The Global Environmental Impact of Clothes Production
By The Editors
Sandblasting is not all. Textile factories use dyes that have a huge environmental and human health impact. In this video, you can see a dye-blue river in China. You can also see Indian children with grey hair – one of the effects of pesticides used in cotton fields. Follow a T-shirt journey around the globe: The T-shirt may travel through three continents to go from cotton balls to wearable fashion.
2 Comments
Haley M
This is very sad. I have never really put thought into how my jeans are made or even considered harm the process causes to the environment. The workers choose to work in those conditions but the harm also affects innocent people living nearby due to the dye flowing into nearby rivers.
Pesticides have always posed health risks but to see children prematurely growing gray hair is very unfortunate. I agree with the previous reply that other health risks should definitely be considered. We, as Americans, take the clothes we wear for granted and do not think about how clothes are made. An alternative definitely has to come about because even though they are working in the factories to provide, if their health deteriorates too soon due to the clothing production toxins, they will not be able to enjoy a lengthy life.
FurElise
Before reading this blog, I would have had no idea how bad the pollution caused by making everyday clothes is on the environment. As if sandblasting wasn’t enough, simple dying of blue jeans is a serious problem. The pesticides from cotton fields is also creating a huge issue in the community. First, when it comes to dyes, the most important step would be to enforce strict safety regulations for workers. Also, is there any way to filter the water from the dying factories from the river? It may be near impossible but a possible solution?
Second, if you think about how the pesticides are causing grey hair in children, you have to wonder what other side effects will arise. Are there maybe other alternatives for protecting the cotton?