"Caring for the Earth Through Eco-Friendly Style"
by Ella Fitria | 31 Agustus 2023
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Amira Ben Abbes, Influencer capsule wardrobe
After lunch, as usual I took advantage of the rest of the break to view various trending information on social media platforms. Slowly, I swap my smartphone screen while looking for interesting and inspiring videos or content.
Until finally, my eyes and fingers together stopped at one of the influencers who was mixing and matching her dress with just a few clothes that he owned. Honestly, so far I have never encountered or found anyone who really applies this capsule wardrobe concept.
Capsule wardrobe is a minimalist lifestyle with limited clothing choices. Seeing the influencer’s video made me realize, especially in terms of sustainable fashion. So, in this article, I will share a few stories about the negatif impacts of the world of fashion on the earth.
I will also share tips that we can do to stay fashionable without destroying the earth. I’m sure, if we do the tips below together consistently, it will have a real positive impact. Before that, let’s take a look and think about the damage and negative impacts caused by fashion.
The damage of the earth is a serious problem that we are facing, right? For example, air pollution, waste that pollutes the soil, and waste that pollutes waters which have an impact on the stability of the ecosystem of living things on earth. The worse, this impact will have a big influence on climate change.
In fact, there are many factors that trigger environmental damage, especially if the spread is quite complex and occurs on a massive scale. One of the things we often forget is the damage to the earth caused by the fashion industry, including people’s behavior in responding to fashion trends.
Indeed, the beauty and charm of the fashion world can inspire and bring happiness to many people. However, the charm of fashion also contributes to environmental damage if we do not use it wisely. Are you curious about the damage to the earth that can occur as a result of the fashion industry? Let’s read this article to the end!
Exploitation of Energy and Natural Resources
My friends, did you know that most of the fashion or textile industry is very dependent on non-renewable natural resources? In fact, the amount is fantastic, up to 98 million tons per year. These natural resources include oil to produce synthetic fibers, inorganic fertilizers, and other chemicals used for coloring and finishing processes.
Apart from non-renewable natural resources, textile production also uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water per year. The large use of large resources will also have an impact on a new problem, that is water scarcity. I was surprised when I found data from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), just because to make one cotton shirt requires around 2,700 liters of water. This amount of water is equivalent to the water one person drinks in 2.5 years. It’s a shame, isn’t it?
water/year
0
B m³
/cotton cloth
0
L
Excessive use of natural resources will damage the balance of the ecosystem. If the ecosystem is damaged, this will affect air quality, water availability, and even global warming.
Water Pollution by Chemical Waste
The textile industry also contributes greatly to water pollution by chemical waste used during the production process. The reason is, there are many textile industries that discharge water containing dangerous chemicals into the environment. According to data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 20% of water pollution caused by industry comes from dyeing waste and textile chemicals. These chemicals can harm the surrounding environment, agriculture, and even factory workers themselves.
Moreover, in recent years, the textile industry is believed to be one of the contributors to plastic pollution in the sea. Guess, what the relation of textile industry with plastic pollution in the sea? In fact, the textile industry is not focused on plastic production, right? Well, it turns out that some of these textile products are made from plastic, you know. There are materials, such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic that are the cause.