What We Need to Do Now by Chris Goodall

Author:Chris Goodall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 2019-02-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Without big changes, clothing alone will stop us achieving net zero

Fashion represents about 3–4 per cent of the UK’s carbon footprint, though it is not always accounted for in national estimates. Most of the emissions of greenhouse gases take place in the countries where raw materials are made or the clothing manufactured. Both cotton and polyester – the dominant materials – have substantial environmental problems. Polyester has a high carbon footprint, while the cultivation of cotton and its processing into fabrics causes major pollution and uses vast quantities of water. The fibres of both cotton and polyester are shortened each time they are reprocessed, making full recycling very difficult. Virtually no clothing is fully recyclable and very little is reused for a second time.

The British buy more clothes than any other country in Europe, encouraged by low prices in UK shops, and the number of times a piece of clothing is worn has been falling. After purchase, we typically wear an item less than 100 times, and then dispose of it just over two years after purchase, even though it is usually still in good condition. So with no immediate solution to the problem of fashion’s high carbon footprint, the best policy is simple: we need to buy fewer garments and keep them for longer.

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