The high price of cheap fashion
Two
million tonnes of clothes are bought in the UK every year, more than
half of which are dumped in landfill sites.
With the rise of “fast fashion”
from high street shops and supermarkets, cheap clothes have never been
so easy to get hold of – or to throw away.
Manufacturing and shipping uses
valuable resources of water and energy, and releases greenhouse gases
into the environment too.
Landfills all over the world are filled with garments
Every year in the UK, 1.2 million tonnes of
clothing waste end up in landfill. With the average Brit throwing away
30kg of clothing and textiles.
As some synthetic or man-made fibres don’t decompose, they
take up valuable landfill space. Woollen garments do breakdown, but
they produce methane as they decompose which contributes to global
warming.
Turn your cast-offs into
treasure
It makes sense to recycle your unwanted
items by taking them to one of the 6,000clothes recycling banks in the
UK, or to a charity shop.
Reducing your fashion carbon footprint could save you money
too. Why not go to a Swishing party, where people get together to swap
clothes? Find out more at www.swishing.org
Check out websites
that specialise in selling vintage clothes and accessories. Investing
in a pre-loved outfit saves items from ending up in landfill, while
reducing energy use and carbon emissions, too.
Key facts
- Making
clothes uses up 10 times more energy than the production of steel or
glass
- We recycle or
reuse just 16% of the clothes and shoes that we discard
Quick link
Textile Recycling Association: www.textile-recycling.org.uk
Team Green Britain
and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic
Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies,
organisations, opinions or websites that have been mentioned in this
article. The content of this article has merely been provided as
background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the
environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of
Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations
noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and
may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to
undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures
applicable to their particular circumstance.