DAMAGES CAUSED BY FABRIC WASTE TO NATURE

With the 'fast fashion' trend that has become widespread around the world, many of us have started not to use clothes that we think are out of fashion but are still usable.

With the introduction of new products, the popularity of the products that were fashionable at that time is decreasing. In the mentioned trend, products that were fashionable for a period of time quickly lose their popularity and are replaced by different products. And this; It is one of the important reasons why textile waste is increasing faster than before.

WHAT ARE TEXTILE WASTES?

Substances that emerge after consumer use (clothes and home textile products that are out of shape, out of fashion, worn or torn beyond use) and the production processes of the textile industry (such as waste produced by artificial yarn factories, waste from textile manufacturing) are textile wastes.

In the research conducted; Between 2000 and 2014, it was observed that world ready-made clothing production doubled and consumers consumed an average of 60% more than before.

Clothing waste left to nature can disappear within hundreds of years, as they contain cotton, polyester and other petroleum-based substances, as well as chemicals used in dyeing and bleaching. In this process, of course, the harmful substances carried by the clothes mix with the soil, air and water. 

It is known that the clothing and textile industry is the sector that causes the most pollution after the oil industry at the global level, and according to UN data, it produces 10% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

The waste produced from the fashion industry affects humans, plants and animals equally.

Fashion industry waste can be waste generated before production, after production and during the process. Chemicals, colorants, oil, grease and microfibers are some of the waste products released into the environment.

 The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of total Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Potential GHGs; carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrogen oxide and sulfur. These gases cause air pollution, acid rain and global warming. Soot, ash and sawdust formed by combustion mix with the air and pollute it. This can cause respiratory diseases in humans - asthma and upper respiratory tract illnes

2.   The ecological footprint of textile products made using cotton is HUGE. This sector; It is responsible for 20 percent of water pollution and 35 percent of microplastic pollution in the oceans. 20 thousand LT of water is required just for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

  The general lifespan of a piece of fabric is about 5 years.

        Cotton farming has also been modified at an incredible pace to keep up with the fast fashion industry. In order to obtain more and faster products, genetically modified (GMO) cotton production has reached its peak. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used also cause irreversible damage to the soil and farmers.

      Seas and rivers are victims of fashion

        At the same time, the amount of water used in fabric production is much higher than known. The fashion industry is the second largest water consuming industry in the world. The amount of water a person can drink for 3.5 years is used in the production of a single cotton t-shirt. 

The Aral Sea is expected to dry out completely within 50 years due to the cotton growing fields on its shores in Uzbekistan.

 Aside from the consumption of groundwater, the toxic waste released into the nature after dyeing and bleaching processes has also dried up many rivers in 'third world countries' or made them unapproachable. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of water pollution worldwide.

    Wearing your clothes for just three more months reduces your water and carbon footprint by 5% to 10%.

3. Clothes Going to Landfills:

According to the world average, each consumer throws away an average of 32 kg of shoes and clothes per year.

4- Ocean Pollution Caused by Textile and Fashion Industry:

Clothing produces half a million tonnes of microfibers (equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles) that reach the oceans.

The lives of marine animals are at risk due to pollution from the textile industry. Microfiber pollution changes the entire aquatic ecosystem and causes the death of marine life.

The damage that fashion causes to the environment does not end with the problems that arise during production. Microfibers, especially those found in polyester fabrics, mix with wastewater when we wash our clothes in washing machines, pass through wastewater treatment plants undissolved, and reach the seas, causing water pollution and fish extinction. There is even new research showing that some fish we eat contain microfiber residues in their systems. The pests we release into nature without thinking can come and find us, as usual.

5- Water Pollution:

Different chemicals are used in the manufacturing stages of products. The dyeing process in the textile and fashion industry uses enough water to fill 2 million Olympic swimming pools each year. 

Like most industries, the textile industry releases chemical waste, oils and dyes into water bodies. Waste products are toxic and dangerous products that threaten aquatic life and are unfit for drinking. This is a huge problem for millions of people whose lives depend on water. Research conducted; shows that the fashion industry contributes to 20% of the world's water pollution.

The use of synthetic textiles such as polyester has increased in the fashion industry. According to a report published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2017, 35% of microplastics in the oceans were created by washing synthetic textiles.

6- Hazards to which Workers in Fashion and Textile Industries are Exposed:

Approximately 27 million workers in the fashion industry are affected by work-related diseases. Skin and eye diseases are especially common among those working in bleaching and dyeing departments.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF TEXTILE FACILITIES

The important effects that textile facilities may have on the environment can be listed as follows:

High amounts of water are used in textile factories, causing ground and/or surface water levels to decrease,

Wastewater has high levels of chemical parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS) (e.g. fiber and oil), chemical oxygen demand (COD), TDS (total dissolved solids) and organic halogens. While high BOD and COD reduce the dissolved oxygen level of water in receiving environments, it threatens aquatic life and causes a decrease in aesthetic value and downstream water use quality.

It causes unpleasant odor due to high COD, sulfur and sulfite.