Growing organically to save water!
The apparel industry is indeed guilty of contributing to the degradation of our ecosystems. According to the Eco Millennium Assessment, water usage is already beyond sustainable levels, which is contributing to changing ecosystems. Because the United States has moved beyond just agriculture to become an industrial country as well, more and more of our resources are being used for industrial production methods. This means that apparel production, as an industry, is contributing to the consumption of resources on top of what the agricultural community is already using. When water consumption increases, it can have detrimental impacts on other industries such as fisheries, as well as causing regional climate change and potentially allowing disease to spread. Alternative production methods, such as organic farming and alternative fibers must be implemented in order to reduce water usage in the apparel production industry.
Cotton, according to Fashioning Sustainability, is the largest single fiber in production. The water usage associated with this production is significant. The Aral Sea has even been reduced by 15% of its former volume as a result of this usage. So much water is used in the production of cotton that it takes approximately 10 tons of water to produce the cotton required for just one pair of jeans. In addition to the cotton production, the dye process in producing apparel products uses a significant amount of water. This process can also pollute the local drinking water and contribute to the problem of insufficient drinking water in some countries.
In order to solve this issue of unsustainable water usage in apparel production, we can look to organic farming methods, such as irrigation systems, to decrease water usage. According to Walsh and Brown, organic growing methods use less water and also less electricity. Other solutions include using alternative fibers such as hemp in clothing production. Hemp is stronger than cotton, has a higher abrasion resistance, and is resistant to mildew, soiling, shrinkage, and sun fading. It also requires less irrigation and pesticides. Some other bio-fibers with similar characteristics include bamboo, soy, algae, maze, agricultural waste, and nettle. By implementing a combination of organic cotton growth with alternative fiber usage, the water consumption of the apparel industry could be greatly reduced.
Walsh and Brown used a costing method to illustrate the environmental cost of T-shirts using both conventional farming methods and organic methods. I support this analysis because it provides a gauge for assessing the life-time impact of a product on the environment. It also provides companies with a way to evaluate their production procedures and make well-rounded decisions based on the environmental value of using sustainable and organic practices instead of just financial values.
Beth I definitely agree that farmers should grow organically! Per Walsh and Brown, not only does it help the earth, but it will also cut back the cost to grow cotton and help out their finances, so all-in-all it's a win-win situation!
ReplyDeleteI also think that as consumers, we should realize how bad it is for us to continue to over wash our clothes. Not only does it wear our clothes out faster, but it hurts the earth through the use of water, electricity and some of the soap we use. The environmental impacts associated with cosumer care overwhelm the impacts of all the other stages as also noted in Brown and Walsh.
Maegen,
ReplyDeleteGood point about consumer water usage. I agree that people have a tendency to overwash their clothes. I also think that there is little that apparel manufacturers can do to prevent the consumer aspect of water usage, this is why I focused more on the production end. Are there ways that you can think of to promote consumer awareness of this issue? Maybe there could be some alternative to excessive washing, like using a spray-on fabric refresher.
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DeleteYa good point on making the consumer aware of their overwashing, but I am not too sure other than for more people to become eco-friendly and spread the word with blogs, commercials, and advertisement on the clothing when purchased. We are all going to have to make a contribution to keeping world alive and washing is the most harmful and if we continue down this path, we will not be able to wear our clothing because without the earth, we are nothing. I have passed the word to the girls that I work with and I know they do not plan on washing their clothes the same!
DeleteBeth, I agree with you too about farmers growing organically! I feel like it would benefit them with getting more consumers to buy their materials as well as benefiting the apparel industry which would then help our environment, like Walsh and Brown addressed. The whole struggle is getting everyone on board to conquer this issue and getting everyone to do something about it. It obviously starts with the farmers and I think if people would pressure them into helping the environment they would gladly do it because they would be such a high demand. Our drinking water is polluted in so many different ways that we have become immune to it and have settled for it being polluted. Now, I do not think anyone even thinks about it anymore, they just drink it and use it. To answer your question about using a spray-on fabric refresher, Bath and Body Works and Target both have awesome spray-on fabric refreshers that really do work. Fresh Linen is my favorite. :)
ReplyDeleteI have seen a fabric refresher from Bounce at Wal-Mart, but I didn't know that you could get them from Bath and Body Works and Target as well. I'll have to check that out!
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