Fashion: the impact on the planet

Fashion has become a major polluter to the planet and we live in a world of fast and cheap throw away trends.  The fashion industry is responsible for one fifth of the world’s wasted water and more carbon emissions than all of the international flights and maritime shipping. Cheap synthetics that are used in 72% of clothing produced also contain microfibres that end up in our oceans when washed, increasing the levels of plastic and endangering aquatic life.  Microfibres are eaten by small fish, making their way up the ocean food chain to be ingested by  larger fish that are part of our food supply. Approximately 5% of the world’s landfill consists of clothing and an estimated £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill the UK every year

Globally, measures are being taken to reduce the negative impact this industry has on our planet.  This short video from the Ellen MacArthur foundation shares new ideas for the future of fashion.

The foundation is a collabaration of businesses dedicated to ‘make fashion circular’, you can  see what brands are participating here.

What can we do?

We can make small changes by changing how we buy and dispose of our clothing.  Charity shops stock great clothes, and are increasingly popular in our high streets.  By buying our clothes there, or taking the time to drop in our unwanted clothing, we are donating to a good cause and helping the environment by recycling clothes.

We all like a bit of retail therapy and there are now many stockists of organic clothing that can be recycled at the end of its life.  Buying clothes made in countries with renewable energy is another option. ‘Know the Origin’ is an online store that sells Fairtrade organic clothing and details each garment’s origin.

There are various ways to extend the life of our clothing, such as considering the quality before making a purchase and following the washing instructions carefully.  Choosing versatile garments that can be part of several outfits and worn repeatedly reduces the need for numerous items. Love Your Clothes has lots of tips on caring for different items of clothing to make them last longer.

Instead of throwing damaged clothes in the landfill, we can take them to a dressmaker to be repaired, or we can try and repair them ourselves!  Dated clothes can be revamped and upcycled and Pinterest has lots of inspirational ideas of how a garment can be transformed for a unique look. You could also book on to one of our Greener Kirkcaldy’s sewing workshops to learn sewing, repair and upcycling skills. See the events page for upcoming events.

A growing trend online is to rent clothing and accessories. Pricing ranges from affordable to high end designer outfits and there are various options for renting. Some websites have a monthly fee option where several garments can be kept for a month, then returned and new ones can be chosen for the next month.  This is good for those who like to stay on trend but end up with a wardrobe full of unworn clothes as a result!

Swishing.co.uk give credit for unwanted garments, which can then be spent on the website to buy clothes at a reduced price.  Alternatively there’s a swap option for clothing so it needn’t cost anything at all for a new outfit, just a rummage around the wardrobe for unworn clothes!

If preferred you can take clothes to a recycling centre, for example Fife Council send textiles to a company that hand sorts materials into categories. Clothes that are deemed resusable may be sent to charity partners in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, where they are sold by street traders and helping to boost economies. Unusable clothing is sent to a company and made into rags for factories and oil rigs, and some is shredded and used for fillings in mattresses.

Kirkcaldy Beach Clean and the Problem with Wet Wipes

Recently Revolution Barbershop on Kirkcaldy High Street, arranged a super successful beach clean starting from Dysart and Kinghorn and working towards the prom. I joined the Dysart side and was so pleased to see such a high turn out. There was  around 75 volunteers in total and a huge amount of rubbish was collected. The event was sponsored by local businesses Koku Shi  who provided some much needed food after and Print it, Stitch It who provided custom t-shirts.

The rubbish collected amounted to approximately 120 bags. 3 Shopping trolleys were found, car tyres, petroleum cans and lobster traps but the main problem highlighted was the sheer amount of wet wipes washed up along the shore line. Huge clumps of them were found tangled up in seaweed likely coming from people flushing them down the toilet.

So what’s the deal with wet wipes – some are ok to flush right?

Unfortunately no, not really. The manufacturers of “flushable” wipes put them through testing which simulates an environment much more vigorous than our sewer system and seas will so they like to advertise them as being biodegradable but in fact, they will never break up in the environment they are left in or if they eventually do, you’ll probably have outlived it.

Wet wipes are thought to be the cause of around 90% of sewer blockages and the biggest contribution to “fatbergs”. For those of you who don’t know, a fatberg is a mass found in the sewer system made from a mixture of fats, wipes and anything else that shouldn’t be in the drains in the first place. They cause major problems for the water systems. Wet wipes are also starting to cause false river banks as they wash up the embankments of rivers and create essentially a man made bed at the side of the river. A massive problem for marine life.

Wipes that are advertised as “biodegradable” and “flushable” tend to state that they are based from cellulose which is plant based and should break down. Unfortunately most of the wipes also contain some kind of polymer of polyester which does not break down quickly. You can in fact expect your wet wipe to float around the sea or catch some rays on the beach for around 100 years.

Are there some that do degrade? I’m sure there are wipes which someone has come up with that in fact will degrade over possibly a matter of months as opposed to years…However, the degradation process creates a wealth of microplastics as it breaks down. This is then ingested my our marine life. Next time you’re eating a fish supper you might want to say hello to that wipe again. Recent studies have shown our microplastics are now being found in the fish which enters our food chain and nobody even knows the health problems this will cause for us yet. Lets try and avoid it first!

Alternatives – there are plenty alternatives for wipes out there. Cleaning wipes are completely unnecessary now when you can buy washable clothes and cleaning sprays (or make your own!). See my previous posts on plastic free July to find out some more useful alternatives.

So next time you are about to flush, please just put it in landfill and once that pack is finished try something different! You’ll probably save some pennies in the long run too. For more information on alternatives to wet wipes see here.

References:

Friends of the Earth.

Big thanks to Revolution Barbershop for setting the trend and helping motivate the community to keep our beaches clean.