Pollution levels have been increasing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in 1760, when people began burning fossil fuels in larger amounts in order to power new machinery. Beginning on the industrial level, to meet people’s everyday needs, the ability to produce more items, more quickly began to emit significant amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which are all considered to be greenhouse gasses. The Earth’s atmosphere holds gasses and the greenhouse gasses restrict heat from escaping. The more greenhouse gasses emitted, heat the Earth, and since the Industrial Revolution have increased the amount of CO2 in the air by over a third (nasa). Since the 18th century, the rise in number of consumer products that people rely on, being produced in a short period of time, and the societal demand to own more, has contributed to an increase in pollution on an industrial level. The dependency created by the ease of access for necessary materials has increased the carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million in the last 150 years (nasa). The scientists that compose the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have also concluded that human-produced emissions of greenhouse gasses are the cause of most of the temperature increases over the last 50 years. One of the largest industries that has contributed to this, significantly increasing since World War II, is the fast fashion industry. “Fast fashion” means clothing that is moved from the design to the store at a rapid pace.
Outsourcing has become an increasingly large part of industrial production, beginning shortly after World War II with apparel and textile manufacturers, in Japan (forbes). Productivity, in Japan, rose by five times between 1955 and 1961 with the increase of overseas production facilities (Sakabe). Currently, China, Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam are the largest garment exporters in the world, three of which, are also amongst the top 10 most polluted countries in the world (numbeo). This shows a direct correlation between countries with high manufacturing facilities and how they cause high pollution levels. Some countries are working towards improving their air quality, such as China, by implementing regulations on these companies.
China has reduced the number of fine particles in their air, by about 32% in 4 years. It took the United States a dozen years, and a recession to reach the same decline in percentage. They’ve implemented changes on the industrial level because they are known as one of the most polluted countries in the world. Through this decrease, China has added about 3.5 years to the lives of those who live in the country (Greenstone). They recognized the negative impacts pollution can have on their people and implemented change to increase life expectancy.
In the 1990’s Mexico City suffered impenetrable smog. The city’s government worked to limit traffic, shut down coal-fired plants, mandate cleaner fuels and catalytic converters in order to lower their pollution levels by 50%. Now the mountain top that oversees the city is visible again. During this same period, New Delhi was beginning to face pollution issues, as well. However, they did not take the initiative to limit emission levels on either the individual or corporate level. There are 13 thermal power plants that surround the capital and contribute to it’s smog-filled air. New Delhi is now one of the most polluted cities in the world, because they didn’t implement limitations on the emissions exported by the plants that surround them. There are also 4 other heavily populated cities in India that may have higher levels of molecules in the air than New Delhi. Two of the more heavily polluted areas in the world, India and China, are still dependent on coal as an energy resource, therefore they stay highly polluted because of the greenhouse gasses this power source emits.
Mexico City saw the changes necessary in order to improve their living circumstances, but some of the biggest leaders in India don’t believe that the increase in pollution has negative affects on its people and are reluctant to change (Larmer). India’s former environment minister dismissed a report about India having the top 100 most polluted cities and rejected a study about the connection between pollution and mortality. China recognized that high smog levels decrease the lives of its people and therefore, implemented change in order to better their society.
Over all, the World Bank estimates that air pollution already drains at least $55 billion worth of labor output alone from the Indian economy every year (Larmer). So the costs of changing resources to promote more renewable energy is expensive, but the losses caused by pollution are of the same value. In the fashion industry, which is the third biggest industry in the world, and employs around 25 million people in the manufacturing department (Strijbos).
With China seeing such drastic and impactful results in such a short period of time, it only seems natural that other leading countries will be soon to follow along, therefore making the rest of the world more self aware of their emissions and creating ways to diminish them. They started on an industrial level, which helps show the individual the steps it takes to lower air pollution levels. By limiting big manufacturers, people are forced to change their tendencies in terms of how many materials they need to buy if the manufacturers are producing less in order to better the air and waste less water. Water usage is also an important aspect of garment production and is a huge waste the industry faces, using almost 3,000 gallons in order to create a single cotton tee shirt.
The world is dominated by consumers and every item produced emits a certain level of pollution. For example, the new trend of “fast fashion” is causing harmful emissions to be reproduced more quickly than it had been in the early 2000’s when fashion trends didn’t move so quick. It takes 2,700 liters of water to produce one cotton tee shirt, which equates to the same amount of water one person could drink in 2.5 years. The production of polyester products in 2015 equated to the same amount of pollution emitted by 185 coal-fired power plants. In looking at the numbers of just the fashion industry, alone, a large number of harmful products are emitted into the atmosphere because people are keeping their clothes for a shorter amount of time (Drew). The United States is spending about 100 billion dollars more on clothing than Europe, however most of the clothing production facilities are not located in the United States.
Some of the biggest fashion industries in the world are located in highly polluted areas. Often when people look at the tags on their clothing it will say “made in China” or “made in India” or “made in Vietnam,” which are in the top ten most polluted countries in the world. China, one of the worlds leaders in air pollution is, also, the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of garments (Kane, 1), with it controlling 47% of their GDP. The garment industry consumes 25.8% of India’s GDP (Kane, 2), the second most polluted country in the world (Harake). To see such a direct relationship with garment production and pollution in the areas where they are largely manufactured isn’t a coincidence. The fast fashion industry is causing a depletion of resources and waste.
