The issue of fast fashion was brought up on my Instagram the other day, and with Black Friday approaching it’s probably a good time to bring this up. A story I’d expected widespread coverage from, but haven’t seen much about.
Atacama Desert, Chile – the driest desert in the world. Described as a ‘playground of adventure’ by National Geographic, it’s slowly becoming the world’s textile dumping ground. With 59,000 tonnes of secondhand or unsold textiles from Europe, the US and Asia arriving at Chile’s Iquique Port each year, merchants buy roughly 20,000 tonnes, and the remaining 39,000 are dumped in the desert. With the textiles made from synthetic materials, they take hundreds of years to degrade, and in this process will pollute both the air and water.
From this pile, some local companies have taken it into their hands to use the materials, with EcoFibra using the textiles to create insulation panels and Ecocitex recycling a portion of the landfill into yarn. Additionally, migrants in the area are able to find extra clothing that fits them, due to traveling with very few belongings.
My main point from all of this is to be mindful of what you purchase on Black Friday & Cyber Monday this year, and research into how the company tries to reduce/offset their impact on the environment before typing in your card details. Also, if a company can offer 70% off and still be profitable, how much are you overpaying the rest of the year?
Sources for figures and images used:
https://www.ecowatch.com/chile-desert-fast-fashion-2655551898.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph428jpK5Wk
Zak Michaelwaite 
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