Today everyone is taking green initiative, then why don’t you? If you have a pile of clothes that are no longer in good shape or want to get rid of them, get them recycled. Yes, you read it right! Now you can recycle your clothes and join the concept of a Circular Economy for the well-being of humanity. With new fashion trends sprouting every season, month and week, people often buy more clothes than they need, ultimately ending up in landfills, causing a severe environmental impact.
The circularity system has replaced people’s make, buy and dispose of patterns with the make, buy, reuse, remake and recycle. It is the simplest way to contribute to reducing the environmental pollution caused by dumping clothing items into landfills. It is quite a straightforward approach; you buy cloth, use it, and then reuse it until it is in good condition. A remake means stitching if torn or using it for a different purpose. Finally, if it is no longer usable, recycle it.
The need for a Circular Economy
The growing demand for fashionable clothing has led to massive production of low-quality textiles and apparel that have less lifespan and are difficult to reuse or recycle. Annually, people discard over 800,000 tonnes of apparel, leather, rubber and fabrics, which finally make their way into landfills. The world is being affected adversely by a recycling rate of less than 7%. You will be surprised to know that simply using your clothes for twice as long as you wear them now can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45%. This is where the importance of a circular economy can be realised, as it helps eliminate the energy and textile waste generated by the fashion industry. It revolves around the resources and materials that can be reused, recycled, and refurbished. It promotes optimal economic well-being, proper utilisation of natural resources, and the best material usage.
Benefits of reusing and recycling clothes
It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The essential element required for the decomposition process is oxygen. When there is a lack of oxygen, putrefaction occurs through anaerobic digestion, which further leads to the breakdown of the organic material and the production of byproducts like methane. As you know, methane is a greenhouse gas that, in combination with other gases, can severely impact the Earth’s atmosphere and lead to global warming. However, when you consider reusing or recycling your clothes, you can prevent this from happening. Also, it is advisable to prefer apparel made of natural fibres like cotton, wool or linen as they can be recycled quickly and easily.
It helps reduce the number of landfills
You can save a lot of expenses as well as space by choosing to reuse the garments and don’t letting them into landfills. Landfills are destructive in themselves; they affect the space, environment, and community health. When you consider reusing your clothes several times and then recycling them, you significantly contribute to improving the planet Earth’s health. Since there will now be clothes in the landfill, there will be no emission of methane and no detrimental effects on the environment and land.
Helps save energy
Do you know the textile industry consumes a lot of energy? Only 15% of the energy is consumed for operating machines in textile mills. The primary electrical energy consumption in the textile industry is in the manufacturing of clothes which is nearly 3/4th of the total power requirement in a mill. So if you join your hands with the circular economy and start reusing your clothes, the demand for clothes will automatically decrease, and the production rate will increase. Just imagine your one right step can save the world from losing valuable energy resources like electricity and water. Even recycling clothes consumes a lesser amount of energy as compared to manufacturing garments.
That was it! Hope you have understood why a large group of people is emphasising reusing and recycling clothes. So take the proper steps and contribute to saving the environment.
