This column is brought to you by Bromsgrove Climate Action.
WERE you aware 30 per cent of clothing made is never sold.
It makes you wonder why manufacturers produce so much excess and what happens to it. Does it end up in landfill or is it just dumped?
Chinese manufacturers Shein and Temu are flooding the market with cheap clothes. These Clothes are so inexpensive we are developing a culture of wear it once and then bin it, then buy another cheap item.
Denim is one of the most polluting fabrics produced. Growing the cotton used on an industrial scales can deplete the soil and lead to the loss of ecological diversity with the amount of pesticides used. A single pair of Levi jeans requires 3,781litres of water to produce during the various processes.
What can we as consumers do? Well, we can change our buying habits.
‘Unfolded’ only make the clothes ordered after the order is made and paid for, avoiding waste garments being produced.
Garments work out roughly 35 per cent cheaper than usual high street brands.
It provides an income for the women who sew to order and supports children in India to read and write.
‘Gambol by Gob’ – when you send previously purchased garments back you receive 25 per cent off the next purchase and the company either pass it to charity or responsibly recycle it.
H&M operates a similar scheme. In 2024, 89 per cent of materials used by H&M was recycled or sustainably resourced.
We can buy quality clothes from various charity shops in town and donate the ones we no longer want.
We can buy and sell second hand on online sites like Vinted. I know it is a favourite with the younger generation.
Member Janet said: “I went to the fashionable Chester Race Day wearing a ten-year-old dress and a 50-year-old jacket (third hand).
“I had so many compliments.”
People can get clothes repaired at Bromsgrove’s Repair Cafe every first Saturday of the month – from 2.30pm to 5pm at All Saints Hall, plus an extra one in Charford at 2pm this Saturday (May 17) at St Andrew’s Hal. Members of Bromsgrove Climate Action volunteer here.
Please ‘think before you buy’ about the impact the item has on the environment.
Visit the Bromsgrove Climate Action Facebook page for more.
