Can Recycling Solutions Minimize The Impact Of Fast Fashion On The Environment?

The global community is suffering at the hands of humankind’s neglect. With the pace at which the world economy is advancing, we hope sustainable practices could advance too. If we could, we would have approached development holistically. Nevertheless, there is still time, and if we adopt recycling solutions, looming climate catastrophes can at least be delayed if not stopped forever. While the world governments are framing policies for both public and private sectors, it’s time for product-making businesses and consumers to incorporate sustainability as a core value. Because the time to sit and ponder over lost opportunities has gone, it’s time to act!

So, as a business owner or a buyer, how extensively have you employed the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) in your business or personal life? Probably, a few times. Before we move ahead, answer these questions– 

• How often do you/your customers buy clothes?
• What do you/your company do with the unused clothes?
• What is the amount of inactive clothes in your closet/factory?

Take your time to answer. But before you reach any conclusions, read the stats in the next section.

The Menace Of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is a relatively new concept that began around 2010. It means the rapid rate at which the fashion industry is developing, and recent trends are emerging and retiring before they achieve mass appeal. Aside from making consumers buy new clothes now and then, Fast Fashion has negatively impacted the environment. Read these stats:

• The Textile industry adds 92 million tonnes of waste every year.
• An average American discards or throws away 37Kgs of clothes each year.
• While reading this, a rubbish truck full of clothes is dumped in a landfill.

Are you able to imagine the impact of the Textile and Fashion industry on the environment? Imagine the impact when fashion industries produce at five to seven times more speed. The result is only environmental chaos.

Is there no solution to curb the menace of Fast Fashion? 

Yes, we do have! Recall the three R’s– the only mantra to approach sustainable development without compromising the environment. Plenty of recycling solutions can help businesses and consumers reuse and recycle products that don’t fit the market standards or are unsellable. Your business can opt for product destruction services and leave the products that no longer have a consumer base to us, and we will recycle them for you.

Opting for product destruction services helps in the following ways:

• It decreases your business carbon footprint plus adds economic value when you reuse the recycled materials.
• It helps your business save money on energy and resources by reducing your dependence on raw materials.
• It makes you stand apart from the rest of the crowd, who are only green polishing their image.
• It helps today’s conscious consumers resonate with your brand.

The Biggest Beneficiary Of Product Destruction Services– 

As per estimates, of the total percentage of clothes that end up in landfills, around 95% of them can be recycled and reused. When retailers and fashion brands take adequate steps to revamp their recycling processes, the dependence and overconsumption of natural resources will reduce. In addition, the level of greenhouse gas emissions by the fashion and textile industry will decrease significantly. 

Recycling helps Fashion and Textile Industry:

Close the Product Loop

An estimated 150 million tons of shoes and clothing are sold every year. After use, 85% of these either end up in landfills or are burnt. The products don’t get back into the material cycle because of the lack of consumer awareness and proper counteractive structures. 

Humankind has already exploited natural resources to a great extent. Does it mean we’re left with no solutions?

We have– a sustainable, workable, and economical solution– Recycling. When a garment goes for recycling instead of landfilling, it again enters the product cycle. This is called closing the product loop. It means the same product will be used as a raw material for making new products again and again.

Three Cycles of Products

Several companies have started a ‘Take-Back’ initiative, which takes back used clothing and footwear from consumers and gives them a new life. For this, usually, three alternative solutions have been suggested– 

• Rewear
• Reuse
• Recycle

The initiatives have been successful, yet we can expect better results with technological innovations. Though finding a feasible tech solution will take some time; still, the goal now is to reuse and recycle the donated textile fiber fully. And prevent fashion and textile products from going into the dump.

Recycling Clothes Benefits Everyone

As mentioned earlier, everyone benefits from sustainable practices. Whether you opt for document shredding services or product destruction services, your business, consumers, and our future generations benefit from it. Plus, the scale of consumption and overexploitation of resources also stops, ultimately helping the environment.

Way Forward

A sustainable future involves the active participation of everyone to make a better, sustainable, and inclusive world for us. So, opt for recycling solutions and let the environment recover.