Impact of Wastage of Clothing on The Environment

In earlier days, clothing was a necessity to protect oneself from external factors. Today, clothing has become a symbol of expression, style and fashion. Due to globalization, it has become possible to produce clothes at very lower prices, which brings in the consideration of the clothes being disposable and this is being called ‘Fast Fashion’. So, we have low price clothes for every occasion which can be disposed after wearing. But as documented by Claudio (2007) fast fashion generates significant environmental and occupational hazards. As published by Martina Igini in Earth.org an alarming 1.92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced every year, and the number of times a garment is worn has been declined by 36% over the last 15 years. It is high time that we open our eyes and do our bit towards it. Today, there are a lot of brands, companies in the fashion industry which produce tonnes of clothing every day. People look towards fast fashion brands for their fast-changing clothing and as a matter-of-fact fast fashion brands are producing twice the amount of clothes they did around 2000. Millions of clothing end up in landfills every year and the industry is responsible for 10% of the global carbon emissions which would increase to 50% by 2030. In this research, we will be reviewing the studies done on this subject to spread the light on the amount of harm being done to the environment through the wastage of clothing. We will also attempt to find ways through which we as an individual can reduce our clothing wastage and give our bit towards the environment.