happens to the waste, beyond the fact that the garbage collection company will truck it away. At this rate, the city dumps will soon be competing with the humans for space, since much of the waste - like plastics, clothing, foil - is not bio -degradable and will sit there in the earth’s belly, seeping toxins and contaminating it.
Alternatives are yet to be found to dealing with the waste in the landfills, though research is continuing.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle make great campaigns, but the reality is that the effort needed is equal to that of turning around the Titanic.
Fashion is an industry that is worth billions of dollars globally. It feeds thousands, from designers to fabric manufacturers, to the laboured work force that pieces them together, to the packaging specialists. But it also graces the list of those that leave the heaviest carbon foot prints, including the quantum of waste it generates. Adding to this burden, it is reported, is household waste, amounting to one million tonnes, of which, 3% is textiles. At least half of this can be recycled.
Little wonder that fashion trendsetters and champions of the Earth have come up with innovative ways to protect the earth before things get to the point of no return.
