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The effects of textile on the environment

Not only does excess textile negatively impact the environment, but so does the entire process of producing textiles. The machinery used to grow the fibers for the textile release a huge amount of CO2 into the air. Disposed clothes contribute to greenhouse gases as they sit in landfills. Only 15 percent of clothing is recycled or donated. Synthetic fibers, which make up at least 60 percent of our clothes, are non-biodegradable and sit in landfills for hundreds of years.Every pound of clothing contributes to 3-4 pounds of CO2 and other harmful greenhouse gasses. According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, textile production produces 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. The United Nations estimates that 10 percent of total global emissions come from the fashion industry. “Right now, the main problem is the volume of clothing that is being produced, which is largely driven by our consumption habits,” says Anika Kozlowski, assistant professor of Fashion Design, Ethics & Sustainability at Ryerson University. “Every product has impacts. The reason that volume is such an issue is that it just exacerbates all these impacts.” Not only does the production of textile release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, it also uses a lot of water for the production of textiles. For example, it takes 700 gallons of water just to make one T-shirt, just one.

A very simple solution for these environmental hazards is just to recycle the textiles, buy second hand clothing and by simply caring for your clothing and having them last longer will reduce the harmful impacts of textile production. By recycling the textiles we no longer use we will decrease the amount of waste in landfills, reduce our collective carbon footprint, provides waste into new produces, and will also provide people with jobs.

"How Does Recycling Your Clothes and Shoes Help Protect the Earth?". Green Schools National Network. 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2019-10-22.

"The impact of textiles and the clothing industry on the environment". Hello Homestead. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-10-28.