The Problem
Are you hot? You should be, climate change has become increasingly noticeable in the last five years, from high-high to low-low temperatures due to the over-admission of greenhouse gasses. While this controversial topic has many causes, fast fashion has been one of the major culprits to scale. According to journals like Science Direct, the journal mentions that “the fashion industry has projected nearly 2.1 billion tons of greenhouse gasses in 2018.” These numbers have most definitely increased since experts plan that the fashion industry will “be expected to grow 74% by 2027!” With these numbers, it is likely that if the fashion industry does not change its manufacturing techniques, billions of tons of greenhouse gasses will continue to leak as the world slowly starts to succumb to unstable temperatures. These changes will only harm our Earth and its life. Sure CEOs and CFOs of these companies will make bank, but should we sacrifice an entire planet for an extra million dollars in their pockets?
The Solution…for Now
The best way to decrease the level of greenhouse gasses comes from buying second hand. Yes, plenty of other articles have discussed the solution to the fashion industry’s “littering” through buying second hand clothing but they forget to mention that there are still some environmental consequences that are caused through second hand clothing. What I mean is that, according to American Thrift-a small thrift chain- manager Diana, she mentioned that, “when it comes to transporting the clothes from donation bins, they are shipped in large trucks every day.” Unfortunately this means that these trucks will need gas which equals the emission of noxious chemicals such as methane which is considered a greenhouse gas. While alone, heavy-duty trucks only produce 17% of greenhouse gasses according to the EPA alone but, per year, these trucks produce almost as much greenhouse gas as clothing factories. Fortunately, there are other alternatives to buying second hand clothing such as local businesses on resale platforms. While there are some cons to online secondhand shopping like inconsistent clothing pricing, at least when it comes to the environment there are more benefits to shopping online for secondhand clothing. There is no need for large trucks and factories; rather mail vans transporting the clothes. This does not cut greenhouse gas levels but rather decreases the amount of greenhouse gasses being admitted into the atmosphere. Second hand resale shops like Depop and Poshmark have tons of clothing options from all types of styles and years. So besides environmental benefits, there are more options to choose from as well. Even the cons are benefits in disguise, higher prices can promote under consumption of clothing which of course furthers decreased environmental harm. So when you are planning to buy clothes, think about creating an account on one of these websites and supporting small businesses.
If you already have an account on any of these platforms, what is your username? Mine is: @rayray02232007 on depop!
Remember to shop smarter, not hotter!
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