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Daily Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint in Daily Life: Fashion
Oct 23, 2023
Every aspect of our lives is intricately connected to our carbon footprint, including our fashion choices. Fashion is not just an external way to express ourselves; it is directly related to our global environment. Our shopping decisions and taste in fashion have far-reaching impacts on carbon emissions and resource consumption worldwide. In this article, we will delve into the actual impact of the fashion industry on carbon footprints and how we can lessen our environmental load through sustainable fashion choices.

The growth and globalization of the fashion industry have led to an increasing production of clothing, shoes, and accessories. However, this production comes with energy consumption, carbon emissions, and resource waste, especially in the fast fashion sector. Notably, the production of some fashion items is more eco-friendly than others. Below, we will discuss some specific examples of carbon emissions during fashion production to better understand the issue.
Carbon Emissions Behind Fast Fashion
Fast fashion has become a part of modern society, emphasizing mass production, low cost, and frequent updates. However, this model often accompanies high carbon emissions and resource wastage. Here are some of the negative impacts of fast fashion on the environment:

  • Energy consumption in production: Making clothing requires a lot of energy, from spinning and weaving to cutting, sewing, and packaging. These processes involve significant electricity and fuel consumption, leading to increased carbon emissions.
  • Excessive textile waste: The primary goal of fast fashion is to produce large quantities of cheap clothing, which means many unsold clothes end up as waste. This waste occupies landfill space and also produces carbon emissions during production and disposal.
  • Short lifespan of clothing: Fast fashion items are usually of low quality, easily worn out or becoming outdated, leading to frequent purchases. This further stimulates the cycle of production and disposal, increasing the carbon footprint.
Producing clothing, trousers, and shoes often involves multiple complex manufacturing steps, each of which comes with carbon emissions. Here are some practical examples to help us understand the carbon footprint associated with different types of fashion items:

  • Clothing Manufacturing: Making a regular T-shirt typically emits around 12 kilograms of CO2, involving multiple stages like cotton farming, harvesting, spinning, dyeing, cutting, and sewing.
  • Trouser Manufacturing: The carbon emissions for producing a pair of jeans usually range between 33 and 34 kilograms of CO2, which includes the making of denim fabric, cutting, sewing, assembling, and dyeing.
  • Shoe Manufacturing: Manufacturing a pair of sneakers generally emits between 15 to 20 kilograms of CO2, incorporating aspects like the sole, upper, laces, glue, and other production processes.
These figures only cover the carbon emissions during the manufacturing process and do not include the carbon footprint of transportation, packaging, and sales. Therefore, it's clear that the production of each fashion item comes with a significant carbon footprint. This highlights the importance of choosing high-quality, classic styles, and longer-lasting fashion items to reduce environmental impact.
More Eco-Friendly Sustainable Fashion
Sustainable fashion is a more environmentally-friendly and responsible choice. It emphasizes the importance of materials, production processes, and consumption habits to alleviate Earth’s burdens. Here are some ways to make more sustainable choices in your fashion life:

  • Choosing High-Quality Clothing: High-quality garments are generally more durable and long-lasting. Opting for classic styles and high-quality fashion items, rather than constantly chasing fleeting trends, not only reduces your carbon footprint but also ensures that you can wear them for several seasons to come.
  • Supporting Sustainable Brands: More and more brands are committed to reducing their environmental impact. Support those that adopt sustainable production methods and materials, such as organic cotton, regenerated fibers, and recycled materials, to promote the sustainable development of the fashion industry.
  • Thrifting: Consider purchasing second-hand clothing to reduce the demand for new production. Thrifting not only lowers resource consumption and carbon emissions but also allows you to discover unique fashion treasures.
  • Repair and Reuse: Don't discard damaged clothing. Learn how to repair or modify old garments, or recycle and reuse them to extend their lifespan. This is a way to mitigate your carbon footprint.
  • Capsule Wardrobe: Owning fewer pieces of clothing can help reduce excessive shopping and resource wastage. Consider implementing a 'capsule wardrobe' strategy, purchasing only the clothes you genuinely need, which will help reduce carbon emissions and create a cleaner space.
By making these sustainable fashion choices, we contribute to a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Fashion is not just a form of self-expression; it is a potential force to push for a more sustainable future.
Fashion's Carbon Footprint and Global Sustainability Goals
The fashion industry's carbon footprint is closely related to global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it directly impacts these goals. Through sustainable fashion choices, we can:

  • SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns: By reducing fashion waste, choosing sustainable brands, and buying high-quality clothing, we can support sustainable consumption and production.
  • SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts: The carbon emissions from the fashion industry have a negative impact on climate change; by reducing our carbon footprint, we can help address the challenges of climate change.
  • SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development: The fashion industry uses a large amount of fiber, some of which eventually enters the oceans, posing a threat to marine ecosystems; reducing fashion waste helps protect the oceans.
  • SDG 15 - Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss: The production of materials like cotton and leather impacts land ecosystems; sustainable fashion choices can lessen the burden on terrestrial ecosystems.
Fashion and carbon footprints have a close relationship, but we have the opportunity to mitigate their negative impacts through shopping and clothing choices while supporting global sustainable development goals (SDGs). Choosing sustainable fashion, encouraging eco-friendly brands, supporting second-hand shopping, as well as repairing and recycling old clothes, are ways to reduce the carbon footprint of fashion, and also contribute to the achievement of SDGs. Through proactive actions in the fashion domain, we can contribute positively to the sustainable development of the planet and society without compromising our sense of style. Let's move towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable fashion lifestyle through sustainable fashion choices.