It is increasingly common for us, as final consumers, to disconnect ourselves from the production of the goods we use on a daily basis. In general, there is little awareness in our society about how the organization and characteristics of production chains directly impact the volumes of resource extraction associated with the final product and its post-consumption management options. This is because the resources consumed, after a brief use, become a waste requiring an integral management.
The clothes we wear do not escape this reality. Ironically, a garment has an average lifespan of 2 years but can take more than 200 years to decompose. This behavior, coupled with high mass production driven by world population growth and new cultural consumption patterns, leads to serious environmental repercussions.
In fact, the fashion industry is known for its large daily production of textile waste and, in general, as one of the sectors most negatively impacts the environment. This can be exemplified on both a small and large scale, as the industry consumes more energy than shipping and aviation combined and is estimated to required approximately 2,700 liters of water to produce a single average cotton shirt.
Mountains of Clothes
The unstoppable consumption and production of textiles, which is increasing daily, has become an environmental problem all over the world. So much so that, as a consequence of the inefficient response capacity of countries to manage this waste, it is now accumulating to the point of forming “islands” of tons of clothing in deserts and fields, as is the case in countries such as Chile, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania and on the coasts of Colombia.
Despite this reality, day by day there is an exponential increase in the clothing production model known as “fast fashion”. This practice consists of producing clothes at low cost, in large quantities and in a short time, with the purpose of satisfying the fast consumption rate of users.
Fast fashion is believed to have been introduced by the Zara brand, when in 1990 it established its “innovative” objective of closing the design-sale process of a garment in a period of less than 15 days; since then, consumers have perceived this phenomenon as the possibility of obtaining affordable, seasonal clothing, which means large sales volumes for the sector. In this way, products are designed to have a short useful life, so they are considered as “disposable”.
In general, at a global level, there has not been sufficient awareness of the organization and planning of solid waste management to accompany the excessive increase in textile production. Our role as consumers has an impact on the creation of demand according to the characteristics of the products. However, as geologist Emma Tristán mentions in an article entitled Jurassic fashion, in most cases, when we buy the latest fashion shirt, we do not think about its environmental footprint.
Local Alternatives
Costa Rican designer Jacky Alvarado is a national example against the tide of the fashion industry. With her brand Bombacacea, Alvarado promotes small-scale, durable and timeless production, or “inheritable clothing,” as she calls it. These alternative employs responsible use of materials and the selection of quality textiles for the creation of garments, with the goal of being used for a long time and even across different generations.
Likewise, there are other national brands such as Return, Gato Negro and OdaMusa, which through the clothing and accessories they contribute to the responsible management of textiles in the country. By using recycled materials or leftover textiles from other processes, they offer us the opportunity to extend the useful life of resources.