Can Technology Help Fashion Clean Up Its Act?

Many companies now adhere to the unsustainable “fast fashion” model, where consumers can expect to find new clothes rolled out on the racks nearly every week instead of once a season. But while technology has allowed companies to produce more garments more quickly and at less cost, fast fashion is now the second most wasteful industry in the world, behind the oil industry. A single garment creates a large carbon footprint, the result of production that includes farming, harvesting, manufacturing, processing and shipping. Pesticides in cotton farming, toxic dyes in manufacturing and landfill waste of discarded clothing add to the environmental costs of a garment. Some materials, like cotton, are recyclable, while other synthetic materials, like nylon and polyester, are not biodegradable. Even laundering these clothes can send thousands of tiny fibers and chemicals into the ocean. Read more at Observer.