Fashion Industry

Question 1

what are some solutions an individual can practice to reduce the harmful impact of fast fashion? 50

Answer 1

• repurpose/Upcycle clothes
• Buy less often and buy high quality
• Participate in the circular economy (purchase second hand items, donate used items)
• rent clothes
• host a clothing swap
• correctly recycle if not donatable
• shop from sustainable + ethical brands
• educate yourself and others

Question 2

How many liters of water are used to make an individual T shirt or pair of jeans?

Answer 2

20,000 liters of water

Question 3

What is greenwashing?

Answer 3

The process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound.

Question 4

How much CO2 is produced by the fashion industry? 12

Answer 4

8-10% of global carbon dioxide emissions annually

Question 5

What are microplastics?

Answer 5

Plastic pieces that measure less than five millimeters across. Some microplastics have formed by breaking away from larger plastics that have fragmented overtime

Question 6

How much water is consumed by the fashion industry?

Answer 6

• 79 trillion liters of water used annually
• 20% becomes industrial wastewater

Question 7

How much ocean microplastic waste comes from the fashion industry?

Answer 7

• 16-35% of ocean microplastics come from washing synthetic materials

Question 8

what are some reasons textile production has increased over the years?18

Answer 8

• make your own ideas from the graph on pg 18 in this slideshow:
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XEWfYD2q2Zw4pAlBKVhRf6YvoE-wT80h/view

Question 9

what is the harmful impact of excess textiles in developing countries?26

Answer 9

• decomposition of fabrics can take years, leading to burning as an alternative
• burning emits toxic gases like methane, a greenhouse gas linked to heart and respiratory diseases
• despite being least responsible, Africa is disproportionately impacted