Did you know that the retail manufacturing industry is the second most polluting industry on Earth, second only to oil?
Although I love fashion a lot, I still want to make sure that the clothes I buy are made in an environmentally friendly facility.
As the global center for manufacturing, China’s role as the apparel workshop to the world has contributed to a rapid and spectacular economic development in recent years and created a large number of job opportunities. In 2010, China’s textile industry processed 41.3 million tons of fiber and accounted for 52-54% of the world’s total production. At the same time, in 2010, China exported over 212 billion US dollars of textile and apparel products, accounting for 34% of total global exports. However, pollution from the textile industry has negatively affected the air, rivers, lakes, oceans,soil, and even the groundwater in China. Water pollution merits special concern, because it istaking place in the context of already severe water scarcity and drought.
The textile industry is a major contributor to water pollution in China. According to the China Environmental Statistical Yearbook 2010, the textile industry ranked fourth in wastewater COD emissions among China’s 39 major industries and third for overall wastewater discharge amount at 2.5 billion tons of wastewater per year.
Many of these polluting textile factories are suppliers to multinational apparel retailers andbrands. Brands recognize the risks that polluting factories bring to them, and in the face of the reality of resource and energy scarcity, multinational brands have strong corporate social responsibility polices. Unfortunately, these policies are not usually strictly enforced at a local level and the public is not attentive to the impact that the environmental performance of these companies has. Hence, effective implementation is often difficult.
There are certain things that we can do in order to promote “green” clothes. Here are some cool brands that are eco-friendly, ethical and affortable.
You can find really nice styles:
http://fashioningchange.com/brands
Some of my favourites are: A.D.O, Allison Parris and Aurea.
Let’s make a difference!
Sources:
China Texnet，http://info.texnet.com.cn/content/2011-08-09/364228.html
Addressing China’s Water Scarcity, The World Bank, 2009.
China Environmental Statistical Yearbook 2010, China Environmental Science Press
China’s Ministry of Water Resources, “On the strengthening of urban water resources,” 2006.
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