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Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

businessinsider.com

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Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#21

Post by toss1 »

SapporoChris wrote: post #12

First I was shamed for driving a car, then flying, now wearing clothes. Fine, I'm a terrible person. I'm going to stop trying now. sarcasm

Not clothes, artificial clothes.

From TFA: "Many of those fibers are polyester, a plastic found in an estimated 60% of garments. Producing polyester releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton, and polyester does not break down in the ocean."

I'm not sure if it is more the consumers or the producers driving it, but it's almost impossible now to find actual 100% cotton clothing., at least in the US. It seems that an entire generation or mor literally does not know what genuine cotton jeans feel like.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#22

Post by wil421 »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

If you really want to do go down this path I would highly recommend Patagonia wornwear. They get a lot of hate for their prices but they are trying to be as sustainable as possible. The Ironclad guarantee is one of the best.

eBay is full of their used stuff and some neat retro gear.

https://wornwear.patagonia.com

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#24

Post by pergadad »

tito wrote: post #3

10% of global emissions are for clothing. Wow! And growing..."If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050" (from the article) Flights: 2.5% of global emissions [1] Maritime shipping: 4.0% of global emissions [2] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/climate/air-travel-emissi... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_shippi...

The shipping numbers are rather dubious. No way it's actually"just" that much. Reporting is lacking and even where it's enforced shippers use defeat devices (that secretly pump pollution into the water rather than spew it in the air) or a second, weaker engine.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#25

Post by bilbo0s »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

I mean, would you order online, and then have it shipped to you?

That might be an improvement over what we have now? But I suspect that it's hardly ideal. Unless you were geographically restricted in what you could order. (ie - No ordering some wiz-bang base layers from a family that happens to be in Norway when you live in Minneapolis.)

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#26

Post by leggomylibro »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

What about thrift stores or organizations like Goodwill? Those places have lots of secondhand clothes, houseware, and small appliances.

You might have trouble finding a used A/C in the middle of July, and you might have to try a few locations to find what you're looking for, but it's less trouble than plenty of stuff that people do to be more eco-friendly.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#27

Post by riffraff »

chimi wrote: post #13
amacalac wrote: post #5

That's interesting. I was thinking about this a lot over the past 2-3 weeks. The sheer amount of clothing lying in all the shops across the world. Talk a walk into any Macy's / Bloomingdales / Hudsons Bay and count the number of items of clothing. Then multiply that across that one store's chain of shops. Then realize there are multiple chains like that. Then realize there are multiple stores not in chains. Then real…

All the industries are competing to be the one by which you display your worth to society. The order as I see it is: House, Car, Clothes, Phone. Jewelry goes in there somewhere. Each of these products is trying to convince you of their value, excess value really, so you will spend your money on them, yet the expense of the product isn't worth much. You need a house to protect you from the weather and other people. Af…

I would argue the issue with clothing is the opposite: you can buy very cheap clothes now. H&M,Zara,C&A,Terranova etc all allow you to get a t-shirt, skirt, dress or whatever for ten bucks.

It's cheap synthetic and won't last long but who cares, you paid ten bucks for it.

And so each season you buy 3-4 new ones...

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#28

Post by std_throwaway »

Money spent = Emissions generated (direct or indirect by further spending)

If you want to save CO2, then save as much money as you can in paper form. Don't spend, don't invest. Instead keep everything as cash. This also has indirect effects by slowing down the economy which reduces money flow for other people, too.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#29

Post by throwaway66920 »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

Well, for one, that would vastly reduce economic growth. But aside from that, there’s not many things that fit X in the scheme of things you purchase frequently. Packaging / containers of consumed items is a big one. Fashion might be but probably not.

The example I hear a lot for some reason is power tools. Yeah it would be great to share power tools because you only need them once or twice... but you only buy them once or twice otherwise. It’s a good idea to help poor communities consolidate resources but it’s hard to help large communities reduce their eco foot prints

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#30

Post by WillPostForFood »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

I'd settle for better data before we start burning down the clothing industry. 10% of global carbon from clothes seems unlikely. No source with data cited in the article, or the article that is cited.
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