Be green, stay fashionable
In 2006 in the UK, the clothing and textiles sector was responsible for around 3.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, between 1.5 – 2.0 million tonnes of waste and 70 million tonnes of waste water per year.
As a nation, we buy around two million tonnes of clothing a year, over half of which ends up in landfill sites. Here it degrades and releases methane – a greenhouse gas which is 21 times more powerful than CO2. So what’s the answer?
Choose eco labels and reduce your fashion footprint
Many high street stores now have organic clothing and Fairtrade collections. Supermarkets are also starting to provide green collections –Tesco recently launched an upcycled collection in partnership with eco label From Somewhere.
Upcycling uses discarded or obsolete fabric and turns it into stylish fashion collections – saving it from going to landfill or being burned.
The eco sustainable initiative at London Fashion Week, Estethica, has also helped put eco fashion at the forefront (and on the catwalk) with designers including Amana and Izzy Lane taking part.
And with the Government’s Sustainable Clothing Roadmap – a voluntary clothing industry initiative to improve the environmental and ethical performance of clothing – making greener fashion choices could soon be second-nature.
There are 6,000 clothes recycling banks across the country
Recycling clothes is easy, yet it has been estimated that only 25% of recycling banks are operating at capacity. The clothes are distributed to the homeless, sold in charity shops or sold in developing countries. Nearly 70% of items put into clothing banks are reused as clothes.
Charity shops are full of vintage glamour – unique pieces at bargain prices. Some shops will even reward you with clothing vouchers in exchange for bringing in old clothes, like Oxfam’s Clothes Exchange.
Shops such as Traid and Oxfam have their own-label garments, which have been made from recycled clothes.
Swap your clothes and get a new outfit for free!
The latest fashion trend is all about swapping (or swishing). You can either host your own party or swap online, and with hundreds of swapping sites to choose from – that’s a lot of clothes (and new outfits) to choose from.
TheBigWardrobe.com has nearly 30,000 members (or 30,000 wardrobes) and with a range of labels from Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs to Miss Sixty and Topshop – keeping on trend the green way has never been easier!
How often do you see clothes that say ‘Made in the UK’?
As major high-street retailers transferred production overseas, a raft of eco-minded designers and companies began to emerge providing UK-made clothes. UK-made clothes not only support local businesses, but also reduce energy. Look out for names such as People Tree, Beyond Skin and Izzy Lane.
Customise your way to a new wardrobe
There’s no need to throw out clothes, especially if you can modify or mend them – simply dyeing a pair of trousers can transform them.
To hone you’re skills, TRIAD has launched the ‘Sew Good Workshops’. Lyla Patel, TRAID’S Head of Education, says: “The techniques learned makes clothes last longer diverting them from landfill and protecting the environment. It’s fun, it’s ethical and there’s nothing like basking in the glow of something you’ve made yourself.”
Five ways to cut your fashion footprint
- Buy clothes that will last, rather than throwaway fashion
- Always wash clothes at a low temperature
- Look for labels such as Organic, Öeko-tex, MADE, Fair Trade or the EU Ecolabel, which show the garment has been made in an environmentally friendly way
- Choose fabrics that are kinder to the environment – cotton production for example, is responsible for about 25% of global insecticide use.
- Pass on unwanted clothes to friends, charity shops, or sell them in online auctions.
Mythbuster
Up to 80% of our clothes’ total climate change impact happens after they’ve been purchased. How we wash and dry our clothes has a bigger effect on the environment than how they are manufactured
Every BIG helps
- Over 70% of the world’s population uses second-hand clothes
- Oxfam’s Clothes Exchange scheme has raised approximately £2.2 million for the charity, while saving four million garments from landfill
- Ditch your tumble dryer. Line-drying your clothes instead creates no carbon emissions and saves you money
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.