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Scientific American
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Scientific American
How to Be a Smarter Fashion Consumer in a World of Overstated Sustainability
Why is it so hard to cut through the greenwashing and overstated claims of the sustainable-clothing landscape? To start, the development, production and distribution of most garments are complex endeavors involving a global web of interconnected farmers, factories and traders, all supplying parts and processes to a huge number of brands and customers. Along that chain, there are many types of human and environmental impacts to consider. Some are challenging to measure, and some even 'trade off' against one another—for instance, recycled materials are good for resource use but are potentially more likely to increase microfiber shedding. Many standards, product innovations, materials and brands claim to have a lower impact—and many more companies share very little information. All of this makes it challenging for a consumer to make decisions while shopping. This guide will help you understand the stages of clothing inception and production. It will let you better piece together clues for a given garment or company to figure out whether sustainability was a priority at different stages of the life cycle, in terms of both the environment and human rights. You'll learn key terms that are important for evaluating whether claims have evidence behind them. The guide will also point you to other resources that can help you cut through the noise and get clear guidance, including rating and information sites such as Good On You or reports such as the United Nations Environment Program road map. Above all, the two simplest ways to participate in sustainable fashion are to buy less and to ask questions. Many people in developed countries significantly overconsume apparel. As clothing production has doubled, the number of times each item is worn or used has dropped by approximately 40 percent. Using, repairing or adapting what you already have; borrowing items; buying vintage or secondhand; or leasing from sustainable rental companies can all provide a low-impact alternative to purchasing new products. If you do want to buy new, ask the right questions: look for evidence to support claims, don't be fooled by terms such as 'natural,' and engage with companies directly to request more information and more sustainable processes and products. These actions alone, if done at scale, would have the power to change the fashion industry. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CLOTHING PRODUCTION Here we break down the dominant linear pathway of garments, punctuated with details for each stage that impact sustainability from both a human-rights and an environmental point of view. For the most part, policymakers, corporations and designers are in the position to make the most substantive changes to each step—including by bending production flow to create a circular pathway. That said, consumers can use this knowledge to make informed decisions in support of sustainable practices. Design and Concept • Material and construction-technique decisions—made by designers and fashion brands—influence the impact of production and the garment's lifespan. As fashion scholar Peggy Blum writes, 'Design is key in the shift to a circular fashion model, which requires greater focus on doing things 'right from the start.'' Raw Material Production • There are three primary fiber-source categories: natural fibers, natural polymers and synthetic polymers. For natural fibers, 'production' refers to cultivation or breeding. In the case of polymers, it refers to cellulose or oil extraction. Material Processing and Sourcing • Raw materials must be processed or extracted before fiber preparation. This involves, for example, cotton baling and sheep shearing, as well as the transport of the materials. For synthetics, it involves the chemical production of specific polymers from the source ingredients to make, for instance, polyester chips. Fiber Preparation • Fibers are aligned and elongated. In the case of cotton, a series of specialized machines pick fibers off bales, then clean and straighten them into long and loose untwisted strips. Synthetic polymers are extruded to create fibers. Yarn Preparation (Spinning) • Spinning is the torsion process by which fibers are twisted into yarn. Short fibers (cotton and wool) are called staple fibers. Long fibers (silk and many synthetics) are called filaments; they generally require less processing at this stage. Different spinning methods yield different characteristics. Weaving, Knitting, Bonding • Yarn is then manipulated into fabric. Woven fabrics are made of perpendicular and stable interlocking yarns. Knitted fabrics are made of stretchable, interlocking loops. Bonded fabrics are technical textiles in which fibers and/or fabrics are bound by adhesives, heat or pressure. Bleaching, Dyeing, Finishing • Textiles are washed and prepared for dye using water and chemical baths followed by heating or steaming. (Some of these treatments may also be used during yarn production.) Next the fabric may be printed or dyed, then fixed with dye stabilizers, flame retardants, antimicrobials, and other treatments. Assembly and Quality Control • Assembly includes fabric cutting, sewing, trimming and ironing of the finished garment. Finishes, such as bleaching or sandblasting for faded denim, may also be applied. Distribution and Retail • This stage includes logistics, transportation from assembly location to retail storage, packaging and marketing, store operating impacts, and/or direct shipping from warehouses to consumers. (Transportation from retail stores to consumers—such as direct shipping—is not reflected in the data below.) Use • Use includes consumer wear and care. It covers maintenance—cleaning, drying, ironing and storing—as well as repair. The garment may cycle over into being used again by another consumer via a direct secondhand donation or via thrift and consignment shops, or it may be used by multiple customers in a rental-based model. Collection and Sorting • Per a 2020 U.N. report, at most 1% of textiles is recycled back into clothing. Another 12% is used in products such as cleaning cloths, insulation material and mattress stuffing. There is a significant global trade of used garments for recycling, often ending up in locations without processing capacity. Landfilling, Waste to Energy • In the dominant linear garment pathway, most garments end up in a landfill or an incinerator plant after one or more uses. In a circular pathway, the textile would avoid this stage by being used for much longer or by more customers, upcycled into a new garment, or broken back down to the fiber level and spun anew. