We need to stop the complicit quiet that has caused our closets to overflow with low-quality, anaemic items. We no longer feel as bad for turning a blind eye, but that does not absolve us of duty. 2,700 litres of water, or about what one person would consume in 900 days, are needed to make one T-shirt. The shirt was created, cut, coloured, and sewed by various individuals that reside distant from the location where the shirt would ultimately be sold. Why does a shirt have the same price as a sandwich? Only the automotive industry produces more pollution than the fashion business. As a result of the energy consumed in production, it contributes 10% of the world’s carbon emissions.
Our usage of garments must be reduced! To change our spending habits, we must purge our closets and pose hard questions to ourselves. Should I buy another pair of jeans? Why do people want to purchase new things? Fashion has long since moved beyond just buying and selling garments to encompass a vast market of identities. Additionally, it appears that identity is in crisis given that, on average, people purchased 60% more clothing in 2014 than they did in 2000. We should make a commitment to trading clothes more often and purchasing gently used stuff that has been worn before. The clothes that we don’t wear or that need to be repaired or altered should be our primary focus.
