Impact of textiles and clothing industry on environment
Answers
The farms that grow raw materials used to make fabrics, including crops like cotton, flax, and hemp, require a lot of water. In fact, cotton is an especially thirsty plant. In addition, to protect these valuable crops, some farmers use lots of pesticides and herbicides that end up in the environment. Again, cotton is a big culprit, being one of the most pesticide-intensive crops in the world.
Other types of textiles also use up a lot of natural resources. Manufacturing rayon, an artificial fabric made from wood pulp, has resulted in the loss of many old-growth forests. During the process that transforms it into fabric, the pulp is treated with dangerous chemicals that eventually find their way into the environment.
Now consider synthetic fabrics, or man-made fabrics like nylon and polyester. These textiles are made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, and manufacturing them requires lots of water and energy. Nylon manufacturing also creates greenhouse gasses that harm the air we breathe. Additionally, synthetic fabrics are not biodegradable, which means that something made of nylon can take decades to decompose.