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Breaking down environmental impacts by stage allows for targeted reduction efforts. The values shown here, as published by the U.N. Environment Program, were calculated using a global baseline year of 2016. At that time, apparel was estimated to comprise 30% natural fibers and 70% human-made fibers. (Some categories, including water use, vary widely depending on fiber type and region.) Energy-intensive stages emerge as hotspots. Dyeing and finishing require large quantities of water and electricity for heating, as do washing and drying by individuals at the use stage. Variation resulting from regional laundry habits suggests that this is a pain point that consumers can influence directly. HUMAN IMPACT Garment manufacturing is a significant source of jobs for people around the world—particularly for women in low-income countries. It's also an industry rife with poor working conditions. The relative risk values shown here, published by the U.N. in 2020, were calculated for a hypothetical low-cost garment made from a cotton and polyester blend. Fiber production emerged as the stage that carries the highest levels of social risk. Further, 'the high social risks of fiber production are overwhelmingly due to natural fiber production ... [The values] are even more striking bearing in mind that these results are for a low-cost garment made up of 70% synthetic fibers and only 30% natural fibers.' TIPS FOR CONSUMERS Simply buying less stuff is the most impactful way to make more sustainable fashion choices and push back against the relentless consumerism perpetuated by the fast-fashion industry. But that doesn't mean never adding something new to your closet. Whether you are looking for a warm coat after moving to a cold climate, restocking your sock drawer, or sourcing an outfit from a vintage store for a special occasion, ask yourself whether the item truly fits you, functions in your wardrobe and will last. Evaluate the quality and seek information about production processes and sustainability policies. Brands are sensitive to customer demand, so use your power to advocate for change. Design and Concept • Look for specifics on the clothing brand's website about its sustainable-design ethos, including details about how it designs for garment longevity, durability and recyclability and for how it reduces waste and production im-pacts. Bonus points for brands that design for circular business models or directly provide repair, returns or recycling. Fiber Production • In many cases, organic or recycled materials have a smaller environmental impact than conventionally grown plant materials and newly created synthetics. But recycled products can have high social and labor risks. Get familiar with the coverage of different standards such as Better Cotton, Organic or Responsible Wool Standard. ITC and Textile Exchange both have rating systems for different schemes and branded materials. Often there isn't one ideal solution. If you focus on social issues, then choose Fairtrade; if you value veganism, then synthetic leather substitutes may be your priority even if they have large climate or chemical impacts. Try to find the 'best' available version of the fiber category. Rather than moving away from cotton altogether, for instance, choose highly sustainable or recycled cotton in place of conventional. Is there any evidence to support raw material claims, such as a Life Cycle Assessment? Terms like 'green' and 'natural' do not have a specific meaning. Try to substantiate words like 'recycled' by searching for the actual percentage of recycled material. Yarn Preparation (Spinning) • Spinning is one of many energy-intensive activities with the supply chain. Look for brands with a Scope 3 Science-Based climate target. If a company has an identified spinner list, it is also an indication it has put significant resources into its traceability and data-collection systems. Weaving, Knitting, Bonding • Bonded fabrics are less sustainable than woven or knitted ones but can be useful for specific technical purposes, such as water-proofing. They often contain PFAS, and as of 2025, clothing with PFAS is banned from sale in New York State and California. Waxed cotton canvas and boiled wool also provide water resistance. Bleaching, Dyeing, Finishing • Certifications such as GOTS or Oeko-Tex provide controls on the chemicals used in dyeing and finishing. Look for brands implementing water-management plans and applying chemical and wastewater controls such as those from ZDHC, or creating funding programs to help manufacturers and producers invest in renewable energy. Assembly and Quality Control • Faded or treated jeans have particularly high worker-health impacts and should be avoided. Look for labor plans aligned with programs such as ILO, Sedex or OECD. If this information is missing, ask the company questions on its social media—this puts pressure on companies for action and transparency. Distribution and Retail • If you are buying products new, don't create excessive transport impacts by purchasing and returning significant volumes of garments. Consider more circular options such as buying secondhand or vintage clothing or renting clothing for specific uses (look for sustainable solutions to the cleaning and transport of rented options). Use • To increase a garment's lifespan, follow the care instructions provided and repair damaged areas. Wash clothes less frequently and at lower temperatures or air-dry—which can reduce environmental impact. Avoid dry-cleaning. Microfiber filter products might also help reduce the impact of shedding from laundry. End of Life • Textiles in good condition should be sold, swapped or donated to optimize their use. For an unwearable item, can you repurpose it at home as a rag or drop cloth? If not, check whether you can recycle it at the store where you bought it (such as H&M or Patagonia). Or use a direct recycling solution such as Retold or a local collection facility. Aim for ones that speak to how they sort and recycle fabrics and avoid those that are not transparent about where waste goes. You don't want your clothes to become a burden on countries that receive high volumes of waste.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Researcher issues warning over dangerous increase in encounters between humans and animals: 'The potential for conflict ... is growing'
