Life Cycle

Source Materials

The top three materials clothes are made out of are polyester, cotton, and elastane/spandex/lycra. Most producers of polyester partake in slave labor and workers are exposed to toxic chemicals.  Industrial pesticides and fertilizers used for the growing of cotton may runoff and contaminate soil and water. Synthetic fibers like elastane, spandex, and lycra rely on petroleum oil and are energy-heavy products. These materials are not biodegradable and may continue to pollute water and soil during use, like during the wash cycle, and after disposal.  

Clothing Production

The top three large-scale clothing manufacturing countries are China, India, and Pakistan. China is the leading producer of textiles globally with 38% of global textiles and India comes in at #2 with 7.5%. 

The cost of sustainable textiles ranges from 2.5-4x the price of conventional fabrics. Organic natural fibers are not as efficient to produce because of a lack of pesticides and because they take more labor to collect by hand and also to pay workers a living wage. Less demand for eco-conscious textiles leaves prices high because more market demand = lower prices 

Looking at ultra-fast fashion websites like Shein.com, shirts range from $5-8, and not much on the site costs above $10, and jewelry being sold for like $2

Ship Clothes

Ships handle about 90% of global trade and shipping accounts for about 2.5% of total CO2 emissions. Buying new clothes locally isn’t always better since the item and/or its materials have already likely traveled around the world.

Use 

Fast fashion brands capitalize off of "immediacy culture" and the need for instant gratification in order to sell clothes. Brands market their clothes as being on trend or in fashion, but only to be replaced by new collections only weeks later. Social media has also only worsened the issue, as influencers set even shorter trend cycles by influencing people to buy into microtrends. Social media has also convinced people that they need to have different outfits for every occasion, and has discouraged "outfit repeating" in public, which is just wearing the same articles of clothing together more than a couple times. Clothing brands, especially online mass retailers such as Shein, have gotten on board with this idea, and in order to keep prices low and appealing, they let their quality become lower and lower because the average consumer in mind for these brands will only wear the items they are buying a handful of times before getting rid of it. 

Disposal 

Textile Recycling

Massachusetts has banned textiles from being disposed of regardless of condition.  The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection urges consumers to bring textiles are other similar items like footwear and bedding to clothing and textile recovery sites. Beyond the Bin may help you find locations to recycle textiles.

Donation & Thrifting

Most clothing donated to thrift stores gets thrown away, so try not to donate clothes that no one would want like pieces that are heavily stained, ripped, overly stretched out, threadbare, etc.  Instead, use damaged textiles as rags, or repurpose other ways if possible. “These days, the average American has about 70 pounds of clothes annually to donate or throw away, with the vast majority (around 85 percent) of those old clothes ending up in landfills. Even when we donate our clothes, they may end up doing less good than you think.” - Wayforth

End of Use & Garbage

83% of used textiles are disposed of in the garbage even though most can be used or donated. 3/5 of all clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators within a year of production. More than half of disposed clothes are exported to other countries, most of which are in the Global South. No country is equipped to handle the amount of textile waste. It doesn’t help that most clothing is made from materials that are not biodegradable.  Toxic materials used in production may leach into the soil and contaminate the local water supply.

In some countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania, clothes are sold in large bales and referred to as “mitumba” which are sold to vendors at markets. Vendors are often disappointed by the quality of the clothes and much of the merchandise is deemed unusable.  Textile waste that can’t be resold at the market ends up accumulating on the banks along the Nairobi River. People burn excess textiles and products to deal with the piles of waste. Every day 150 - 200 metric tons of textile waste is dumped or burned here.  

Chile’s Atacama Desert has become one of the world’s fast-growing dumps of discarded clothes and has been colloquially referred to as the “great fashion garbage patch” with mountains of clothes from around the world. Millions of tons of clothes arrive annually in Chile and what doesn’t sell at the markets are directed to the desert garbage patches. 

Sources used on this page