Catelli, Allegra. “Fast Fashion’s Environmental Impact in 2023, Explained.” Bloomberg, 9 June 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-09/fast-fashion-s-environmental-impact-in-2023-explained/.

This article mostly serves to summarize various statistics that help quantitatively show how clothing is hurting our environment. Overall, textile production generates as much as 8% of global emissions, but the main offenders are Cotton and Polyester, which make up 85% of clothing. Polyester is made up of crude oil, which takes up lots of energy to source, often releasing pollutants in the air. Making one cotton t-shirt can use up enough water that equates for someone to use for 3 years. In the last 20 years, our population has grown 30%, while the making of clothing has nearly doubled. A large majority of clothing isn’t recycled or reused, and mostly ends up in landfills, but some major companies are working to use recycled materials in their clothing production, such as recycled polyester.

This article is directly related to environmental science since it gives pure impacts of the clothing industry on our earth. As I read it, I felt quite hurted since I have bought a lot of clothing over the past 2 years or so, assuming that the clothing industry was becoming more sustainable over time, often seeing “recycled materials” labels all over clothing shops, but the truth is, the industry remains mostly the same as it did before it tried to be more environmentally friendly, and only time will tell how much the push for “recycled materials” in our clothes will actually save us from the unescapable mass of landfill.

Associate, Nina Dang Campaign, et al. “Is Waste Finally Going out of Fashion? What to Know about California’s New Fabric Recycling Pilot Program.” CALPIRG, 1 Dec. 2022, https://pirg.org/california/articles/is-waste-finally-going-out-of-fashion-what-to-know-about-californias-new-fabric-recycling-pilot-program/. 

Many clothing items are often burned or sent to landfills when they are recycled or donated. However, a number of people think they are better off being recycled, and do not know the actual fate of that item. This happens to 85% of the textiles that are “recycled” in the US. This process is labor intensive and emits tons of emissions and waste. Bill 1187 is currently being passed and strives towards better textile recycling in California. 

The environment is mostly affected by the amounts of waste that humans are producing. The textile industry actually fabricats 10% of the world’s pollution whether that be extreme amounts of water pollution, emissions manufactured from textile factories, or landfill waste from unwanted clothing items. It is important for states like California to take a stronger initiative in these situations and actually pass bills that will work against this industry’s waste. These bills actually push people to be obedient to the requests made by the government and advocates regarding the climate crisis. This is the least we can do to decrease global warming and waste/emissions. California will always be a trailblazer and one of the environment’s number one supporters in the US. Any bill that is put out by the government is a great step to take in my opinion.

Assoune, Alex. “California Needs to Do More for Sustainable Fashion.” Panaprium, Panaprium, 16 Oct. 2020, https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/california-sustainable-fashion. 

A lot of brands that strive for sustainability are located in California. Like North Face, Patagonia, and Reformation. These places are working towards sustainability, and making huge setbacks regarding emissions and waste. California is the first state to ban fur trade and fight animal cruelty in the fashion industry. A fur ban is the right step in the right direction but they fail to include many other animals that are taken advantage of in this industry and used for their features. 

Products that are put on the market like leather and wool are not banned throughout states and countries. The slaughter of these animals to be used for textiles deeply affects our environment in a negative way. All these animals serve a specific purpose within their own habitat making it harmful for them to be retracted from that place. Sometimes leading to extinction for their kind which is the worst possible scenario for them. Sheep, pigs, cows, calves, goats, and buffalos die everyday to make non luxury items made out of leather and wool. Yet nobody seems to pay attention or notice that injustice. The production of these types of textiles emits great amounts of waste. This is only important in California because this industry is the second biggest polluter. Making it very crucial in my opinion that there is a strict reduction on wool and leather products in this area. Once California takes this second step hopefully other states and countries will as well.

Kynett, Kathryn. “Suay: Transforming Fast Fashion through a Calrecycle Reuse Grant.” California Climate Investments, California Climate Investments, 13 Oct. 2022, https://www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov/2022-profiles/2022/suay-transforming-fast-fashion. 

