THIS week’s column by Otley 2030 is about the small and simple changes we can make to reduce our carbon footprint and save money too.

WEEK 8 - CUT YOUR CLOTHING CONSUMPTION

Globally the fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Wearing clothes for longer and buying second hand can save on your carbon footprint and your bank balance.

Sustainability in the context of fashion mainly refers to the environmental impacts of making, caring for and the disposal of clothing.

Textile production alone is estimated to release 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year. It also uses vast amounts of water and accounts for about 20 per cent of global waste water. Chemicals in the dyes pollute the environment.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The most sustainable item of clothing is the one that is already in your wardrobe or drawers so try to resist buying new clothes and wear the ones you already have. Find that forgotten item which has now come back into fashion because it has been at the back of a cupboard for so long.

We nearly all have an example of an ‘impulse buy’ which we have never actually worn. So, it’s brand new and someone else will want it and wear it. Take it to a charity shop, offer it on Freecycle or sell it on Ebay and recoup some of what you spent. One person’s ‘spur of the moment buy’ is another person’s ‘marvelous find’.

IT’S A COMPLEX PICTURE

Giving your second-hand clothes to charity does not necessarily solve the problem. Oxfam’s recycling plant, Wastesaver, in Batley says that only between 1 and 3 per cent of clothes donated are resold in their UK shops. Over a third are sent abroad to be sold and some go for repurposing, but much of the rest is wasted or burnt. This is because it’s so difficult to recycle the materials when they are poor quality or made from a mixture of natural and synthetic fibres.

If you do buy something new, try to choose sustainable natural materials which have been upcycled or are using waste fabrics. Buy recyclable or renewable textiles such as linen, hemp, tencel, silk or organic cotton and which will last many years – you can pick these items up second hand too! Always check the label - many fast fashion fabrics such as nylon, polyester, acrylic and spandex are made from fossil fuels, such as oil or petroleum.

SAVE MONEY BY BUYING FEWER NEW CLOTHES.

IF YOU ONLY MAKE ONE CHANGE THIS WEEK, SORT THROUGH YOUR WARDROBE AND FIND THOSE HIDDEN FASHION GEMS.