The cost of FAST FASHION
Marie Claire Australia|May 2022
Ever wonder what happens to your old clothes? With more than 15 million second-hand garments landing in Ghana each week from the UK, Europe, America and Australia, our fast-fashion addiction is damaging communities and polluting beaches on the other side of the world. Clare Press reports
The cost of FAST FASHION

Monsters are real. They're just made of polyester. Fishermen off Osu Beach in Accra, Ghana, know to look out for these man-made creatures from the deep that can tangle in their boat propellers.

"We call them ‘tentacles,” explains Liz Ricketts, co-founder of The Or Foundation, an Accra-based non-profit focused on the second-hand clothing sector. Unwanted garments, she explains, wend their way from the city's huge second-hand clothing market, Kantamanto, to the sea, where they clog into lumpy ropes that don't biodegrade.

Last year, a report by the UK-based Changing Markets Foundation, Synthetics Anonymous: Fashion Brands'Addiction to Fossil Fuels, revealed how our clothes are mostly made from plastic. Synthetic fibres now represent more than two-thirds of all materials used in textiles. And it's getting worse - that number is expected to reach nearly threequarters by 2030.

Footage from The Or Foundation shows plastic litter lapping the sand on Osu Beach, and mixed in with the bottles, packaging and takeaway forks are clothes. While it's hard to pick out a shirt from a skirt in the tangle of waste, you can see their colours and prints.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2022-Ausgabe von Marie Claire Australia.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2022-Ausgabe von Marie Claire Australia.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS MARIE CLAIRE AUSTRALIAAlle anzeigen
SHANNEN DOHERTY
Marie Claire Australia

SHANNEN DOHERTY

The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms

time-read
8 Minuten  |
September 2024
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Marie Claire Australia

IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA

Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
Back to EARTH
Marie Claire Australia

Back to EARTH

In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
ODE to LIGHT
Marie Claire Australia

ODE to LIGHT

Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
JEN ATKIN
Marie Claire Australia

JEN ATKIN

The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
A NEW DIRECTION
Marie Claire Australia

A NEW DIRECTION

When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 2024
LADY LUCK
Marie Claire Australia

LADY LUCK

Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 2024
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Marie Claire Australia

Wait... superhero movies are cool now?

Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
CURTAIN CALLING
Marie Claire Australia

CURTAIN CALLING

Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024
LEIGH-ANNE
Marie Claire Australia

LEIGH-ANNE

The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2024