carbon footprint: apparel and textiles

Within the past couple years we have seen a major emphasis and turnaround in reducing our carbon footprint. As people are becoming more aware of our environmental conditions, companies are seeing higher demands for healthier living.

Recently in an article I read in WWD, Green Movement Intensifies: The Year Ahead, addresses the pressure being put on suppliers by retailers to be more socially responsible.
The interest of environmental impact on the apparel industry has shifted from organic materials to a larger issue, the way these products are manufactured.

This article is full of so many interesting facts that a consumer would never even know or think of. I would like to share them, trust me you will be surprised and understand why this is so important.

Did you know that the global production of fibers consumes 1 trillion gallons of water, 33 trillion gallons of oil and 20 billion pounds of chemicals annually?

To all of the people that love their jeans…. this blows my mind!

In 2006 Levis found that one pair of 501 jeans required 920 gallons of water, 400 megajoules of energy and expelled 32 kilograms of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to running a garden hose for 106mins, driving 78 miles and powering a computer for 556 hrs.
All of this waste for one pair of jeans, amazing! Image how many pairs of jeans Levis’ makes in a day? A year? It really makes you think before purchasing another pair or does it? Think of how many pairs of jeans are produced all over the world in one year, recently a conducted study estimated that annually jean production uses 158.5 billion gallons of water and 1.3million chemicals.

Do you think that manufacturers, retailers and brand should add a new label to apparel recognizing their carbon footprint to inform their consumer? Would this information change your mind about what you purchase?
Count how many pairs of jeans you own and estimate your carbon footprint, think about it……. This is only jeans!!!! Image everything else…….