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has begun to take trash from landfills and convert them into textiles. They use trashed garments in LA, and begin to repair and clean textiles to present them as new products. As well as working towards even less waste when they use their unrepairable garments to use as pillow stuffing or to make dog beds for example. The company Suay has been diverting a great deal of the clothing from landfills, and on top of that providing education on how to repair your own clothing. 

A big part of the environmental issue in the context of the textile industry is the waste that goes into landfills, the streets, and in natural habitats. Suay works to decrease that issue, and instead of purchasing virgin fabrics in malls, stores, and online. They encourage the community to reuse the products they have already bought on their own, as well as offering those same services for free. It is really important, and for the greater good of the fashion industry and community. I think that on a smaller personal scale buying less and reusing is the most effective way to tackle a huge problem like this. 

Paton, Elizabeth. “The New Laws Trying to Take the Anxiety out of Shopping.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/fashion/fashion-laws-regulations.html. 

Fashion brands have been trying to work towards better ways to decrease their impact on the environment and planet. However, most of these claims from certain brands advocating for change within their own company are often false. The government is now recognizing this and starting to regulate the situation. Consuming fashion related products has increased dramatically since the 1980s. Acts are being passed in California in which they protect garment workers by requiring them to be paid hourly and above minimum wage. 

This article is important to the progression of global warming and the fashion industries relation to that because it expresses the need for governmental supervision and direction over companies motives within the textile industry. The government is beginning to issue bills that will put restrictions on these industries’ production rate. Specifically, in California there will be changes made in the amounts paid to workers in factories. Which will discourage the companies that succeed in the production of fast fashion. If workers are being paid more than fast fashion companies that produce cheaply made and easily disposable clothing cannot produce at the rate they were once able to before. In my opinion, California should put restrictions, and laws on fashion production that are far more extreme rather than what they have planned right now. This is valid because textile industries produce extremely high amounts of water and land pollution which greatly affects our earth’s health. 

Webb, Bella. “Fashion Is on Track to Miss Climate Targets as Textile Production Grows.” Vogue Business, 5 Oct. 2022, https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashion-is-on-track-to-miss-climate-targets-as-textile-production-grows. 

Fashion brands need to make great improvements in their preferred fibers used within their clothes to make up for the large dent the previous fiber technology had caused in the climate crisis. This includes switching out materials that are labeled as harmful to new and improved fabrics. Also, cutting down its increased amounts of production. In regards to cotton issues in California, the California Cotton & Climate Coalition has been formed in early september. In which California is taking a further step to improve California’s environmental situation. 

Vogue’s article relates to environmental issues because it highlights what people within the state of California are doing to reduce waste when growing crops that contribute to the fashion industry. It goes over the issues of farmers in California and their needs regarding their process of growing products. In the context of cotton which is grown with extreme amounts of water there has been cut backs made on its growing process. Cotton is widely used in most textiles throughout the world. Especially in California, which has a huge fashion industry in Las Angeles, and up in San Francisco. Two cities which are vital to the fashion industries production, and which also take a main role in the fast fashion production. The California Cotton & Climate Coalition brings multiple leading communities together to brainstorm steps they can take for precautions surrounding the process of growing crops. I think that this bill is a great step towards the idea of eliminating waste in the fashion industry because it goes farther than just the rapid production of clothing. These clothes are made from original textiles like cotton that may be wasteful themselves, and I think its very important for a large community to recognize that. 

Hudd, A., Dr. (2022, February 26). Dyeing for fashion: Why the clothes industry 

     is causing 20% of water pollution. Euronews.com. Retrieved August 28, 2022, 

     from https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/02/26/ 

     dyeing-for-fashion-why-the-fashion-industry-is-causing-20-of-water-pollution

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting in the world. Using huge amounts of energy and water it adds up to 10% of global co2 emissions. The dying of textiles is commonly overlooked. Clothes are dyed through industrial dye and huge chemical baths. Dyeing contributes to 20% of global water pollution. The wastewater from dyeing is used to irrigate fields in some areas like China,Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia. It is also dangerous to work in dyeing factories because the chemicals are often toxic to inhale and could result in death. 

