“What are yall doing??” - Earth
- Jacquar Michael
- Dec 1, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2021
Find out why Earth has been calling us out on our b.s...for nearly the last century
Hey you. With the shirt. That same one bought on that random trip to the store when you needed toothpaste. Thinking “this is dope” but not realizing that the random act and impulse to buy that $28.99 Batman shirt because it was on sale will not only add to the collection of other random clothes buying pile (and 4 other Batman shirts you already have) but also add to the collection of greenhouse the earth is stocking up on, mainly your carbon footprint. While one aspect seems okay (collect those shirts yo), the other is not with 72% of all greenhouse gases falling into household consumption, followed by the remaining 18% and 10% going towards investments and government consumption (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es803496a).
That harmless impulse to cop the most savage representation of Batman you’ve seen since the Dark Knight is actually causing harm to the planet you live on, in retrospect. With clothes manufacturing, consumption, and eventually getting rid of them by throwing out, donating or giving away, this cycle contributes to 72% of the issue at hand. On the larger aspect, according to Energy Research & Social Science’s Vol. 52, if we were to follow the current Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas reduction (and essentially carbon footprint reduction), “very steep reductions in emissions are needed. If the global community is to meet these goals, a reduction of emissions from 40 gigatons of carbon dioxide in 2020 to 5 gigatons in 2050, [we’ll] eventually reach a level of “net zero” by 2100” (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629618310314). Although we may not realize it, textile production falls under this umbrella.
But let’s not tackle the issue as the giant it already has become. Just like in life, we have goals set for ourselves and the Paris Agreement is a goal for potential global greenhouse reduction. With that being said, what I’d like to promote is what you, an everyday consumer, can handle on your level, regardless of any limitations around you, towards the problem at large.
Out of the 5 basic human needs in food, water, clothing, shelter, and now sleep, in most of the societies with the heaviest household consumption which leads towards heavy carbon footprinting like Europe, Asia and North America, the needs of clothing, and sleep to an extent, are more of luxuries compared to food, water and shelter. In other words, you’re probably more likely to be concerned with where you call a home or dinner Friday night than what you’ll be wearing or that needed nap before work dealing with people who can’t see that aisle 2 has the paper products.
A Solution, Kinda, Maybe
What I’d like to present is a possible solution in regards to reducing your personal carbon footprint — minimalism through clothing. It’s not an immediate solution, but it’s something that anyone can practice to help reduce their personal carbon footprint towards greenhouse emissions. If you think about it, there aren’t that many solutions to reduce clothing consumption. There are a variety for other areas, but we don’t really think about clothing because no one leaves their residence without clothes. This is something that can not only aid in a personal reduction, in clothing consumption, but over production in textiles as well.
Read through the next posts to find ways and approaches to begin a clothing journey with minimalism. Reduce your carbon footprint and find alternative ways to do so. Show the earth that you care about how you look AND how earth looks also.
Sources:
Energy Research & Social Science
Carbon Footprint of Nations: A Global Trade-Linked Analysis
Dailymail.com - Fast Fashion Trash Mountain article
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