Does fashion have an impact on the environment?

Introduction

Have you ever thought about what happens when you throw away a piece of clothing? Do you know how much waste the fashion industry produces? Have you ever heard of the term “fast fashion”?

This WebQuest is meant for you, dear students, to identify, oppose and contribute to the eradication of a widespread phenomenon plaguing our environment. Through precise tasks and instructions, you will be directed towards sites where you will find information in order to find answers to certain questions.

I do hope that in the process you will become more knowledgeable, stronger and more prepared to face a rather dangerous environmental issue, who knows? maybe one day become a fighter for the rights of our planet.

Task

By the end of this journey you will know how much waste the fashion industry produces and how many clothes are thrown away even if they could still be worn. You will also realize how important it is to recycle or to donate the clothes you don’t wear anymore and how important it is to avoid fast fashion.

Process

Step 1

Go to https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/

and identify how many tons of microfibers are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes, how many cubic meters of water are used by the fashion industry annually and the percentage of all materials used by the fashion industry that are made from plastic.

Step 2

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand. The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the height of their popularity and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears. It plays into the idea that outfit repeating is a fashion faux pas and that if you want to stay relevant, you have to sport the latest looks as they happen. It forms a key part of the toxic system of overproduction and consumption that has made fashion one of the world’s largest polluters. According to some statistics, in Australia alone, more than 500 million kilos of unwanted clothing ends up in landfill every year.

In order to find out more information about fast fashion and its impact on the environment, workers, animals and of course consumers go to this link https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/ and then solve the following tasks:

a) name three key factors that are common to fast fashion brands

b) name three reasons why fast fashion should be avoided at all costs

Step 3

Go to https://www.sustainably-chic.com/blog/clothing-waste-how-to-recycle-clothing and name the 4 ways to recycle and upcycle clothing that’s still in good condition and write down an additional method that you think would appeal to young people.

Step 4

Go to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_trade_of_secondhand_clothing

Where and when was second-hand clothing industry born, and how did it spread?

Step 5

Go to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_trade_of_secondhand_clothing

Which of these countries banned the second-hand industry and why?

A. Senegal and Nigeria

B. ‌India and Philippines

C. ‌Uganda and Pakistan