The Aral Sea in Central Asia has dried because the Soviet Union began irrigating it for crops in the 1950’s and the sea has been used to water cotton plants, which are a water intensive crop. One of the more prominent fabrics used in the fashion industry is the altered “conventional cotton” which is “one of the most unsustainable fibers in the world” according to Katharine Hamnett, a fashion designer and environmentalist (Hoskins). The industry having the power to drain an entire sea shows an issue with water waste in clothing production, but there are ways to improve the water waste and high pollution levels, to prevent draining any more bodies of water or decreasing any lifespans.With recycle programs in place and making people more aware of the pollution levels caused by their clothing, this could quickly change.
Certain companies, such as The Reformation, based in Los Angeles, California, are working on their emission levels. California is also one of the most air polluted states in the United States. This company repurposes vintage or used clothing, diminishing the need to completely recreate new fabrics. They also use Tencel which is made from renewable plant materials (Our Stuff). This fabric uses 80% less water in it’s production, than cotton. They are working towards lowering emissions, while keeping up with “fast fashion” demands. The awareness of pollution in an industry that reaches everyone, is important because by lowering emission levels of clothing production, it could help countries, like China and India that are struggling to lower their pollution levels, by implementing change on an industrial level, rather than working to meet a country’s regulations. Also, through creating trendy and sustainable clothing, it changes the fashion industry on a societal level, making it more fashionable to wear clothing that creates less waste in its production.
In an article, from World Resources Institute, it shows several different charts that analyze and compare the data of current emissions and those of the past. The first chart compares a traditional 2 cycle production of garments in order to meet a 2 season trend change over the course of a year, with a 50 cycle production, that has become more common with “fast fashion.” It’s easy to conclude from this data that the industry is changing, but it’s effects are not positive, in terms of the environment. The quick turnover of new trends, creates significantly more products, which leads to more consistent air pollution and more water waste. The industry doesn’t last, which is it’s draw on a consumer level, but needs to be addressed on its pollution and emission levels.
However, because companies are working on making more sustainable and renewable clothing, the awareness of the high levels of greenhouse gasses that garment manufacturers produce, helps to make changes that could benefit the Earth’s atmosphere. This aids the argument that pollution reduction changes aren’t reliant on a country’s restrictions of emissions, like China has implemented, but can be changed at the industrial level. The World Resources Institute, also suggests that an individual can help in the reduction of negative air particles by buying from lower production facilities, or from companies that are aware of their carbon footprint and refuse to emit as much as the bigger production companies. This shows that lowering pollution levels trickles down to the consumer or individual level and can be adjusted very quickly with societal influences and change.
Manufacturers are aware of the negative emissions they produce, but in order to meet demand and stay relevant, they have to be able to transfer clothing from a design to a physical garment, in stores, as quickly as possible. Zara, for example, is known for being able to create a drawing into a product, on the floor, within 15 days. This quick overturn is what consumers expect, but they may not know the environmental cost of their spending. If manufacturers implement changes to promote less greenhouse gas emissions and advertise cleaner air through their products, it could start a trend, that forces the consumer to understand the pollutive implications behind their purchases, and make them understand the importance of slowing down fashion to keep it sustainable.
Some of the biggest brands such as Levi’s and Patagonia are working on creating more sustainable clothing with less product and water waste without decrease in sales. They’re creating solutions on a company-wide level in order to promote a better environment. However, they don’t promote the use of less waste on a large enough scale for their consumers to know that the products they are purchasing, have hurt the environment less in their creation process. Especially now, with a constant awareness to how people can individually affect the pollution around them, the appeal for sustainable clothing seems to be growing. If the cost of that sustainability is slowing down fast fashion, it may be one consumers are willing to make.
The fashion industry is the third largest industry in profitability, making it one of the largest in the world allowing it’s emission levels to be one of the most prominent. It is proven that lifespan and pollution directly correlate, the more pollution, the shorter the lifespan. However, there are other forms of pollution that people produce in their daily lives, such as car emissions, housing heaters, and the use of coal for energy. By taking action to lessen the number of cars on the road at a time, and the amount of emissions corporations can emit, it will helps clean the air and promote a prospering environment on various levels of society.
China, the United States, and India all share high levels of pollution because they have similar negative polluters. However they each work to change their atmosphere’s in a different way. China “declared war against pollution” and spent the last 4 years heavily combating their emissions, even at the cost of leaving some of it’s people without heat for the winter. The United States made significant effort in the late 1990’s, but with our current Trump administration not believing in climate change, there is little being done at a government level to improve the negative emissions output. India seemed to have a similar mindset, even though it’s cities are coated in smog, but they are now working towards improving their pollution levels, clearing their skies, and resurrecting their monuments that have been affected by the particles in the air.
If some of the biggest countries in the world can recognize a problem and work to make changes to better the environment and one of the largest industries in the world can make their products more sustainable and their creation process more clean, then people, as individuals, should be able to implement changes in their daily lives to promote an environment that can thrive. One of the easiest changes can begin with consumer’s being aware of the sustainability of their clothing and seeing the appeal of clothes that were made with less water and created less greenhouse gasses in their production. It is common knowledge to carpool to lower car emissions or shower for shorter periods of time to decrease water waste, but if people implement a similar mindset on the products they buy, it’s a closer step to a healthy environment. With efforts being put in on a governmental level and an industrial level, it is now time for everyday people to make changes in their daily habits in order to promote a healthy planet.