PARSIPPANY — Fast fashion plays into the idea that your social relevance is incumbent upon staying abreast with the latest runway trends and outfit repetition is a fashion gaffe. Feeding into this Gen Z and alpha frenzy are fashion houses replicating runway trends at breakneck speeds. The Fashion Industry is a $1.2 trillion Industry. There was a time when there used to be 2 fashion cycles in a year, in comparison there are 52 fashion cycles today. We spend $1,700 on clothes every year, each one of which has on average 103 items in the closet of which only 20% are ever worn utmost 7 times before being tossed.
According to earth.org, 1.92 million tons of textile waste is produced each year. Approximately 90 million tons of garments produced end up in landfills each year. The textile industry is responsible for 8-10% of global CO2 emissions greater than aviation & shipping combined. The textile industry uses 79 trillion liters of water and 98 million tons of non-renewable resources annually. 35% of all microplastics and 20% of industrial wastewater come from the clothing industry. Only 1% of garments are recycled back into the industry. It takes up to 80 years for garments to break down in landfills.
There are many ways to put the brakes on this issue. Becoming conscious consumers is one of them. We can reuse and repurpose by thrifting, renting, and swapping. Clothing swaps divert textiles from landfills. As textiles decompose, they emit harmful greenhouse gases directly contributing to climate change. Keeping textiles out of landfills reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and microplastic pollution in land and water, and significantly curbs energy and water consumption.
Anika Arora, a Junior at Parsippany Hills High School, has undertaken several initiatives to educate and motivate citizens on steps they can take to mitigate the effects of climate change. Anika, under the guidance of Janice McCarthy, Chair of the Parsippany Environmental Advisory Committee, is organizing Parsippany’s first Dress & Accessories Swap in town. While fulfilling her Girl Scout Gold Award requirements, she sincerely hopes to encourage conscious consumerism and swap not just clothes & accessories but also behaviors. To register for the swap please visit Register For Dress & Accessories Swap. To find out more about Anika’s work, please visit https://www.simply-green.org or follow @_simply.green_
