Urgent fundamental changes to ‘fast fashion’ clothing items which are treated by many as disposable is needed to stem a devastating impact upon the environment according to scientists.
The fashion industry has been heavily criticised for the devastating environmental pollution caused by its global operations. Despite the widely publicised environmental impacts, however, the industry continues to grow, in part due to the rise of fast fashion, which relies on cheap mass-manufacturing, frequent consumption and short-lived garment use.
A new research paper published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment reviews state-of-the-art research to examine the environmental impacts at critical points in the textile and fashion value chain from production to consumption, focusing on water use, chemical pollution, carbon emissions and textile waste.
Impacts from the fashion industry include, over 92 million tonnes of waste produced per year and 1.5 trillion litres of water consumed, alongside chemical pollution and high levels of CO2 emissions.
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