Wild animal sightings are on the rise, and it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem in Japan. Researchers from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology analyzed decades of data and found that "the activity ranges of large mammals such as wild boars, Asiatic black bears, mountain goats, Japanese macaques, sika deer, and brown bears have rapidly increased," per Chosun Biz. The common factor in all sightings was a changing habitat. As natural habitats shrink due to human expansion, animals have no choice but to move in closer to their human neighbors. Wildlife interactions put both the animal and the human at risk. "As global warming and population decline expand the distribution of large mammals, the potential for conflict between humans and animals is growing," animal researcher Baek Seung-yoon told Chosun Biz. As habitat loss condenses predators' hunting grounds and reduces available prey, desperate carnivores, like bears, coyotes, and cougars, may seek out food and attack humans. These injuries are often serious or fatal, and the animal is usually put down afterwards. Wild animals in urban areas can also spread diseases to pets and humans, like rabies, Lyme disease, and hantavirus. Despite making up just 0.01% of all life on Earth, "75 percent of the Earth's land surface has been significantly altered by human actions," according to the United Nations Environment Program. Millions of species are threatened by extinction due to habitat loss, and it's considered the most significant threat to species. Restoring these animals' natural habitats is one of the best ways to protect them. Conservation groups around the globe are working to restore, preserve, and protect habitats, both on land and in the water. Conservation works. Preserving just 1% of the planet could save thousands of different species from extinction. Do you think we still have a lot to learn from ancient cultures? Definitely Only on certain topics I'm not sure No — not really Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Star
07-06-2025
- Science
- The Star
30 per cent global ocean protection target not enough for marine giants, says study
CANBERRA/MANILA (Xinhua): The global goal to protect 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030 will not be sufficient to ensure the survival of marine megafauna such as whales, sharks, turtles, and seals, international scientists have warned. An international study has mapped the world's most critical ocean habitats for marine megafauna, revealing that even ambitious global protection targets will fall short of safeguarding these threatened species, according to a release from the Australian National University (ANU) on Friday. In December 2022, the Convention on Biological Diversity parties agreed to conserve 30 per cent of Earth's land and seas by 2030, but the United Nations Environment Program notes that biodiversity is unevenly protected: while a quarter of ecological regions meet the 30 pe rcent target, some have no coverage, leaving many species and ecosystems insufficiently conserved. The UN-endorsed MegaMove project, involving nearly 400 scientists from over 50 countries, tracked more than 100 marine megafauna species to identify where conservation efforts should focus, the release said. The study, published in Science, found that only 8 percent of oceans are currently protected and warns that the UN High Seas Treaty's 30 per cent target, though supported by 115 countries, will not fully safeguard key habitats for threatened marine giants. ANU Associate Professor Ana Sequeira, the study's lead author and MegaMove founder, explained that the research mapped areas where marine megafauna engage in essential behaviors such as foraging, resting, and migration. These species serve as top predators with crucial roles in marine ecosystems but face mounting threats from human activities, she said. "We found that the areas used by these animals overlap significantly with threats like fishing, shipping, warming temperatures, and plastic pollution," Sequeira said, adding the 30-percent protection goal is helpful but not enough, so further measures are needed to reduce threats beyond protected areas. The study identifies specific mitigation measures beyond protected areas, including modifications to fishing gear, different lighting systems in nets, and ship traffic management schemes. - Xinhua
The Star
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Kenya hosts conference to boost transition to electric mobility
NAIROBI, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Monday hosted a two-day high-level conference aimed at accelerating the adoption of electric mobility (e-mobility) solutions as part of efforts to catalyze the reduction of carbon emissions. The third edition of the annual E-Mobility Stakeholders Conference and Expo took place in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, with over 200 stakeholders drawn from government, development agencies, and private sector innovators to explore opportunities for scaling up electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure, and policy frameworks. Alex Wachira, principal secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, said the government is keen to build an enabling environment within the e-mobility ecosystem through the provision of requisite infrastructure, including charging stations that will enable motorists to travel with simplicity. Annika Berlin, program management officer at the United Nations Environment Program's Sustainable Mobility Unit, noted that Kenya has achieved progress in adopting e-mobility solutions such as EVs and motorcycles. Berlin revealed that the transport sector remains a major contributor to carbon emissions, hence the need to create a supportive policy environment and attract investment in green transport. Hezbon Mose, president of the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya, said there are about 9,047 electric vehicles registered in the country, the bulk of which are motorcycles. Mose said growing awareness of the effects of climate change and air pollution is making EVs more socially desirable.
