A piece of clothing's lifecycle goes through at least 5 major stages: material & production, shipping, use, and disposal. In this article, we're going to break down what happens in each of these stages and how you can make a difference in the fashion industry.

Material & Production

Have you ever wondered where the fabric of your favorite t-shirt was made? How much water and electricity was required to make it? How were the workers treated and were they paid fairly or taken advantage of?

The material phase of the lifecycle involves farming, irrigating, fertilizing, harvesting and ginning.

According to the State of Fashion by McKinsey, “The textile sector still represents 10 to 20 percent of pesticide use.”

The Huffington Post's Article, The Lifecycle of a T-Shirt explains, "Once the cotton is grown and harvested, so begins the production phase: spinning, knitting, wet process, bleaching, dyeing, confection, cutting and sewing -- these processes also use a great deal of water and energy. Commercial dyes and bleaches are harmful pollutants and can ultimately contaminate groundwater."

According to Fashion Checker in 2020, “93% of brands surveyed by the Fashion Checker aren’t paying garment workers a living wage.” Fashion Checker is a resource to check if a brand is paying their workers fairly.

How can we help with this stage of the lifecyle?
We can buy from brands that are transparent about their material process and waste; brands who are actively trying to lower their environmental impact. We can also buy from businesses who use recycled fabric or deadstock; these materials have already been created and purchasing them will not create any extra demand for the fabric, as demand typically causes brands to produce more. We can also make sure the brands we buy from are paying their workers fairly, and not support brands who don't.

Shipping

Did you know there's more to shipping than from the company to your house or store? Most of the time, there is shipping from material to material production to product production and then to where ever you see the product (either an online store or brick-and-mortar store).

Each time goods are shipped, it spills CO2 into our atmosphere.

"According to a study published in 2009 in the UK, the material, production and transport phases of one t-shirt weighing approximately 6 ounces produced in India uses: 700 gallons of water, .22 pounds of fertilizers, .01 pounds of pesticides and 1.2 pounds of fossil fuels! ...One T-shirt!" The Lifecycle of a T-Shirt states.

How can we help with this stage of the lifecyle?
Buying from local thrift stores and support brands who offset their CO2 emissons. For example, Everlane has a "carbon commitment." Their goal is to have 55% less carbon emissions per product by 2030, 46% lower absolute emissions by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Read more about their iniatiatives here.

Use

Do you follow trends? How long does a piece last in your wardrobe?

According to the Guardian, “One in three young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old.”

How can we help with this stage of the lifecyle?
This is the stage we have the most direct impact with. The longer we keep a garment out of the landfill, the better. You can give it to your friend, or donate it to a thrift store, but please keep in mind, giving it to a friend is your best option. Most thrift stores do not have enough space for all of the clothing they are given, so the garment can end up in the landfill sooner, rather than later. We can also upcycle our clothing to give it a fresh new look or just usability. Instead of throwing out a sweater with a hole, try darning it and dye that old shirt that has stains.

Disposal

“The average American throws away around 81 pounds of clothing yearly” states Saturday Evening Post.

How much of that is still usable? Probably most of it.

Some brands offer recycling programs, but not many. Peppermint Magazine states, "Less than a third of brands surveyed (27 percent) currently offer customers a take-back and/or repair program. An additional 11 percent are taking steps towards implementing a system in the future." By supporting brand who have a recycling program, we can vote with our money that this is important.

How can we help with this stage of the lifecyle?
Again, our goal as consumers should be thinking about clothing as a long-term investment, being aware of the fate of our clothing. We should limit the time it takes for clothing to end up in the landfill as much as possibile. We should be supporting brands with recycling programs.