Did you know the world now consumes more than 80 billion pieces of new clothing each year (4x as much as in 1980), with more and more ending up in landfills?! On top of that, the average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing each year! That is crazy talk.
Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries on our planet and one of the largest sources of pollution; it takes over 700 gallons of water to make just one t-shirt and over 1800 gallons of water to make just one pair of jeans. That's over 2500 gallons of water for just one outfit. And water is just one of many natural resources required to make new clothing, Yikes!
Knowing that I am living on a planet with a finite amount of resources and with billions of other people, I am always looking for ways to reduce my ecological footprint ~ "the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources." - Oxford Dictionary
My Fiance and I have chosen to live in a small house (900 sq feet) in the City where we have access to public transportation (2 buses within a few blocks that can get us downtown in 15 minutes!) and restaurants, shops and parks within walking distance. We share one vehicle, an electric hybrid, and always consider where our food comes from and try to buy local (growing within 100 miles from where we live) when shopping for meals (hello farmer's markets, bread from our neighborhood bakery and local produce and dairy at grocery stores).
This year my goal is to lower the ecological footprint of my closet, because Earth Day is everyday! Value Village just released the 2017 State of Reuse Report, examining perceptions around clothing consumption and reuse; I am taking note and giving a sh!rt about my clothing footprint!
