Environmentally clothing
What You Need to Know
Many raw materials are needed to make clothing. The use of land, water, energy and chemicals for fabric has a major impact on the environment. How great the environmental impact is differs per clothing fabric. Take a look at the comparison between clothing materials.
There's more to making clothes than meets the eye. Cotton needs to be grown and picked, sheared for wool sheep and recycled for fleece PET bottles. This material is then used to make fibers, which are eventually processed into fabrics. All these processes (cultivation, processing) have an impact on the environment. Below the picture you can read an explanation of the comparison between the clothing materials per part.
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Climate change
The production of clothing fabrics puts a burden on the climate because greenhouse gases are released during production. CO2, and methane and nitrous oxide in the case of natural fibres, also cause global warming. The more greenhouse gases are released during the production process, the more the fabric contributes to global warming.
What causes greenhouse gases in the production of clothing fabrics?
Use of fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas). Many processes require energy. For example, to grow crops (cotton, bamboo, wood), heat stables and barns, to extract oil for synthetic fibres and in the factory to make fabrics.
Sheep produce methane when digesting food. It enters the air through farmers and winds. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas.
Land use
Soil is needed for the production of substances. Growing cotton, bamboo and other natural fibres requires a lot of land. It is land that is used for plantations, forests and nurseries. With wool a lot of pasture land is needed to let the sheep graze. For the production of synthetic and recycled materials, only the land on which the factory stands is needed for a short period of time.
Water stress
Water is needed in the production of clothing fabrics. Water stress shows the relationship between water use and water scarcity in an area. In a dry area high water stress occurs more quickly. This can lead to a lack of clean drinking water due to the cultivation or production of clothing fabrics.
In clothing made of natural materials, water is used to grow the crops. In addition, water is needed to make the cloths from the fibres. Water is also needed to make fabrics from synthetic fibres. A lot of water is used in cotton growing, cotton plantations are often located in areas where water is scarce.
Use of raw materials
Fossil raw materials such as oil, coal and natural gas are needed to make clothing fabrics. The amount of fossil raw materials is decreasing. Synthetic clothing fabrics are made from petroleum. But fossil raw materials are also needed for natural fabrics to generate energy in the factory where they are processed and for transport. Cultivation uses artificial fertilizer, which is also made from fossil raw materials.
Contribution plastic soup
Fibres come loose when washing clothes. These are rinsed with the rinse water via the sewer to the sea. The natural fibres are biodegradable, but the synthetic clothing fibres are not. This causes serious pollution of the seawater: the so-called plastic soup. Because the oceans are our largest source of oxygen and an important source of food, this can have major consequences for humans.
Ecotoxicity
Ecotoxicity shows the risk of serious environmental damage in a particular area or ecosystem when toxic substances leak out. This varies per type of substance. When processing some materials, chemicals such as solvent and chromium are used. In agriculture, pesticides can cause damage to the environment.
Pesticides
Pesticides are also called crop protection products. They are substances that protect plants and trees against diseases, pests and weeds. Their use prevents crop losses. There are chemical-synthetic (artificial) and biological pesticides. Excessive use of pesticides causes heavily polluted drinking water and food, causing all kinds of health problems for people in the area. Especially in the (non-organic) cotton cultivation large amounts of artificial pesticides are used.
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is about whether the animals have a good life and are treated well. Animal welfare is not a real environmental factor, but it is important if you want to make a sustainable choice of clothing. Animal welfare plays a role in clothing made of animal fibres such as wool and fur.
The impact of clothing?
Clothing has an impact on the environment. Each material has an impact in its own way. Various environmental factors play a role for clothing materials. That is why it is difficult to give fabrics a total score. Read more about clothing fabrics and the environment. In the clothing industry, people often work under poor working conditions. Many clothing brands and fashion chains do their best to buy 'fair' clothing. Read more about fair clothing.
Rank a Brand ranks brands on sustainability. The organisation does this on the basis of a brand's website by looking at what they say there about working conditions and the impact on the environment and climate.
Colbert2Share
The Colbert2Share campaign underlines the importance of sustainable fashion and puts slow fashion in the spotlight in collaboration with well-known Dutch people. Dutch celebrities who put on their jackets literally carry the message that parts of their clothing are fashionable.
Care, repair and refashion
You can learn how to repair
If you manage to make your own clothes, it gives you satisfaction. And you don't just do it for yourself, because doing longer with clothes is also good for the environment. You can learn to repair! On YouTube you'll find plenty of videos with explanations. If you can't do this alone, there might be someone around you who wants to help.
How were you cleaner for the environment?
Clothing lasts longer if you wash less often. Is your clothes just dirty? Usually clothes get perfectly clean at a lower temperature. You wash more economically for the environment by setting your machine to the right position: turn it to the lowest possible temperature or with the eco-button. It also makes a difference if you use less detergent. Check out the step-by-step plan below for trickier stains such as red wine, sunscreen, sweat, grease or oil.