Looking for more ways to reduce your environmental footprint? Look no further than your closet.
According to a report by Quantis, an environmental consultancy, the apparel and footwear industries account for around 8 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
The simplest way to reduce your wardrobe's environmental footprint is to buy fewer clothes.
Finally, clothing companies outsource their production to factories in countries like China, India and Bangladesh, where environmental regulations are lax or nonexistent, and where workers earn low wages. That's how leading retailers source clothes at low prices.
The final piece of the puzzle is us, the consumers: We often buy more clothes than we need just because they're cheap. The simplest way to reduce your wardrobe's environmental footprint is to buy fewer clothes, said Linda Greer, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who launched a program in 2009 to address the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. "We live in an age of fast fashion in which people buy tremendously more clothing than they used to," she said. "My advice is that you buy only what you really love and don't go recreational shopping."
Two more tips: Buy vintage and, when possible, buy clothes made from recycled fabric.