F A C T S .
8 Important Facts About the Fashion Industry and the Environment That No One is Talking About, But Everyone Needs To Be.
1. The Fashion Industry Accounts For 10% Of The World’s Carbon Emissions.
If We Don’t Act Now, the Fashion Industry Will Account for 25% of All Carbon Emissions By 2050.
What we’re doing about it: We source garments that take into account the environmental impact at every stage of the clothing’s lifecycle, from seed, to farm, to factory, to store, to you, to donation center, to recycling facility. At each stage our designers continue to improve upon efficiency and lower foot prints, but we don’t stop there. It is not yet possible to create zero emissions clothing so we calculate and offset all carbon.
2. The Fashion Industry Produces 20% of Global Wastewater, Making It The Largest Polluter of Clean Water.
What we’re doing about it: We buy only items made from organic cotton, which can reduce wastewater by 90% over chemically grown cotton, and prioritize factories that recycle chemicals and wastewater. We also choose low impact dyes, and waterless or low water dying.
3. Each Year We Produce Enough Textiles to Cover the State of California, with Enough Cutting Room Scraps to Cover the States of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Combined.
What OOLOOP is doing about it: From choosing zero waste or low waste designs, to garments made from upcycled and recycled textiles, to encouraging consumers to buy less and buy better, to promoting donation and recycling of garments at the end of their life, at OOLOOP we are committed to reducing over consumption and waste.
4. Every Second a Truckload of Textiles are Dumped in a Landfill.
Enough Said.
5. While the Fashion Industry Accounts for 10% of Global Carbon Emissions and 20% of Wastewater, it is Virtually Always Left Out of the Conversation on Climate Change.
What we’re doing about it: We’ve read countless books, studies and articles, and are now sharing our research with a growing number politicians, policy makers, journalists, students and activists. By arming those in power and those calling out the powerful with fact based material, we can create movement of conscientious individuals that can change the shape of one of the dirtiest industries on earth.
6. Swapping Virgin Polyester For Recycled Polyester Can Save 80% in Toxins, Around 60% in Energy Consumption, and Up to 40% of CO2 Emissions.
What OOLOOP is doing about it: We only source garments containing synthetics that are certified recycled polyester or nylon and made from plastic bottles, fishing nets, carpet fluff and pre & post consumer polyester.
7. Swapping an Organic Cotton Pair of Jeans for a Chemically Grown Cotton Pair Saves a Whopping 8,978 Gallons of Water. That’s More Than Enough Drinking Water for One Person for 49 years… or 197 years for an American, Since We Don’t Drink Nearly Enough Water.
What we’re doing about it: We only source organic and recycled cotton, and are encouraging brands, and consumers to do so as well. We are going one step further, and asking policy makers to create incentives to help designers source organics.
8. The Lack of Transparency in Supply Chains Allows For Widespread Labor and Environmental Abuse. Only Half of 219 Leading Brands Know Where Their Garments are Cut and Sewn, While 75% Don’t Know Where Fabric Comes From and 91% Don’t Know Where Their Cotton is Grown.
What OOLOOP is doing about it: We know where all our clothing and accessories are produced, and that’s just the start of it. Our designers are always making tweaks and improvements for labor and environmental practices, and we consult with larger brands on how best to do so as well. To effect change on a larger scale, we are encouraging policy makers to work towards requiring brands to know where their goods are made. This is the first step to holding companies accountable for their environmental impact and fair labor practices. All this work towards a more sustainable future has made us a Gold Certified Business with Green America.
The Fashion Industry Is 10% Of The Problem.
It Needs To Be 10% Of The Conversation,
So It Can Be 10% Of The Solution.