What are the key environmental impacts of the garments sector in Bangladesh?
What are some of the environmental impacts of the clothes you wear?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency,[15] 15.1 million tons of textile clothing waste was produced in 2013 alone.[16] In the United States, 64.5% of textile waste is discarded in landfills, 19.3% is incinerated with energy recovery, only 16.2% is recycled.[17] When textile clothing ends up in landfills, chemicals on the clothes such as the dye can leech into the ground and cause environmental damage. When unsold clothing is burned,[18] it releases CO₂ into the atmosphere. According to a report from the World Bank Group, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of yearly global carbon emissions.
Improperly disposing of clothing can harm the environment, especially through wastewater. Chemicals from decomposing clothing can leach into the air and into the ground, affecting both groundwater and surface water. Aside from plastic pollution, textiles also contributes significantly to marine pollution.