What/where does harm happen across a garment’s life?

Fashion’s impacts don’t come from one place. They accumulate across a garment’s life, from how the industry sources raw materials to how it’s disposed. This is called life-cycle thinking. 

The system makes harm hard to track, but here. are some big things we know:

• Fossil fuels and their greenhouse gasses (GHGs) are the main cause of climate change. And fossil fuels have completely infiltrated the system. Oil, gas, and coal still choke most of the world’s energy supplies, even though alternatives exist. They’re also a raw material for all kinds of things, from adhesive and crayon, to polyester, and aspirin. 

• Many of the things that we use, from fabrics to flooring, are made in part or whole by workers who experience extreme injustice. The farther away harm is — geographically and in the life cycle — the harder it is for an individual to understand it.

Materials

Growing natural fibers like cotton requires large amounts of water and pesticides. Synthetic fibers like polyester rely on fossil fuels.

Producing fabric (spinning, weaving, knitting) consumes energy, chemicals, and water. Workers in these stages are often underpaid and exposed to unsafe conditions, and communities near production sites suffer from pollution and resource strain. 

Making

Dyeing, finishing, and other processes can release toxic chemicals into waterways, and energy use is high. Cutting and sewing generate material waste. Workers are often underpaid, overworked, and exposed to unsafe conditions. 

Transport/Distribution & Selling

Shipping garments globally uses fossil fuels, as does retail infrastructure like stores, lighting, and temperature control. 

Use & End of Life

Washing, drying, and ironing repeatedly consumes water and energy (fossil fuels!), and laundering synthetic fabrics releases microplastics into waterways. At the end of its “life”, a discarded garment is usually sent to a landfill — where decomposition releases GHGs — or incinerated — which uses fossil fuels and releases toxins into air.

People who live near land fills and incinerators suffer from major health, environmental, and quality-of-life challenges, including increased risks of respiratory illnesses, heart disease, cancer, and birth defects.