 WHILE THERE’S BEEN AN INCREASE IN ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS,

LANDFILLS ARE STEADILY PILING UP.

 TEXTILE WASTE DIVERSION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THESE
GROWING LANDFILLS.
 IN THE PHILIPPINES ALONE, 29% THROW AWAY CLOTHES USED JUST
ONCE. GLOBALLY, THIS AMOUNTS TO 60 BILLION SQUARE METERS OF
TEXTILE WASTE.
 MOST CLOTHES THESE DAYS ARE MADE WITH SYNTHETIC FIBERS SUCH
AS POLYESTER, NYLON, ACRYLIC, AND SPANDEX, WHICH CAN TAKE 20-
200 YEARS TO DEGRADE.
 ASIDE FROM LANDFILLS, THEY POISON WATERWAYS AND MARINE
LIFE.
 THE PRODUCTION OF A SINGLE SHIRT ALSO TAKES 2,700 LITERS OF
WATER, PLUS HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS USED FOR DYEING.
 BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE RESOURCES THAT GO INTO THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY, IT
HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS
EMISSIONS COMPARED TO OTHER RECYCLABLES.
QUESTION

WE CONDUCTED A RANDOM INTERVIEW AND ASKED THE QUESTION: ARE YOU AWARE THAT 11
MILLION TONS OF CLOTHES ARE BEING THROWN EACH YEAR?

RESULT

AMONG TEN RESPONDENTS THAT WE HAVE INTERVIEWED, SEVEN OF THEM ARE

NOT AWARE OF HOW ENORMOUS TEXTILE INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES TO THE
WORLD’S CLOTHING WASTE PROBLEM. THIS SHOWS THAT MAJORITY OF THE
PEOPLE ARE NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE THAT SIMPLY BUYING TEXTILE PRODUCTS
CAN VOLUMINOUSLY ADD TO THE WASTE PERCENTAGE OF NON-
BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS.

WHAT IS FAST FASHION?

 AS ALWAYS REMEMBER THE WASTE HIERARCHY – REDUCE,
REUSE, RECYCLE, AND RECOVER.

REDUCTION IDEAS
 UNSUBSCRIBE FROM CLOTHING STORE NEWSLETTERS: E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS
URGE IMPULSIVE PURCHASES, WHICH ARE NOT NECESSARILY THINGS YOU
WANT OR NEED.
 FIX-UP BEFORE YOU GIVE UP: THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF HOW-TO VIDEOS
ONLINE TO LEARN HOW TO SEW OR PATCH UP OLD HOLES, TAKE IN OR LET
OUT YOUR FAVORITE SHIRT, OR EVEN REPLACE A ZIPPER.
 RENTING ISN’T JUST FOR PROM TUXES: COMPANIES LIKE RENT THE RUNWAY
RENT HIGH FASHION CLOTHES FOR YOUR FANCY EVENTS. ODDS ARE YOU
WOULD NEVER WEAR THAT DRESS AGAIN ANYWAY. THEY ARE ALSO TRYING
OUT A NEW SERVICE TO ALLOW SUBSCRIBERS RENT CLOTHES ON A MONTHLY
BASIS, FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO KEEP UP WITH FAST FASHION, WITHOUT IT
ENDING UP IN THE LANDFILL.
 BUYING NEW: IF YOU MUST BUY SOMETHING NEW, TRY AND BUY
SOMETHING MADE ENTIRELY OR PARTLY FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS, OR
MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU’RE BUYING IS SOMETHING YOU WILL WANT FOR
YEARS TO COME. IT’S HARD TO KNOW FOR SURE, BUT IT’S PROBABLY NOT
WHATEVER THE PASSING FAD OF THE DAY IS. FOSTER YOU OWN STYLE,
BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU’LL WANT TO WEAR LONG TERM!

