One of the most significant environmental impacts of dyes in fashion is the waste of vital fresh water. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water yearly—enough to fill 37 million Olympic swimming pools! That is crazy. Dyes win the gold medal for water waste. That makes the dyeing process one of the most polluting and energy-intensive parts of our clothes.
According to the United Nations, about 7500 liters of water are used to produce a single pair of jeans—from the cultivation of the raw cotton to the finished product. To give the jeans their blue color, the yarn or fabric is dunked several times into huge vats of synthetic indigo dye. After dyeing, the denim is treated with more chemicals and baths to make it softer and more textured. And if you’re a fan of the artificially aged look, I have even worse news for you: the faded denim look requires even more chemical baths, including acids, enzymes, bleach, and formaldehyde. Yikes! I think from now on, I will only be buying jeans from Reformation. Sustainable, chic, and comfortable, they're worth it.
Once factories are finished with the water and energy-intensive dyeing processes, the cheapest way to dispose of the unusable, chemical-polluted wastewater is to dump it into nearby rivers and lakes. As a result, thick, ink-like water flows through the rivers surrounding garment factories in Asia—a toxic soup of chemicals left behind by the fashion industry’s synthetic dyeing processes, seeping into the Earth’s water systems and soils. I don't know about you, but I do not want to swim or consume water that can be compared to toxic soup.
Although not all of the chemicals and solvents used are hazardous, 72 toxic (and life-threatening) chemicals have been identified in the textile industry as threatening our ecosystems. Dyes accumulate in the waters to such an extent that light can no longer penetrate to the surface, which impairs the ability of plants to photosynthesize. This lowers the oxygen content in the water, leading to the death of aquatic life and plants.
Fashion is responsible for up to one-fifth of industrial water pollution, thanks partly to weak regulation and enforcement in producer countries like Bangladesh, where wastewater is commonly dumped directly into rivers and streams. This discharge is often a cocktail of carcinogenic chemicals, dyes, salts, and heavy metals that not only hurt the environment but pollute essential drinking water sources. My mother already goes out of her way to get us glass bottles of water to avoid toxins from plastic; I can't imagine her having to walk on eggshells around another problem with our drinking water.
There are multiple proposals being put in place in an attempt to reduce waste. Some approaches include reducing waste by designing products to be more durable and offering consumers the option of customization; using sustainable materials like linen grown in Western Europe more widely; investing in the development of commercially viable methods of recycling blended materials, and converting waste from non-textiles sources like food into materials suitable for clothing and accessories.
A range of measures are being taken to address pollution, including updating conservation and environmental laws, imposing fines on polluters, monitoring water quality, setting up centralized treatment plants, and working with international development partners to improve wastewater treatment. It's about time the Fashion Industry made some progress with the pressing issue of impairing our water systems. I just can't wait until an actual difference is made.
Stay curious! Signing off with a smile.
-Savannah
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