Fast Fashion: Dig deeper - Act wiser! by Αμαλία Χόμπη

The Guardian: “Shop less, mend more: making more sustainable fashion choices” (assigned to Manouselis, Mavraki and Melidonis)

achompi081 — 2024-03-24 08:15:55 UTC

We should buy clothes made locally by ethical labels.
We'd rather avoid fabrics made using petroleum and chemicals.
It is a good idea to extend our wardrobe’s lifespan by mending.
Another thing we could do is to reduce our consumption by hitting the op (= opportunity, usually second-hand) shops.

Some more arguments for making more sustainable fashion choices:

Fashion ranks as a major polluter, second only to oil, due to its mass production of cheap clothing.
Textile manufacturing consumes vast water amounts, thus polluting waterways with harmful substances.
Fast fashion often exploits workers in developing nations, offering law wages and unsafe conditions.
Ethical brands that are local and opting for quality can lessen fashion's harm.
Choosing natural fibers over synthetics and embracing recycling and second-hand shopping helps reduce environmental impact.

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/10/shop-less-mend-more-making-more-sustainable-fashion-choices

Greenpeace: “A Gap between your Words and the Truth” (assigned to Bregkou and Panagiotakis)

achompi081 — 2024-03-24 09:02:55 UTC

We read an article about Gap Inc. (the company behind global brands including Banana Republic, Old Navy, and its namesake Gap) which is in business with a polluting supplier in Indonesia. We found out that ...

it is not the first time this has happened;
70% of the items produced by the company and tested contained traces of a dangerous chemical;
Many Gap's rivals support Detox while Gap has so far failed to prevent these environmental and human injustices from happening;
They continue this practice although key members of its management team have been informed;
it seems very strange that such a big company is not against the pollution of the environment.

References:

https://bit.ly/3pvRKHM

The Economist: “The environmental costs of creating clothes” (done by Davaria and Delimpaltidi)

achompi081 — 2024-03-24 10:04:01 UTC

Clothing production has a significant environmental impact because it generates 23 kg of greenhouse gases per 1 kg of fabric.
Polyester, a cheap material used a lot in clothing, is tough to be recycled because it is mixed with other materials and separating it out is difficult and expensive.
Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014 because the operations of clothing firms (e.g. Zara and H&M) have become more efficient, their production cycles have sped up and shoppers get better bargains. So, consumers buy from these brands more frequently, as they prefer buying new clothes to making old ones do or mending them.
Most big fashion companies don't consider their environmental impact, but some do. H&M, for example, has eliminated toxic chemicals from its clothing and uses "better cotton", i.e. cotton grown in environmentally friendly ways.
Nike and Patagonia have adopted sustainable practices, such as knitting shoes to reduce waste or encouraging customers to only buy what they need. With such initiatives the fashion industry is becoming more and more eco-conscious.

References:

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/04/11/the-environmental-costs-of-creating-clothes

Sustainable fashion (assigned to Metaxakis, Moniakis and Morakis)

achompi081 — 2024-03-24 11:22:01 UTC

Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare.

Some things sustainable fashion does are the following:

It cuts CO2 emissions.
It reduces pollution and waste that is usually caused in the process of making a garment.
It uses eco-friendly materials, such as hemp and bamboo.
It reuses cloth, fabric and other materials that have already been used for previous garments in new materials or products.
It protects garment workers by ensuring that they are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_fashion