The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Buying new clothing can be harmful to the environment and violate human rights, but thrifting is an alternative that helps decrease the harm done around the world.
How our clothes are made is not often found at the forefront of our minds. But the manufacturing of much of our clothing is wasteful and harmful to the environment.
A recent investigation by Greenpeace, a global campaigning organization for the health of the earth, revealed an industry-wide problem that is severely hurting the environment. Out of 15 global brands 14 brands’ clothing contained hormone-disrupting chemicals known as nonylphenol ethoxylates or NPEs.
These NPEs are known to break down into “toxic, persistent and hormone-disrupting” contaminants that affect wildlife and people; the greatest impact being on the rivers and environment around the factories that produce the clothing.
It can be difficult to keep the environmental effects in mind when buying new clothing from a company like Nike when one of their largest factories in Yichun, China is 7,200 miles from Stevens Point.
Wisconsinites are far-removed from the pollution which makes it is easy to forget about. But when those clothes are washed here in the U.S. those same chemicals are finding their way into our waterways as well, according to the study by Greenpeace.
Chemicals from the manufacturing of the clothing are not the only environmental concern. The distance clothing and shoes travel to reach consumers increases the carbon footprint via the coal and oil used in transportation.
Then there is agriculture; Cotton is one of the most popular materials used in clothing manufacturing, and the USDA reports 25 percent of all pesticide use in the U.S. is attributed to the crop.
Polyester, another common material used in clothing production, is made from large quantities of crude oil and the process releases volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gasses, all of which cause respiratory disease.
Through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Environmental Protection Agency considers most clothing factories to be sources of hazardous waste.
In addition to the environmental effects of clothing production, human rights worldwide are of serious concern.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average wage of a Chinese factory worker as 1.74 USD in 2009. With Nike having 169 factories in China, the largest of them employing 11,500 people, that is a large number of overworked and underpaid people.
Although there have been large strides in the transparency of overseas factories made in recent years from major companies, one can only wonder what is still being kept from the public.
Unfortunately, the problems do not stop there. The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste reports that the average American throws out 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year.
There are over 80 billion pieces of clothing sold every year worldwide, up 400 percent from just 20 years ago, with China the leading exporter of clothing.
“The True Cost,” a film by Andrew Morgan about the clothing industry, reports that only 10 percent of clothing donated to thrift stores end up being sold, with the rest ending up in landfills in developing countries.
There is a way to combat this, despite the discouraging statistics.
A survey in 2006 by America’s Research Group, a consumer trends research firm, found that 12-15 percent of Americans shop at consignment or thrift stores. The Council for Textile Recycling estimates that 2.5 billion pounds of postconsumer textile waste, anything made of fabric, is collected and thus prevented from directly entering the waste stream thanks to thrift stores.
In Stevens Point, there are at least seven resale or thrift stores, from larger companies such as Goodwill, to locally owned businesses like Nice as New. The consumer’s dollar is much more traceable through resale stores which are not manufacturing their products.
Kyle McKenzie, senior psychology major, said he has only purchased clothing from thrift shops for years. After taking several minutes to think, he said the last time he bought a new shirt was in 2014 for a special occasion. The pollution and landfill waste that is a result of the clothing industry were most shocking to him, but he shops there primarily for the price.
Being a college student, Mckenzie does not think it makes sense to buy clothing at full price, nor will it after he earns his degree.
The only apparel items he buys new are his shoes, which he usually gets from Nike.
When asked whether or not learning about the environmental impacts or human rights violations of the clothing industry would change his mind about buying his shoes new, he said no, “I could never wear somebody else’s shoes.”
Buying post-consumer clothing and shoes cuts back on the negative effects that most people are unaware of, not to mention the cheaper price tags seen in thrift stores which can help college students and others with budgets.
McKenzie said he will consider shopping at a thrift store this year for non-clothing items as gifts because it is more affordable. If environmental influences are not enough to convince shoppers to switch to thrift stores, at least the price tags will.
Samantha Stein
Reporter
sstei173@uwsp.edu
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