Environmental Cost of the Fashion Industry

There is a significant lack of sustainability in the textile industry. Rapid consumption has increased both air and water pollution associated with the manufacturing of clothing, particularly harming developing nations tasked with its fabrication and exportation. Since clothing is being consumed so quickly, it is also more disposable than ever before, with the US alone throwing away 11 million tons of clothing every year. Being more conscious of our clothing purchases can help us fight this largely ignored contributor to global warming.

This map visualizes each countries' textile exports over 23 years, including a percent change over the same span. Unfortunately, textile pollution from manufacturing grows in parallel and is becoming increasingly harmful to exporting nations. The map further reflects industrial outsourcing from the US as lower costs are pursued to meet demand.

Global Clothing Exports

Carbon emissions of a white, 100% cotton, size 40-42 T-Shirt

The carbon footprint of a single cotton t-shirt has been evaluated through life-cycle analysis (LCA). As shown above, the manufacture and consumer use phase each account for almost one third of total emissions of a t-shirt. Four processes comprise the emissions during the manufacture phase: spinning, knitting, dyeing and ready garment (RMG). The use phase, assuming the t-shirt is washed 55 times, accounts for 31% of emissions. The washing temperature, load level of the washing machine and dryer and efficiency level of the devices also affect the carbon footprint during the use phase.

Freshwater Required for One Pound of Crop

Calculated per pound of product, cotton is the most freshwater-intensive crop. It can use between 840 - 3475 gallons of freshwater per pound of cotton. It takes about .5 pounds of cotton to make a t-shirt, meaning that it can take between 420 - 1740 gallons of water for a single t-shirt. It is estimated that between 1% and 6% of total global freshwater withdrawl is due to cotton irrigation.

Site Info

Created by: Edgar Bernal-Sanchez and Celine Peña; UCSC CMPS 165 - Fall '16 Quarter; using resources provided by Suresh Lodha

Files Submitted: index.html; geomap.js; geomap.css; carbonEmissionsData.csv; barGraph.js; pieChart.js; style.css; textile-exports.csv; countries.json; d3.geomap.js; d3.geomap.css; d3.geomap.dependencies.js; d3.slider.css; d3.slider.js
Sources: See GitHub for source files: GitHub.com; Direct Link to Visualization: GitHub.com

References: Clothing exports of selected economies, 1990-2013 - WTO; Cotton and Climate Change; The Impact of Cotton on Fresh Water Resources and Ecosystems; Water Scarcity Example; Mike Bostock - Pie Chart Example