There is a huge threat when it comes to dyeing textiles. It is commonly overlooked and not even thought of and contributes to water waste pollution yet again. It also works towards the insane amount of water consumption in the textile industry and pollutes waters with dangerous chemicals. I think most people are way in over their heads when it comes to the topic of the textiles industry’s impact on the environment. I know I wouldn’t even think that half of these issues would incorporate into the environment’s pollution problem on top of overconsumption throughout the world. This article amplifies the smaller things that end up making a huge impact on our environment and how it can put our living organisms in so much danger. 

Perylasamy, A. P., & Tehrani-Bagha, A. (2022, May). A review on microplastic 

     emission from textile materials and its reduction techniques. 

     Siencedirect.com. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from 

     https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141391022000878

A new source of environmental pollution called fiber fragments are produced through washing, drying and wearing of textile products. These fiber fragments can be ingested by wildlife, specifically aquatic life since most of this pollution is transferred through waste water coming from urban areas. Which then is dumped into the ocean at some point or another. This re-enters our food chain through consumption of these animals or drinking water. Plastics have increased from the production rate of 2 billion tons to 8.3 BMT. 

The overconsumption of plastics in fibers has greatly affected our environment. The microplastics are incorporated into food chains through consumption and do not benefit any organisms positively. There is risk of health and pollution into the water as I’m not sure if there has been a solution to sorting micro fibers and plastics out of fresh water. Especially since it may take hundreds of years for these plastics to decompose completely. As the consumption demand increases this will become a bigger and bigger issue for our environment and its safety. The bigger issue is that its hard to even avoid plastics at this point even if its not produced through the textile industry but they are incorporated into almost everything we use now. The danger can only increase from here. 

Textile industries are heavily reliant on fresh water and are the most consumptive. The industry uses 79 to 93 billion cubic meters of water per year to produce textile made products. Cotton, the most common textile, uses huge amounts of water. Fresh water is needed to grow cotton and in its manufacturing process as well as finishing the final garment. This is true for many other textiles as well. Companies like Ralph Lauren are trying to work against this amount of consumption by avoiding high water stress areas and making a water footprint map.

The insane amount of water used through textile industry production is important because water is the most fundamental source on earth. It is often taken for granted greatly and people dont understand how much we must conserve ground and surface water that is readily available to us. The textile industry affects this because of how much water they pollute through microfiber runoff in washing machines during production, dye pollutants, and overall consumption. Industries like this sometimes send certain areas where there is a high water stress into vicious droughts. This affects all parts of that ecosystem and living organisms because they all require freshwater to live. I think that companies in the textile industry could collaborate and think of ways to cut down on water consumption. This is extremely important because there’s absolutely no way the earth can support itself if its freshwater natural resource is depleted completely. 

LaMotte, S. (2022, January 26). Water- and stain-resistant products contain 

     toxic plastics, study says here’s what to do. CNN. Retrieved August 28, 

     2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/26/health/ 

     toxins-water-and-stain-resistant-clothing-wellness/index.html

Water resistant and stain proof products contain toxic chemicals called PFAS that also contribute to the health risk of liver and heart damage or cancer. PFAS were detected in a study on rain jackets, hiking pants, shirts, mattress pads, comforters, and tablecloths.  They include special man-made chemicals called Perfluoroalkyl also known as PFAS. They found thousands of varieties of PFAS in the blood of 99% of the people in America. However they did not detect PFAS in stain or water resistant marked products. To get around this, industries created PFOA and PFOS which are equally as dangerous.

The danger of fibers laced with dangerous chemicals produced through the textile industry is brought to light in this article. Not only do these chemicals affect the environment but they could be affecting numerous organisms living in the environment. Chemicals weaved into the fibers of products to create a water resistant and stain proof experience for consumers are extremely dangerous. They cause liver and heart problems as well as cancer. I think this can somewhat be avoided by searching GreenScreen Certified products. But the chemicals referred to as “PFAS” may cause much harm to any animals or humans that come into contact with it. Most people haven’t done the research or even know about the issue and don’t know what to look for when looking through chemical ingredients. There may be the potential of even more harm because companies try to disguise this chemical by changing its molecule format slightly so it ends up having a separate name. When really there are many many different types of PFAS leading it to be extremely misleading.