Japan Times
28-04-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
The world is waking up to the dangers of superpollutants
Carbon dioxide is the big daddy of greenhouse gases. Making up the bulk of our emissions and staying up in the atmosphere for many centuries, whether we're successful or not at limiting global temperature rise boils down to what we do about CO2. But it's only part of the equation in global warming. A group of lesser-discussed climate pollutants are many times more powerful than carbon dioxide and could serve as an emergency brake on near-term warming. Even better: There's reason to be cautiously optimistic. So-called super pollutants — a group of greenhouse gases and aerosols including methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and tropospheric ozone — are responsible for about 45% of warming to date, with carbon dioxide responsible for the other 55%. While these emissions exist in the atmosphere for a fraction of CO2's centuries-long lifetime, they have a more potent warming effect. Methane is the short-lived climate pollutant with the greatest impact, coming mainly from agricultural, waste and oil and gas industry sources. While methane isn't toxic in itself, it's the primary contributor to tropospheric — or ground-level — ozone. O3 is actually helpful when it's up high, 20-odd kilometers above sea level, where it filters the sun's ultraviolet radiation; but down in the lowest level of our planet's atmosphere, it wreaks havoc with our lungs and vegetation. Black carbon — the soot that results from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, waste and biomass — isn't a greenhouse gas, but does contribute to warming by absorbing sunlight and releasing it as heat, in the same way that urban infrastructure and asphalt roads do. As a major component of particulate matter, black carbon is bad news for our respiratory and cardiovascular systems and impedes photosynthesis in plants. As these pollutants disappear from the atmosphere much faster than CO2, the benefits of reducing them will be realized sooner. Chris Malley, senior researcher at Stockholm Environment Institute, explained that hasty mitigation has the potential to slow down the warming expected by 2050 by as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius. But the real beauty of reducing super pollutants is the benefit to human health and food security: The Clean Air and Climate Coalition, a body launched by the United Nations Environment Program, states that it could also prevent more than 2 million premature deaths each year and avoid annual crop losses of over 50 million metric tons. Despite their multihazardous natures, the Paris Agreement doesn't require countries to single out super pollutants in climate action plans known as nationally-determined contributions, or NDCs. As a result, many of the first NDCs didn't do so at all, simply referring to one number — CO2-equivalent, a standardized metric which converts the different warming potentials of each pollutant into a comparable figure. This doesn't give a clear picture of the impacts of any given action plan as these gases have distinct impacts over different timescales. It also obscures the chance to communicate the very tangible and near-term public benefits. But here's why we ought to feel some optimism. NDCs are submitted every five years and in the second round of submissions post-2020, Malley observed a sizeable uptick in countries referring to super pollutants explicitly or implicitly, via sector-specific targets or co-benefits. Pre-2020, only Mexico and Uruguay included quantitative reduction targets for a relevant super pollutant. Post-2020, 20 NDCs included quantitative information on short-lived climate pollutants or air pollutant reductions. It's also notable that several countries also included assessments of the benefits. Nigeria, for example, concluded that if its climate plan was successfully implemented, 30,000 Nigerians wouldn't die prematurely every year by 2030. It turns NDCs into plans to protect citizens' health. Now, new NDCs are being submitted ahead of the 30th United Nations climate change conference in Brazil at the end of the year. There's only a small basket to analyze, with just 19 nations submitting updated plans so far, but there are signs that awareness of super pollutants is growing. One notable example is Canada's NDC, which reported the outcomes of a public engagement push. About 11,000 participants were asked which co-benefits of climate change action should be prioritized and 79% said air quality and public health. This demonstrates how the near-term benefits of tackling superpollutants can strengthen and broaden public support for climate action. At a time where the concept of net zero emissions is heavily politicized, that's incredibly helpful. But, while there's reason to hope, NDCs are just pieces of paper. The U.S. submitted an ambitious climate plan at the end of the Biden administration which won't be implemented under U.S. President Donald Trump, who is withdrawing the country from the Paris Agreement again. Success in many developing countries' plans also depends on conditional support. Without more money and expansions in technical and human capacity, all the benefits for planet and people won't be realized. Methane emissions have also continued to rise, meaning that while the plans and awareness are there, we're still way off track. We don't have to be. Often solutions are easy wins with no technical breakthroughs required, such as reducing methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure or draining rice paddy fields once or twice a year. Economic benefits are another upside, giving the waste sector an opportunity to generate profits out of rubbish by selling compost or biogas. Make no mistake, carbon dioxide is the number one greenhouse gas to conquer. But ridding ourselves of super pollutants will yield immediate benefits — cooling our cities, giving us cleaner air to breathe and better food to eat. Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change.
