СОР № 1 Английский язык 11ОГН класс Clothes journeys
НазадClothes journeys
Задание:
Read the article and put T (True) or F (False) next to each of the statements below. Say why the false answers are not true.
Clothing rental could be the key to a stylishly sustainable fashion industry An astonishing 235 million items of unwanted clothing were predicted to be dumped in UK landfill in 2017, while the average American is estimated to bin 37kg of used clothing annually. Overconsumption and disposal of unwanted clothing has become a worrying global problem — and in many cases, this clothing is unnecessarily thrown away. Filling landfill with clothing and textiles costs the UK alone an estimated £82m every year. However, the consumption of clothing is hugely important to the economies of many countries, too. Research from The British Fashion Council, for example, found that fashion contributes ø28 billion directly to the UK economy — and globally, it is a US$2.4 trillion industry. Despite this, materialistic values and a widespread desire for having new things, together with the fact that the fashion industry constantly creates and sells different styles, have reduced the functional value of clothing, making it easily disposable. 100 billion items of clothing are being produced annually, and 50% of fast fashion* pieces are disposed of within a year. Fashion and sustainability have historically had an uncomfortable relationship. Growing concerns over sweatshop labour have seen fashion companies overhaul their social and environmental policies. Consumers, meanwhile, have grown increasingly concerned about where and how garments are made. But while fashion makes efforts to become ethical, there are still serious concerns over its environmental impacts. Fashion is considered one of the world’s most polluting industries — from toxic chemical use to water pollution and waste. Some 35% of the global total of microfibres in the oceans comes from clothes and textiles. So what’s the solution? While fashion brands are working to limit their levels of pollution through the creation of organic, environmentally conscious collections, there is still a need to reduce the huge volume of waste that fashion creates. Recycling has become an important way to address this. H&M, for example, has a successful garment collection scheme, where they repurpose their consumers’ unwanted clothing. However, the recycling process is problematic environmentally. It is energy intensive and may require use of further fresh materials. Additionally, while it resolves some of fashion’s sustainability issues, it does not adequately address the problem that consumers buy too much. We must reconsider how fashion is sold, encourage consumers to waste less, and ensure that garments have a longer lifespan. Leasing has been identified as an innovative business model that gives clothes a longer service life, while reducing material use and carbon dioxide emissions. The possible value of the clothing rental market in the UK is predicted to be £923m and the model is already well-established for certain items, such as dinner jackets and wedding suits for men. Despite this, there are currently just a handful of fashion companies that are using a leasing model. Research found there were opportunities for clothing rental at the luxury end of the market, but there was resistance to renting lower priced items, which were just too easy to buy. If consumers are to engage, rentals need to be convenient, cheap, accessible and fulfil the desire for having something new. Clothing rental has the potential to reduce waste and increase the lifespan of garments, but to achieve a more sustainable industry a systemic change in business practice and consumer behaviour is needed.
*Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothes based on catwalk designs that are made and put quickly on display in shops.
1. Shoppers are increasingly more interested in how their clothes are made. 2. Around a quarter of `fast fashion’ items that people buy are thrown away within the first year. 3. Recycling doesn’t have any environmental impacts. 4. One of the benefits of leasing is that clothes will not be disposed of so quickly. 5. Luxury items are harder to rent to consumers.
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