What else is disposable?
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Fast fashion is consumerism on steroids. With 52 ‘micro seasons’ per year, the manufacturers will have us spend the money on clothing that, within a month, feels shabby and unwanted. With almost 9 billion people on this planet, we produce over 100 billion garments annually. Of all the garments produced, only about 2 % get recycled, leaving the majority (including unsold) garments destined for landfills and incinerators. An estimated 1/3 of plastic particles in our oceans are produced from the textile industry. But What else gets discarded?
The textile industry is one of the largest employers of child labor. Of the 75 million people in the fast-fashion industry, 73 million workers live in poverty. Even in California, the US Department of Labor Wage uncovered a contractor who paid their workers $1.53/ hour.
Citation: Fast Fashion Getting Faster: A Look at the Unethical Labor Practices Sustaining a Growing Industry by Emma Ross | Oct 28, 2021, | All, Asia, Children, Human Rights The Exploitation of Garment Workers: Threading the Needle on Fast Fashion
Filed inWage and Hour IssuesEspañol •By Ruben Rosalez•March 21, 2023
Our Toxic Habits
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Mixed Media: Cotton remnant, 2 liter Soda Bottles
These cotton frogs are fashioned after deformed ones found in Minnesota ponds near industrial cornfields. Monocrop farming accounts for over 90% of global fertilizer and pesticide use. The chemical runoff from these farms frequently makes its way into rivers and oceans. The frogs, made with cotton remnants, are suspended in 2-liter soda bottles in a manner reminiscent of sample jars in natural history collections. This work draws attention to the causality of our toxic habits: choosing convenience over environmental health and fast fashion over sustainability.
Citation: European Parliament: The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics) Society Updated: 05-06-2023 - 10:19 Created: 29-12-2020 - 08:00
Too Young, Too Dangerous
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Mixed Media: Acrylic, Recycled garment remnants, stuffed animals
Our blind consumption of cheap and disposable fast fashion has accelerated competition for ever-cheaper sources of labor. The textile industry can easily find children in vulnerable families to meet the demand for the unskilled labor required for many stages of production. Some work up to 18 hours per day, and many are forced to endure environments with conditions unsafe for their health. These sewing machines are embellished with artifacts representing different parts of the supply chain where child labor is employed: the picking and spinning of cotton, sweatshop production, denim production, and toy production.
Citation: International Labour Office and United Nations Children’s Fund, Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward, ILO and UNICEF, New York, 2021. License: CC BY 4.0.