‘Clothing Designed To Become Garbage’ — Fashion Industry Grapples With Pollution, Waste Issues

Hannah George grew up shopping at the malls in Ithaca, New York, where she stocked up on the latest affordable trends at retailers such as H&M and Forever 21. The 25-year-old abruptly stopped, however, when she went to college and learned about fashion industry pollution, a major driver of climate change. She shifted toward buying used clothes at the local thrift shops, actively avoided synthetic, petroleum-based fabrics and began investing in clothes made to last. “I realized how I was supporting the industry with my dollars,” George said. “It was a shift for me. I looked at what my philosophy for clothing should be — a long-term part of my life, not just something for the night out.”