David Attenborough brought the problems of plastic to our attention with amazing results. So now you have stopped using single use carrier bags and plastic cotton buds, you conscientiously recycle bottles and paper, what more can you do?

As I was watching Stacey Dooley on TV the other evening talking about fashion’s dirty secrets, I decided to follow up on my article from November 2016 with some more food for thought . . .

The march of fast fashion has to be stopped! We treat shopping as a hobby, a treat, we deserve this, don’t we? You only have to visit our shopping centres to see how we worship fast fashion, whilst on-line shopping allows us to shop 24/7. Herein lurks the biggest danger, one which is rapidly destroying our beautiful planet!

As Stacey pointed out, fast fashion is the number two polluter after oil. It uses water in vast quantities. For example, to produce one pair of jeans it takes 15,500 litres or water, one shirt costs 5,000 litres.

There are no longer 4 seasonal collections a year, but over 52 – many people buy things that they never wear or wear only once. Every year 300,000 tons of waste clothes are dumped in landfill.

So, what can you do? Here is my four point plan:

Buy ethical products from producers that care about the environment – avoid those that only focus on cheap – there is a much greater cost than the price ticket.

Recycle what you don’t need – that way someone else will get the benefit and it won’t end up in landfill.

Upcycle – get things altered when they no longer fit, swap with your friends. Donate to Dress for Success and help women into work.

Keep your garments longer – if you wear something 100 times instead of once – this is only going to produce 1% of the environmental impact.
And here are the benefits – you can buy higher quality clothes that you are proud to wear, cost per wear will be lower, you will have space in your wardrobe and at the same time you can save our beautiful planet!