User:Rbarto1292/Fast fashion

Goals for 3/27/23

 * 1) Address recycling section by adding a paragraph, revise existing information with new peer-reviewed sources
 * 2) If enough information add an additional paragraph on sustainable practice
 * 3) Focus on providing accessible information by reducing jargon and opinion

Draft for Goals
Is this a peer reviewed article?:

Claudio, Luz (2007). "Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry". ''Environ. Health Perspect''. 115 (9): A449–A454. doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a449. PMC 1964887. PMID 17805407.

Original text:

Due to the amount of pollution and waste caused by the fashion industry, for-profit groups, like Viletex, and retailers, such as H&M, are working to decrease the industry's environmental footprint and adopt sustainable technologies. Both companies have created programs that encourage recycling from the general public. These programs provide consumers with bins that allow them to dispose of their unwanted garments that will ultimately be transformed into insulation and carpet padding, as well as being used to produce other garments.

Advances in technologies have offered new methods of using dyes, producing fibers, and reducing the use of natural resources. To decrease the consumption of traditional textiles, Anke Domaske has produced "QMilch," an eco-milk fiber; Virus has produced high-tech sportswear from recycled coffee beans; and Suzanne Lee has created vegetable leather from fermented tea. Many companies have also created various ways to reduce the amount of dyes emitted into the world's waterways as well as the level of water consumption. For example, AirDye saves between 7 and 75 gallons of water per pound of textiles produced while digital printing reduces water usage by 95 percent.

Other retailers, like Patagonia, encourage their customers to mend their clothes as they wear over time instead of disposing of the garments when they become worn out.

In a world of fast consumerism the make, buy, wear, and disposal of clothing has increased substantially since the late 1990s across the world. All aspects of fast fashion have elements that are not environmentally friendly, the incredible amounts of waste from disposal of textiles into the garbage system is increasing beyond the industries capabilties. The fast fashion industry currently has little to do with the end of life cycle of clothing, however, with recent social pressures some fast fashion companies collect and export their disposed textiles to third wild countries for charity. As the production increases and charities are beginning to turn away fast fashion for being cheaply made organizations are struggling to come up with sustainable solutions to continue against the social and soon governmental pressure. There are many organizations that provide educational tools on how to reuse and recycle textiles to interested individuals, "Gekås Ullared’s (retail store) cooperation with Human Bridge (charitable organization)" is one of many cooperations that focus on public outreach to reuse materials. Additionally, the retail and textile chains that encourage recycling or resuse often provide incentives, Lindex offered a rebate to customers who turned in their clothes to give them a "second chance".

'''There are the organizations that work to recycle the material into new usable materials for a wide variety of industry needs. Working with the Swedish Red Cross, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is able to provide textile packing material to the shipping industry, additionally, more and more recycling programs like StenaRecycling are beginning to find new ways to use textiles to reach a large audience, being able to create construction materials, stuffing, and new and improved textiles.'''

Polyester and cotton dominate the textile industry with the synthetic fiber polyester exceeding production of cotton since 2002. Fast fashion has caused a spike in textile waste, with no stop in production, waste management is needed. After clothing is reused until it's beyond usable for its given function, recycling it through a mechanical or chemical process is the next step. A big concern with recycling textiles is the loss of "virgin material", however, chemical recycling can extract the "virgin materials" like protein-based and cellulosic fibers to produce new products. The deterioration of material to provide new products is the process of mechanical recycling.

'''Recycling of textiles is so large and complex there are categories or types of recycling that can be done: upcycling, downcycling, closed-loop, and open-loop recycling. Upcycling is the process of using a textile to create something better than the original. Downcycling is using a textile in a way that is less than the original value. Closed-loop recycling is the reuse of one textile over and over again to create the same piece. Open-loop recycling is the process of creating something new with the textile piece. The EU is already taking initiatve to enforce circularity, closed-loop recycling, in the clothing cycle encouraging a less wasteful lifestyle by supporting second-hand and organic clothing pieces, organic in this case being cotton, silk, etc.. Even the US in New York City has begun working with natural fibers like bamboo and hemp to make not just clothing but bags as well.'''

There are many technologies that assist in the recycling of textile products now adays:


 * 1) Anaerobic Digestion of Textile Waste - decomposition of organic cotton textile to collect methane and other biogas 
 * 2) Fermentation of Textile Waste for Ethanol Production - cotton fabric provides enhancement of bioethanol production 
 * 3) Composting of Textile Waste - cotton waste provides an excellent source of nutrients in compost 
 * 4) Fiber Regeneration from Textile Waste - recovery of glucose and polyester is possible and allows for resuse of material 
 * 5) Building/Construction Material from Textile Waste - use of textiles in building materials and construction 
 * 6) Thermal Recovery - incineration of remaining textiles to collect usable energy 

Assignment for 3/22/23
The Fast fashion page is full of information but the sustainability section is lacking factual information and does not encapsulate the whole picture.


 * Rewrite the Recycling section to inlcude peer reviewed articles discussing current recycling practices
 * Add a section on another sustainable practice for fast fashion
 * Not sure what to do with design strategies and techniques yet because it talks about one website only and i'm not sure entirely if it's relevant at all


 * This article discusses different reuse and recycle methods to keep more textile waste out of the waste management system at all. This will be good in discovering and understanding an additional practice of sustainability within the fast fashion industry.
 * This article discusses the resale of fast fashion products to other countries and the impacts and repercussions that that is currently having. This is a good section to have in sustainability, the resale and resuse of the clothing makes it a little bit more sustainable in the long run.
 * This article discusses consumer culture and the impact of education of consumer decisions. Consumer culture is important in understanding whether something can be sustainable or not, this article confirms that in the waste aspect new generations are creating a sustainable cycle.
 * This article discusses the waste and resource depletion of creating fast fashion and the amount that goes into something so "wasteful". Being able to describe the actual sustainability of the entire practice makes it easier to understand as a whole rather than just poking at parts.
 * This article discusses the history of fast fashion industry and hwo it functions. This will be useful in providing the history of sustainability to show progress.