Unity Secondary School

English Language Department

Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Theme: Environment Extensive Reading

Package
Secondary 4E
Semester 2

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Tips to use this extensive reading package well ☺

1) You are encouraged to read extensively. In other words, your main goals are
to build up your reading speed as you get the main ideas and to finish reading
all the articles in this package without much difficulty.

o Scan this QR code below if you need a revision on skimming and scanning
skills (Try to recall what you have learnt in Secondary 1).

2) Read the chart below to have a better grasp on how to interpret news articles.
Do remember that this is a thinking tool to guide you in understanding the main
ideas in an article quickly.

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Assigned Reading 1

Ultra-fast fashion charms young despite damaging environment

Published on: July 29, 2022

LONDON — So-called "ultra-fast fashion" has won legions of young fans who are able to
snap up relatively cheap clothes online, but campaigners say the trend masks darker
environmental problems.

Britain's Boohoo, China's SHEIN and Hong Kong's Emmiol are the main players in a
sector that produces items and collections at breakneck speed and rock-bottom prices.

Their internet-based business model provides fierce competition to better-known "fast

fashion" chains with physical stores, like Sweden's H&M and Spain's Zara.

According to Bloomberg, SHEIN generated US$16 billion (S$22.13 billion) in global sales
last year.

However, environmental pressure groups slam the "throwaway clothing" phenomenon as

grossly wasteful — it takes 2,700 litres of water to make one T-shirt that is swiftly binned.

"Many of these cheap clothes end up... on huge dump sites, burnt on open fires, along
riverbeds and washed out into the sea, with severe consequences for people and the
planet," Greenpeace says.

Nevertheless, with inflation across the globe soaring to the highest level in decades,
there is huge demand for low-price garments.

After the coronavirus pandemic, high-street shops with big overhead costs are struggling
to compete.

‘QUANTITY NOT QUALITY’

With T-shirts costing just the equivalent of US$4.80 and bikinis and dresses selling for
just under US$10, for high-school students, such as 18-year-old Lola from the French
city of Nancy, ultra-fast fashion shopping appears to offer unbeatable bargains.

Turning a blind eye to the environmental cost, she says brands such as SHEIN allow her
to follow the latest trends "without spending an astronomical amount".

Lola says she normally places two or three orders per month on SHEIN with an average
combined value of 70 euros (S$99) for about 10 items.

Much of the success of SHEIN, which was founded in late 2008, is attributable to its
massive presence on social media networks, such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

In so-called "haul" videos, customers unwrap SHEIN packages, try on clothes and review
them online.

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

On TikTok alone, there are 34.4 billion mentions of the hashtag #SHEIN and six billion
for #SHEINhaul.

The brands also extend their reach via low-cost partnerships with so-called social-media
influencers to build trust and increase sales.

Irish influencer Marleen Gallagher, 45, who works with SHEIN and other firms, praised
them for offering broader-size ranges.

"They are unrivalled when it comes to choices for plus-size women," she told AFP.

CARBON FOOTPRINT
But not only does the industry have a reputation for devouring valuable resources and
damaging the environment, ultra-fast fashion companies have also been plagued by
scandals over allegedly poor working conditions in their factories.

Swiss-based NGO Public Eye discovered in November 2022 that employees in some
SHEIN factories worked up to 75 hours per week, in contravention of China's labour
laws. Britain's Boohoo similarly faced criticism following media reports that its suppliers
were underpaying workers in Pakistan.

The industry's carbon footprint is equally disastrous.

The French Agency for Ecological Transition estimates that fast fashion accounts for 2
per cent of global greenhouse emissions per year — as much as air transport and
maritime traffic combined.

It comes as no surprise, then, that climate campaigner Greta Thunberg is damning.

"The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate and ecological emergency, not
to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited
around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables,"
Ms Thunberg wrote last year.

The authorities are also beginning to scrutinise the brands' practices.

The British Competition and Markets Authority has opened a "greenwashing" probe
against Boohoo, Asos and George at Asda over concerns that some of the
environmental claims about their products are misleading.

Adapted from: https://www.todayonline.com/world/ultra-fast-fashion-charms-young-despite-damaging-

environment-1957076

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Assigned Reading 2

Dark side of fast fashion: Environment pays high price for richer
nations’ cast-offs

Published on: 24 April 2023

The hidden cost of fast fashion is clothes that are produced cheaply, worn
briefly and discarded.

Each year, an estimated 100 billion garments are purchased globally, and some 92
million tonnes are thrown out – a figure which has been on the rise.

