The Life of a T-Shirt

AN URBANTIMES PRODUCTION in collaboration with tex2ture THE LIFE OF A - T-SHIRT WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF YOUR T-SHIRT? 2.4 BILLION COTTON T-SHIRTS ARE PRODUCED EVERY YEAR BUT THIS THE AVERAGE WEIGHT OF A T-SHIRT IS LIGHT PRODUCT HAS A HEINZ BEANZ 200g BIG IMPACT IT ALL BEGINS WITH COTTON PRODUCTION... COTTON PRODUCTION 24.3 MILLION TONNES OF COTTON IS CONSUMED PER YEAR GLOBALLY AND ALMOST HALF A MILLION OF THIS IS USED FOR T-SHIRTS ALONE GROWING THE COTTON FOR A. SINGLE T-SHIRT REQUIRES: 2000 WHICH IS ROUGHLY LITRES OF WATER BATHTUBS 150g OF PESTICIDES ARE USED PER T-SHIRT! THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO 360,000,000 KILOGRAMS OF PESTICIDES A YEAR WHICH IS QD AS HEAVY AS 11,881 M4 SHERMAN ARMY TANKS MANUFACTURING FOR THE AVERAGE T-SHIRT WEIGHING 200g 5000 IS USED IN THE MANUFACTURING LITRES OF PROCESS. THIS WATER IS THE SAME AS 20,000 CUPS OF TEA AND 1.5KG PLAIN FLOUR 1kg 1kg OF MOSTLY HARMFUL CHEMICALS IS USED IN PRODUCTION LAUNDERING 75% OF THE ENERGY ASSOCIATED WITH T-SHIRTS IS USED IN THE LAUNDERING PROCESS AND IN THE UK, LAUNDERING ACCOUNTS FOR O 40% OF DOMESTIC WATER FOOTPRINTS 25% OF A T-SHIRT'S DYE WILL BE WASHED DOWN THE DRAIN, POLLUTING OUR ECO- SYSTEM THIS DYE CAN GET INTO OUR DRINKING WATER AS IT IS NOT REMOVED BY THE SEWAGE FILTRATION PROCESS ALL THIS IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY... THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONTINUES AFTER THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN BOUGHT. LANDFILL OF TEXTILES END UP IN LANDFILL. 1.2 UK EVERY YEAR IN THE THAT'S ABOUT MILLION 24.000 TONNES JUMBO JETS ONLY 16% IS RE-USED OR RECYCLED. THIS IS 20% LESS THAN 5 YEARS AGO. OF TEXTILES END UP IN LANDFILL. EVERY YEAR IN THE USA MILLION 61,111 11 THAT'S ABOUT TONNES BLUE WHALES IN THE U.S. ONLY 15% OF DISCARDED ITEMS ARE SOLD SECOND HAND HOW YOU CAN HELP DON'T THROW AWAY. REPAIR, REUSE OR DONATE GET BEHIND SUSTAINABLE FASHION - BUY ORGANIC COTTON/HEMP T-SHIRTS HOST A CLOTHES SWAPPING PARTY IT'S FUN AND DOESN'T COST A PENNY. BUY FROM A CHARITY SHOP Charity Shop LINE DRY YOUR CLOTHES BECAUSE... IT'S CHEAPER THAN USING A TUMBLE DRYER. YOU CAN SAVE, ON AVERAGE, UP TO pafat £50 e50 £200 IFIIFTY A YEAR ON YOUR ENERGY BILL CLOTHES LAST LONGER, SMELL BETTER AND FEEL FRESHER WHEN LINE DRIED USING A CLOTHES LINE CAN CUT A HOUSEHOLD'S THAT'S THE SAME WEIGHT AS 284 CARBON POLLUTION BY UP TO POUND COINS 2.7KG UTAMEN AMEIN PER LAUNDRY LOAD. 15 IT'S GREAT EXERCISE, YOU BURN AROUND 45 CALORIES EVERY MINUTES THE SUN'S UV RAYS ARE ANTISEPTIC WHICH HELPS KILL BACTERIA YOU GET FRESH AIR AND VITAMIN D FROM THE SUN WHEN YOU HANG YOUR CLOTHES OUTSIDE IN WINTER MONTHS, INDOOR DRYING NATURALLY HUMIDIFIES THE DRY AIR FROM CENTRAL HEATING. THIS PREVENTS ILLNESSES SHARE THIS INFOGRAPHIC! SOURCES: http://www.cotton.org/econ/world/index.cfm http://www.acfonline.org.au/?news-id=171 - http://www.carbontrust.com/resources http://thatdberight.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/carbon-footprint-of-your-t-shirt.html Sustainable Fashion + Textiles, Design Journeys, by Kate Fletcher http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earthvearthnews/4734946/Primark-effect-prompts-government-drive-to-cut-clothes-sent-to-landfill.html -http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/now/25/carbon-footprint-load-laundry URBANTIMES texpture in collaboration with O ee ww.URBANTIMES.co