REUSE IDEAS
 SHOP THRIFT BEFORE SHOPPING NEW: IT MAY TAKE A LITTLE LONGER TO
FIND WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR, BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE
LONG RUN WHEN IT COSTS YOU $2.50 AND THE ENVIRONMENT EVEN LESS!
 HOST A CLOTHING SWAP: INVITE FRIENDS OVER SO EVERYONE CAN
OVERHAUL THEIR WARDROBE WITH NEW-TO-YOU SWAG. AFTERWARDS LET
YOUR FRIENDS KNOW THAT YOU’LL DONATE OR RECYCLE WHATEVER IS LEFT
BEHIND.
 THOUGHTFULLY DONATE YOUR CLOTHES: INSTEAD OF TREATING YOUR
CLOTHES AS WASTE – BAGGING THEM UP IN GARBAGE BAGS AND DONATING
THEM A PARKING LOT REPOSITORY ON YOUR DRIVE HOME – TAKE A LOOK AT
YOUR CLOSET, THINK ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE KEEPS
WEARING YOUR OLD CLOTHES, WHICH MIGHT MEAN HELPING PEOPLE FIND
 THEM. IF IT’S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF BRAND LOYALTY
OVER, THOSE COMPANIES MIGHT OFFER COLLECTION AND RE-SELLING LIKE
PATAGONIA’S WORN WEAR OR EILEEN FISCHER’S GREEN EILEEN. THEN THERE
ARE ONLINE THRIFT STORES LIKE THRED-UP, WHICH TAKES USED BRAND
NAME CLOTHES AND SELLS THEM. THEY OFFER THE ORGANIZATION AND
SEARCH ENGINE CAPABILITIES YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED AT YOUR LOCAL
CONSIGNMENT STORE, BUT THEY EVEN PAY FOR DONATIONS, SO YOU CAN
MAKE A BIT OF MONEY! THESE MORE TARGETED FORMS OF DONATING
MIGHT HELP THE PEOPLE WHO WANT YOUR CLOTHES FIND THEM, BUT ALSO
DONATING TO YOUR LOCAL THRIFT STORE IS STILL A GOOD OPTION. YOU CAN
FIND A LOCAL TEXTILE RECYCLER NEAR YOU AT BEYOND THE BIN!

WE CANNOT STOP WASTE PRODUCTION ENTIRELY, BUT EVERYONE CAN MAKE A SIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTION. AS ALWAYS REMEMBER THE WASTE HIERARCHY – REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, RECOVER.
UNLESS YOU STRONGLY BELIEVE IN ELON MUSK‘S IDEA OF MAKING MARS AS ANOTHER HABITABLE
PLANET, DO REMEMBER THAT THERE REALLY IS NO 'PLANET B' IN THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE.

RECYCLING IDEAS
 UPCYCLE: IF YOU HAVE AN OLD SHIRT YOU LOVE BUT CAN NO LONGER WEAR,
THINK ABOUT MAKING IT INTO A DECORATIVE PILLOW COVER, OR RE-
UPHOLSTERING A CHAIR WITH THE FABRIC!
 RAG TIME: ANYTHING CAN BE A RAG, AND YOU’LL ALWAYS NEED THEM!
BONUS POINTS FOR ELIMINATING PAPER TOWELS BY USING RECYCLED RAGS!

11 MILLION tons of clothes are being thrown each year.

Nearly every country around the globe has involvement in the textile industry, either in creation of
products, shipping of products, or in making the technology that creates the textiles. This also means
that there is an immense amount of textile mills that create waste, use precious resources, and cause
pollution.

In environmental, social, and economical perspective, textile and clothing recycling is a potentially
beneficial activity as opposed to landfilling or being used for energy. The recycling of old clothes has
been present to the Philippines for a while now as the next frontier for cities looking to reduce solid
waste. Through the reuse of clothes and textiles, we can immensely decrease energy-intensive
production of new clothes and avoid pollution.

We cannot stop waste production entirely, but everyone can make a significant contribution.

Do remember that there really is no "Planet B" in the whole universe and THIS IS THE ONLY HOME WE
HAVE.