EXPLORING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

At recycling firm Helpsy, staff categorise some textiles by brand and condition before
they are resold, while others are bundled and sent directly to companies and charities.

Every day, some 100,000 items are collected across four huge warehouses. In New
Jersey, for instance, about 20,000 pieces are sorted five days a week, in a bid to keep
these textiles in people’s closets and out of landfill.

“In 1999, the typical American threw away 44 pounds of clothes. Now, they throw away
more than 100 pounds of clothes. This is a hugely growing problem,” said Mr Dan Green,
co-founder and chief executive officer of Helpsy.

“It’s really a US-centric problem, and we believe it’s a major contributor to climate
change. So one of the reasons that we really got excited about clothing recycling, and
this direction for Helpsy is to extend the number of wears that each piece of clothing has.

PROBLEM GOES BEYOND AMERICA

The problem stretches far beyond America’s borders. Countries in the global south have
become a dumping ground for richer nations’ cast-offs. For example, about 15 million
pieces of secondhand clothing arrive in Ghana every week, mostly from the United
States and Europe, according to The Or Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

Environmentalists warn that more than 40 per cent of it ends up on beaches or in waste
facilities.

Experts stress the need for transparent and ethical supply chains. This includes knowing
where materials come from, where they end up, and reimagining what materials are
being used in the first place.

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

“I think the fashion industry has an amazing opportunity to drive innovation through
sustainability over the next 10 years. They can do this in a number of ways,” said
Professor Tensie Whelan, director of the Stern Center for Sustainable Business at New
York University.

“One is around the materials that they use. So we’re seeing an enormous amount of
innovation, and everything from using sawdust-eating fungi to make leather, to growing
leather in labs, to materials made out of discarded milk.

“So there’s all this innovation happening to reuse the products in the materials, that’s one
really exciting innovation.”

USING OLD PRODUCTS TO MAKE NEW ONES

Another way, she added, is improving circularity, or using old products to make new
ones. Some trailblazers in the industry are doing that by styling unwanted materials into
imaginative new wardrobes.

At the New York Fashion Week this year, eco-friendly fashion brand Collina Strada used
the platform to raise awareness about environmental issues.

The animal-inspired collection, titled “Please Don’t Eat My Friends", was made using a
range of sustainable and upcycled fabrics.

“Primarily we use a lot of deadstock materials, things that are sourced in Los Angeles
and New Jersey, and crazy basements all over the world, and we work with our factories,
if they have deadstock materials,” said Ms Hillary Taymour, Creative Director of Collina
Strada.

Adapted from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/dark-side-fast-fashion-environment-damage-

richer-nations-3439166

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

Assigned Reading 3

Singaporeans highly aware of environmental issues but

adoption of green practices lags: OCBC climate index
Published on: August 17, 2021

SINGAPORE - The average Singaporean is highly aware of environmental issues,

adopts many green practices some of the time, and advocates some of these issues
and practices to friends and family.

These are the findings of a climate index launched on Tuesday (Aug 17) by OCBC
Bank in partnership with Eco-Business, a media and business intelligence company.

OCBC said it hopes to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire
people to modify their lifestyle and act responsibly.

Singapore, in recognition of the existential threat climate change poses to the island,
unveiled its Green Plan 2030 earlier this year. Under the Paris Agreement,
Singapore is committed to halve carbon emissions by 2050.

The inaugural OCBC Climate Index national average came at 6.7 points - with
Singaporeans scoring an average of 8.3 for awareness, 6.5 for adoption and 5.6 for
advocacy.

The index also showed that Singaporeans had high awareness of the environmental
issues across four lifestyle themes - transport, home, food and goods - even though
it was not reflected in terms of their adoption of green practices.

Ninety-five per cent of the respondents who can drive were aware that travelling by
car generates 12 times more CO2 emissions than travelling by train. Yet 78 per cent
of them drive for over 30 minutes a day, on average.

While 87 per cent of those surveyed said they know that air-conditioners emit the
most CO2 emissions of all household appliances, 34 per cent of them use air-cons at
home for more than seven hours a day, on average.

Red meat consumption is responsible for releasing greenhouse gases such as

methane, CO2, and nitrous oxide.

Among respondents who eat meat, 76 per cent were aware of the environmental
impact of their choice, yet almost half of them consume red meat more than twice a
week, on average.

However, 77 per cent of red meat-eaters showed willingness to reduce their

consumption.
 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Some 81 per cent knew that one plastic bag takes 500 years to degrade. Yet 78 per
cent do not bring reusable bags with them whenever they go shopping.

