Women's
The Backstory
Before it appears on the rack at your favorite retail store, clothes travel a rather ugly path, involving pesticide-intensive raw materials, labor abuse at factories, toxic runoff from chemical dyes and "beneficial" water- and stain-resistant finishes that can emit formaldehyde and persist in the environment indefinitely.
Environmental Issues
Most of the environmental problems associated with clothing revolve around raw materials. Conventional cotton agriculture uses 25 percent of the world's insecticides each year, as well as large amounts of petroleum-based herbicides and fertilizers, all of which are heavy polluters of groundwater and the oceans. Likewise, the insecticides used to kill parasites, such as lice, mites and ticks, on sheep raised for wool can taint ground water and aquatic ecosystems.
Synthetic fibers are popular in athletic gear and outerwear, since they repel water so much better than cotton. However, rayon, a synthetic derived from wood pulp, requires a water- and chemical-intensive manufacturing process, and also contributes to deforestation. Other wood-based fibers are acetate and Tencel. Often billed as an environmentally friendly fiber, Tencel's production process is much less polluting than rayon's, but whether it's any less damaging to forests remains to be seen. Polyester and nylon are made from petroleum-based chemicals in energy-intensive processes that pump out globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their manufacture also contributes to the depletion of oil and to the degradation that accompanies oil drilling. Finally, imitation leather is commonly made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the manufacture of which pumps carcinogenic dioxin into the air, groundwater and ecosystems surrounding manufacturing plants. PVC is also used in screen-printing decals, inks and other decorations on fabrics.
In addition to raw materials, the dying process of all fabrics has its own impact. Conventional chemical textile dyes contain petrochemicals in addition to carcinogenic heavy metals, such as cadmium, chromium VI and arsenic, and mercury and lead, which are known to damage the brain and nervous system. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed several dyes, including azo, triarylmethane and anthraquinone, as hazardous waste materials because of the groundwater contamination potential surrounding manufacturing plants.
Personal Health
Once clothes reach your closet, they aren't likely to harbor any dangerous pesticides or carcinogens from dyes. However, dyes have been known to trigger allergic reactions and contact dermatitis in sensitive children. Furthermore, any clothes treated with permanent-press or stain-resistant finishes may offgas formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
Many synthetic and wool garments are labeled "Dry Clean Only," which frequently involves use of the industrial solvent perchloroethylene (perc). Perc has been known known to cause headaches, nausea and dizziness and has been linked to reproductive problems, including miscarriage and infertility in men, as well as disorders of the central nervous system. If these health risks aren't enough, the International Agency for Research in Cancer has labeled perc a probable human carcinogen.
Anyone donning a PVC vinyl raincoat, rain boots, apron or faux-leather pants is exposed to phthalates, plasticizers used in vinyl that affect reproduction and sexual development in animal experiments. One of the most common vinyl additives, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program. Tests by Greenpeace have also found the toxic heavy metals lead and cadmium in vinyl backpacks and raincoats.
Social Issues
Hazardous Chemical Exposures
Cotton and wool production require many hazardous pesticides. Seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops are deemed by the EPA to be potential or known human carcinogens, and manufacturing synthetic fibers can release lung-damaging pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, particulates, carbon monoxide and heavy metals into the air, as well as climate-warming carbon dioxide.
Sweatshops and Labor Abuses
Walk into almost any clothing store and you will see the work of sweatshops. Garment workers in developing countries, usually in Asia and Latin America, often labor in unsanitary and dangerous factories and earn sub-minimum wages. To improve tainted reputations, many companies are starting to pay workers a local minimum wage, but often, that isn't enough to survive on. In Mexico the average pay is $.85 an hour; in Indonesia, only $.15 an hour.
Wages hover around $8 an hour for U.S. garment workers, including benefits, but a "Made in the USA" tag doesn't assure that your clothing is sweat-free. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over half of the country's 22,000 sewing shops violate minimum wage and overtime laws, and many sewers work up to 80 hours a week without overtime pay. Some may be paid as little as $6 for a garment that retails for $100. According to the advocacy group Sweatshop Watch, U.S. government surveys have found that 75 percent of garment shops in this country violate health and safety regulations. Hazardous conditions such as poor ventilation, dirty bathrooms and blocked fire exits are common.
Animal Welfare
Due to the popularity and warmth associated with wool, sheep have been bred to have unnaturally thick wool coats, sometimes up to half their body weight, which can cause them to have health problems such as heat stroke. And although silk is attractive and soft against skin, it's production involves inhumane treatment of the silkworms, as the pupae are prevented from emerging from their cocoons by either baking or drowning in order to prevent breaking the long silk threads of their cocoon.
