ISLAMABAD: The trend of fast fashion is growing globally which is polluting environment, spreading toxins in water and encouraging the use of poisonous chemicals in agriculture, said United International Group Chairman Mian Shahid, on Sunday, April 14.
“Nowadays, more people are buying clothes due to increased disposable income and they don’t keep them as long as they used to which is resulting in pollution and other problems,” he said.
“The textile industry has become the second largest polluter after oil while little has been done to improve it or recycle textile waste,” he said.
He said that fashion has become a $3,000 billion industry which is almost two per cent of the global GDP. The industry produces 100 billion garments annually of which 75 per cent are marketed in developed countries.
He further said that three percent of the cultivable land is being used to grow cotton but the ratio of pesticides and insecticide used for the crop is 35 per cent.
According to estimates, the textile industry generates around 25 million tonnes of waste annually.
“Fifteen percent of fiber is wasted in the textile mills in which Pakistan’s share stands at 60 million kilograms.”
He said that seventy per cent of the world’s population wears used clothes and 95 per cent of textiles can be reused but 99 per cent of it ends up in landfills.
“Leading international brands would never reduce prices or donate but prefer to burn unsold stock which is unfortunate,” he said.
