This doesn't even include the clothing we are re-using, donating or handing down.
Pretty daunting, huh?
People don't think of their clothing being an environmental risk- they couldn't be more wrong!
Different fabrics have different impacts, depending on what they’re made of:
Courtesy of Green Choices
Nylon and Polyester:
They are synthetic material and are NON-biodegradable. Nylon is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide.
Rayon:
Another synthetic material that was created from wood pulp. Sounds green, right? Well, the wood pulp needs to be treated with hazardous chemicals such as sulphuric avid to be created.
Cotton:
Did you know cotton is the most pesticide intensive crop in the world? These pesticides injure and kill many people every year. It also takes up a large proportion of agricultural land, much of which is needed by local people to grow their own food. Herbicides, and also the chemical defoliants which are sometimes used to aid mechanical cotton harvesting, add to the toll on both the environment and human health. These chemicals typically remain in the fabric after finishing, and are released during the lifetime of the garments. The development of genetically modified cotton adds environmental problems at another level. Organic cotton is quite another matter.