Of course while many folks are stuck in the house for the COVID-19 pandemic, the temptation exists to zone out on TV. And, for those who love to shop, the lure of the shopping networks is even greater now.
And, why not? The hosts are attractive with soothing voices that coo how much you NEED to buy the latest fashions from their designers — even though you are chained to your house and yard, and nobody will see what you chose to attire yourself in today.
But those same romantic voices pulling at your purse strings can also cause you to overspend; not only is this bad for your wallet, it’s bad for the planet.
In this short series of blog posts, we are going to take a look at the fascinating, and incredibly impactful roll that the apparel market has on our environment.
Let’s start by looking at our discards – you know the millions of tons of clothes that get thrown away each year. According to noted journalist and researcher Dana Thomas , who published “Fashionopolis” last year, “ … in New York City alone, apparel and textiles make up more than 6 percent of all garbage, which equals nearly 200,000 tons a year.” Apparently we only donate 15% of our clothes; the rest goes in the trash.
It’s important to remember this before you switch on your remote to HSN or QVC next time; and, when we are able to go into fashion stores from Ross and Amazon, to Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. The new shirt, you’re not even that crazy about, may only cost you $12, but what is it costing the planet in terms of landfill space, child labor, water consumption, water pollution, and hazardous waste. Next post in this series: It makes me blue!