It's very tempting to throw things away or even drop them in a recycling bin when we are done with them. Is there a better way?
Share your ideas for extending the “lives” of the items that we buy and use, and their packaging as well!
Reuse & Repurpose >
Clothing
Is there clothes that you have in your house that you don’t like or wear anymore? You should donate it to second hand shops such as goodwill and Salvation Army. Lots of the time your clothes can get more use of them and by donating them it leads to less fabric in landfills which benefits our environment so it has multiple beneficial factors.. Thrifting is such an easy way to lower your carbon footprint and buy things for cheaper in case you can’t afford to spend lots of money on clothing.
Yes, I agree. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, according to https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/featu … o-ambiente. If you have extra clothes from your child, or you grew out of clothes, you can give those clothes a second life by giving them to a younger sibling, cousin or nephew or niece. Also, you can donate these items to goodwill or salvation army. Also, you can buy your clothes at thrift stores, or at garage sales to reduce your carbon footprint. Together, we as a community can help prevent global warming and the rising carbon emissions.
In particular, the fast-fashion industry is a significant source of pollution and climate change. The estimated annual carbon dioxide emissions from the global fashion industry are expected to rise to 1.2 billion tons. The majority of fast fashion is made in factories in developing countries that are frequently powered by coal and have very flexible environmental regulations. Additionally, about 49% of fast fashion is made from synthetic materials made from oils and fossil fuels. Although the plastic in our clothing might not seem to be a big problem at first, studies show that 35% of all microplastics in the world come from human clothing. When we wash our clothes, these microplastics degrade, enter waterways, and cause irreversible plastic pollution in the oceans. Only about 10% of our clothing is recycled completely, with the remainder ending up in landfills or decomposing into microplastic pollution.
Avoiding the unsustainable fast-fashion that dominates the clothing industry and choosing second-hand or sustainably made clothing are two of the best ways we can lessen our impact. When buying used is not an option, investing in high-quality clothing that lasts a long time without needing to be replaced can also significantly lessen our overall impact. Keep an eye out for companies that are moving in the right direction.