The Climate Index found that the top two reasons for not adopting green practices
were cost and inconvenience, followed by reasons such as finding it hard to maintain
sustainable habits, feeling that the status quo is sufficient, not caring about the issue,
and believing that individual action is too small to make an impact.

At a virtual media briefing, Ms Koh Ching Ching, OCBC's head of group brand and
communications, said, the Index gives an indication of where Singaporeans are in
terms of knowledge and lifestyle habits that affect climate change.

"We hope that the Index can raise Singaporeans' awareness on the carbon
emissions driven from human activities and to nudge more environmentally
sustainable behavioural change."

Ms Jessica Cheam, founder and managing director of Eco-Business, noted that the
average Singapore resident generates over 8,000kg of carbon emissions annually
according to SP Group's My Carbon Footprint calculator.

That is more than twice the world's average and far above the target to maintain a
sustainable footprint, she said.

"As even small actions accumulate and contribute to a rise in global carbon
emissions, every individual has a key role in reducing their own emissions by
adopting more sustainable practices," said Ms Cheam.

She hoped that the Index would provide an intimate look at the attitudes and
behaviour of Singapore residents towards climate change and help inform policy,
business and consumer decisions.

Adapted from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/sporeans-highly-aware-of-

environmental-issues-but-adoption-of-green-practices

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

Assigned Reading 4

Supermarkets say they won't charge more than 5 cents a bag;

proceeds to go to social, environmental causes.

FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime Supermarket will all
charge the mandatory 5 cents minimum for each plastic bag from July 3.

Published on: 7 March 2023

SINGAPORE: Major supermarkets in Singapore said they will not charge more than 5
cents per plastic bag when the mandatory charge for disposable carrier bags kicks
in from July 3.

NTUC FairPrice, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong and DFI Retail Group – which
oversees Cold Storage and Giant – told CNA that their outlets will charge the minimum
mandatory amount per plastic bag from the start date.

Supermarket operators with an annual turnover of more than S$100 million will be
required to charge customers at least 5 cents for each disposable carrier bag. Such large
supermarket operators account for around two-thirds – or about 400 – of all
supermarkets in Singapore.

The charge will not apply to non-carrier bags such as flat-top plastic bags for fresh
produce, meat or seafood.

Prime Supermarket currently has 24 outlets while Sheng Siong has 68. Neither
supermarket charges for plastic bags currently.

A Sheng Siong spokesperson said that the supermarket was collaborating with non-
governmental organisation Zero Waste SG on a three-month long campaign to
encourage customers to use recyclable bags for groceries.

Prime Supermarket is looking into bringing in reusable bags for its customers to buy "at a
lower cost".

"We definitely will work on it to educate consumers the importance of (a) green
environment," the spokesperson added, when asked how the supermarket will
encourage consumers to switch to sustainable alternatives of carrier bags.

Meanwhile, DFI Retail Group said Cold Storage and Giant currently offer a range of
reusable bags for use, and plan to introduce more to encourage customers to make the
switch to reusable bags. Both supermarket chains have 101 stores here.

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu

 Unity Secondary School
English Language Department
Secondary 4 Express/ Normal Academic

"In-store communications and our friendly team members will continue to remind and
encourage customers about our reusable bag options," said a spokesperson.

NTUC FairPrice, the largest supermarket chain in Singapore, first introduced a plastic
bag charge at selected outlets in September 2019, where seven selected supermarkets
and convenience stores charged customers for plastic bags.

In 2022, the initiative was implemented across all 178 Cheers and FairPrice Xpress
convenience stores and 11 FairPrice supermarkets, according to a spokesperson.

The retailer, which has 230 outlets here, said it had saved more than 57 million plastic
bags last year from its "No Plastic Bag" initiative.

"Over the coming months, we hope to work in partnership with the relevant government
agencies to continually remind shoppers that there will be a mandated charge for
disposable plastic bags in supermarkets," the spokesperson said.

As part of the proposed legislation, supermarket operators will be required to publish

information on the number of bags issued, the proceeds received from the bag charge
and how these proceeds are used. They are encouraged to channel the proceeds into
social or environmental causes.

While the grocers confirmed to CNA that proceeds would be used for social and
environmental causes, most said that specific details have yet to be finalised. NTUC
FairPrice's past proceeds went towards supporting green initiatives, including a
S$180,000 contribution to the National Parks Board's OneMillionTrees movement.

Adapted from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/plastic-bag-charge-supermarkets-5-

cents-minimum-proceeds-3329151

Prepared by: Ms Janet Xu