Environmental Impacts

Apparel consumption is one of the largest growing industries in our current society. Traditionally, when people think of things that are polluting our oceans and overall are decreasing the quality of our environment, what we do with leftover clothes isn't very high on the list. In the middle and high class, people tend to have an excessive amount of clothing in their closets, many of which they most likely don't wear very often. Although this may not seem unusual or extremely harmful to anyone in any apparent way, it is a waste of environmental resources. What many people are unaware of is just how much of an impact clothing items have on the conditions of the environment.

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~It takes about 10,000 liters of water to produce enough cotton for a single pair of jeans~

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~The volume of water consumed by the global fashion industry is equivalent to about 32 million Olympic swimming pools~

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~Garment manufacturing accounts for 20% of global industrial water pollution~

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~About 1,900 synthetic plastic microfibers per garment are released when washed and due to its tiny sizes and shapes, aren’t caught in waste water treatment and enter our oceans~

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These numbers show how much needs to be taken in order to produce as little as a single piece of clothing. This being said, think again about how many pieces of clothing are left untouched for years in your own closets. Knowing these numbers emphasizes just how much could be solved if people lived lifestyles that reflected a minimalist lifestyle in the slightest. If everyone in the world could donate their clothing, second-hand shop, and reuse things they may not wear anymore, the environmental impact could alter to become positive.