Impacts Of Farm-Closet: A Collective Responsibility

The fashion industry produces about 53 million tonnes of fibre every year, 70 percent of which ends up in garbage dumps or is incinerated, adversely affecting the environment. This reality demands that we look hard at the impacts of farm-closet.

- N Bobo Meitei

Last December, when Delhi breathed comparatively less polluted air, the Yamuna, often referred to as the capital's lifeline, experienced the ecological assault of sewage and industrial effluents. A government report indicated that the pollutant load in the river had increased substantially over the last five years. Then, like any other year, in the soft mountains of pink candy foam rising from the grey surface of the river, devotees gathered to dip to mark Chhaath puja. Every year, the Delhi government shuts down supplies of sizeable water treatment plants because the level of ammonia generated by industrial waste becomes higher than what they can treat. Last year, for more than 33 days, the level of ammonia in water remained above treatable levels, impacting over a third of Delhi's water supply.

The toxic foam that engulfs the river for large parts of the year is linked to the phosphate content of detergents in the wastewater of cloth manufacturing units. Several such units are scattered throughout the region, and drains that carry these effluents run through villages, polluting potable water.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the fashion industry produces about 53 million tonnes of fibre every year, 70 percent of which ends up in garbage dumps or is incinerated. The UK-based charitable organisation says that the production of fibre is expected to reach 160 million tonnes by 2050. It further claims that less than 1 percent of the fibre is reused to make new clothes, representing the loss of billions of dollars worth of clothes that are not reused and thrown into waste, adversely affecting the environment. This reality demands that we to look harder at the impacts of farm-closet.

Cotton