FAST FASHION: CHEMICALS
“The Wars of the future will not be fought about oil, the wars of the future is going to be fought about Water.” ~ Kumi Nadoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director
250,000 litres of water per tonne of cotton. 1.7 million tonnes of chemicals per year. The fast fashion industry carelessly consumes water and in return drowns the world with toxic chemicals that are destroying bodies of water and aquatic life.
In Bangladesh alone, factories are producing 56 billion litres of contaminated water. If the water goes untreated and is returned to the environment, what are the consequences? The toxic water from the washing and dying processes is dumped straight into rivers, destroying aquatic life and making its way into the agriculture. Investigations done by Greenpeace reveal that fast fashion industries like H&M and Zara are using chemicals in their clothing that can be potentially cancerous and sensory abusive. Especially in textile towns with an underdeveloped water infrastructure, this is dangerous to the locals that are reading the latest fashion trend through the color of their river. In fact, there have been cases of people losing their sense of smell, experiencing liver problems, and developing cancer. This is an issue. But this issue seems to be hidden behind the price tag of that $6 t-shirt. We have to remember that what we don’t pay for, the environment does. So what do we do?
Money talks. You have power as the consumer. Ask yourself a couple questions before supporting a company. Are they setting targets on managing their supply chain water impacts? Are the moving towards more sustainable raw materials? Are they working with others to address water problems in important river basins? If not, then spend a couple more bucks for a company that does.
