Do you like shopping for new clothes?! Let’s learn five fascinating fast fashion facts for kids, and how to make shopping help our planet!
Shops try to appeal to people by having the latest trendy clothes on offer but this is no good for the planet. The fashion industry is the 2nd biggest polluter of the planet after oil. That means all these new clothes are worse for the planet than cars and planes.
Making cheap and fast clothes hurts the planet in a few different ways. Cheap clothes are usually made from plastic which doesn’t biodegrade when we throw it away. Chemicals used to dye clothes can get into the waterways and damage ecosystems, and fabrics that are grown use a lot of water.
A popular material to make clothes is cotton which takes a lot of water to grow. The cotton grown to make a t-shirt can take over 2500 litres of water to grow. That’s enough water to fill 16 bathtubs just for one t-shirt. In Uzbekistan they redirected water from the Aral sea to use for growing cotton. It used so much water that the sea dried up and now it is just a desert.
There are even fishing villages that have docks and piers that lead into the desert because the sea is no longer there.
In the world around 80 billion pieces of clothing are created every single year. There are lots of reasons that people buy new clothes they don’t need, like a special event or to follow a new trend. When we buy clothes it is important to think about why we want them, how long they will last, and if we will want to wear them for a long time. Most people throw out new clothes after less than a year of wearing them. 80% or more then end up in landfill which damages our environment.
If you don’t want to wear something anymore you can always re-use the fabric by making it into different things you might need. Some people cut up old t-shirts to make cleaning cloths, this means the t-shirt is used for longer and avoids buying unnecessary cloths. If you have a favourite t-shirt that doesn’t fit anymore you can make it into a square for a quilt so you can still enjoy the pattern. Lots of people do this to remember fun trips. You can even use old fabric to make yarn for weaving, knitting, or crochet projects. You get to save waste and try a new craft too.
A great way to avoid clothes going to landfill is to donate them to charity or sell them to other people who will love them. Next time you need new clothes you could try a shop that sells pre-loved clothes. It’s a great way to find fun new clothes without buying fast fashion clothing.
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