The environmental toll of the global fashion industry isn’t limited to landfills. A staggering 500,000 tons of microfibers, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles, are released into our oceans annually from washing clothes, as highlighted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017. More recent studies estimate microfiber pollution ranging from 0.8-2.5 million tons entering the ocean each year. This not only disrupts marine ecosystems but also raises questions about the long-term consequences of how our clothes are produced.
The urgency of the following question is clear:
How can the fashion industry move towards more ecological practices, especially with the rise of fast-fashion items of clothing from global fashion brands?
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