Research Log #8 - Solutionary Project 2020

Date: March 27, 2020

Name: Tessa Domingo
Essential Question:
How does fast fashion negatively impact our environment?
Three Points to Prove: #1: fast fashion contributes to speeding up climate change
#2: fast fashion leads to a substantial amount of landfill waste
#3: fast fashion pollutes the ocean with microfibers

Point that this Source Proves: #2: fast fashion leads to a substantial amount of landfill waste
#3: fast fashion pollutes the ocean with microfibers

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

According to The Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP) – a charity that works with governments,
businesses and communities to improve resource efficiency “approximately £140m worth of clothing goes
into landfill each year.”

A statistic according to The True Cost says that the United Kingdom “[consumes] approximately 80bn pieces
of clothing – a volume which is inevitably putting strain on the planet.”

Alice Wilby tells The Independent that “this kind of misuse results in wasting perfectly usable
textiles, slowly leaking toxins into the earth and microfibers into the waterways and contributes to methane
emissions.”

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

This article talks about some of the worst fabrics in the fashion industry because of the harmful
environmental effects. The problem is increased because of the amount of clothing being produced and
thrown away. According to The Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP) – a charity that works with
governments, businesses and communities to improve resource efficiency “approximately £140m worth of
clothing goes into landfill each year”. And those articles of clothing may be made out of some of the worst
fabrics for our environment. These fabrics include cotton and synthetics (polyester, nylon, acrylic, etc.)
According to Laura Balmond--who is a project manager of Make Fashion Circular at the environment
charity, Ellen MacArthur Foundation—these synthetic fabrics are usually produced from oil and account for
sixty-three percent of the material input for textiles production. So, with that, it is apparent that more than
half of the fabric and textile productions are made using the most harmful fabrics to our environment. They
are harmful since they are not biodegradable.
A statistic according to The True Cost says that the United Kingdom “[consumes]
approximately 80bn pieces of clothing – a volume which is inevitably putting strain on the planet”. This
statistic shows the rapid turnover in the fashion industry each year. And with that, it is anticipated that by
2050 the fashion industry is expected to become the second most pollution industries. It is believed that they
will be using up about twenty five percent of the world’s carbon budget. They fashion industry is
increasingly becoming more and more polluting to our environment and using all of our limited recourses.
Alice Wilby tells The Independent that “this kind of misuse results in wasting perfectly usable
textiles, slowly leaking toxins into the earth and microfibers into the waterways and contributes to methane
emissions.” This is also apparent in the use of cotton in textiles. This is because cotton is “very water
intensive to cultivate and process” as said by Wilby. A simple single pair of jeans can take about 10,000 to
about 20,000 gallons of water to make. And a simple t-shirt can take 3,000 gallons of water to produce.
Along with that, when farming cotton, plenty of pesticides and other toxic chemicals are used which seep
inour our earth and our resources.

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

“A Guide to Choosing Eco-Friendly Fabrics for Your Wardrobe.” The Independent, Independent Digital
News and Media, 19 Aug. 2019, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fabrics-environment-fast-
fashion-eco-friendly-pollution-waste-polyester-cotton-fur-recycle-a8963921.html.

This is a reputable and reliable article because it is a known news outlet and many fashion industry experts were
interviewed for this piece.