Contribution of clothing
industry to climate change
V I L N I U S U N I V E R S I T Y FA C U LT Y O F C H E M I S T R Y A N D
G E O S C I E N C E S D E PA RT M E N T
O F M E T E O R O L O G Y A N D H I D R O L O G Y
Outline
Introduction
Methodology
Results and discussion
Conclusion
References
Introduction
Climate change
Waste-management crisis
Key concepts Greenhouse emission
Marine ecosystem
Research relevance
Status quo – increasing The purpose – to reveal
demand for clothing is why the apparel industry is
having an impact on the overshadowed and to find
environment and human out how it is contributing to
health. climate change.
Apparel industry
Garment
Extraction Refining Transportation
manufacture
Mass production Clothes are being
Manufacture of textile Transporting clothes to
development designed and sewn
consumer markets.
Phase 1
Materials extraction
According to The World Counts (2022) It takes 10,000 litres of water to produce
one kilogram of cotton. They mention that cotton production nearly made a
whole Aral sea disappear – mainly because of cotton cultivation.“The water
consumed to grow India’s cotton exports in 2013 would be enough to supply 85%
of the country’s 1.24 billion people with 100 litres of water every day for a year.
Meanwhile, more than 100 million people in India do not have access to safe
water” (The Guardian, 2015). Also there are deadly dust from cotton chemicals.
Instead of the Aral sea, 43 million tons of pesticide-laden dust is blown into the
air every year.
Phase 2
Textile manufacturing
The high volumes of water and discarded in the textile producing
process are responsible for aquatic life toxicity. „Substances such
as formaldehyde, chlorine and heavy metals are disposed into
water bodies and they are consumed in daily activities by a large
number of people.“(Green Of Change). According to some studies,
the apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon
emissions and is the second largest industrial polluter. The textile
industry also produces lots of solid waste. The textile industry also
produces lots of solid waste. Globally, each year, about 90 million
items of clothing end up in landfills.
Phase 3-4
Clothes transportation
A F T ER G A RMEN TS A RE
BE I N G D ES I G N ED A N D
S EW N , I T I S PA CK E D
IN BOXES AND
T RA N SP O RTE D BY
A L M O S T A LL K I N D S O F
T RA N SP O RT – SH I P S,
T RA I N S , PL A I N S ,
T RU C K S . EA CH O F
T H EM I N I T S O W N WAY
CO N T RI B U TE S TO TH E
CL I M AT E CH A N G E.
Methodology
Methodology
Data: 11 websites
Methodology: Quantitative
Research questions: What activities is the apparel industry trying to conceal?
How are people’s minds affected by the clothing industry?
Keywords: Climate change, waste-management crisis, greenhouse emission,
microfibers, soil degradation.
Data collection
Results and discussion
Results
Air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution
Harm to the wilderness
Coastline pollution
18%
Disrupting wildlife
9%
Waste-management crisis
73%
Waste-management crisis
73%
Soil degradation
27%
Soil degradation
27%
Health issues
64%
African Development Bank
64%
Health issues
64%
Other
55%
The Guardian UN Today
Deforestation Exploitative labour practices
Other
55%
Many cases of forced labour have
also been reported along the
supply chain of the fashion
industry.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The fashion industry is currently responsible for more annual carbon emissions
than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Also, it has caused
a substantial amount of damage to our environment. However, if we start to take
proactive steps towards advocating for a green-friendly fashion industry and
becoming an environmentally conscious consumer, we can finally slow down
climate change.
References
https://www.theworldcounts.com/challe t/fast-fashion-environmental-toll-report/ https://www.ifaw.org/journal/apparel-in
nges/consumption/clothing/cotton-farm ?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhLKUBhDiARIsAM dustry-environmental-impact
ing-water-consumption/story aTLnGEbT28KECH2ZAMBBl4ZO0K
MHzbdFDgRzDb2ts2aHeYGpglyEirtw https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/en/wh
https://www.greenofchange.com/textile caAmNFEALw_wcB ats-wrong-with-the-fashion-industry
-pollution
https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwor https://www.sustainably-chic.com/blog/
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/e k.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fas fashion-industry-pollution
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waste-on-the-environment-infographic https://www.wri.org/insights/apparel-in ing-pollution-fashion-intl-hnk-dst-sept/i
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https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/conten ironment
