Clothing and Environmental Burden: Promote Reuse of Clothes to Reduce Mass Disposal

Editorial

14:59 JST, August 26, 2024

The current situation in which large quantities of clothing are consumed and discarded is placing a heavy burden on the environment. The awareness of both companies and consumers must be changed, and the reuse of clothes must be promoted.

The apparel industry uses large amounts of resources and energy in the process from manufacturing to sales.

For example, the amount of water used to produce one piece of clothing from raw materials is said to be equivalent to the volume of 11 bathtubs, and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted is said to be equivalent to about 255 500-milliliter plastic bottles.

The industry has been identified as one that places a heavy burden on the environment and this has become an international issue. Both companies and consumers need to change their habits of mass consumption and mass disposal.

However, the current business model in Japan is not changing.

In 1990, 2 billion items of clothing were supplied, and the figure has almost doubled to nearly 4 billion items per year today. Meanwhile, some surveys indicate that the price of a piece of clothing has dropped by less than half over the past about 30 years.

Recycling efforts are also insufficient. The Environment Ministry estimates that 700,000 tons of clothing were let go of by households in 2022, of which 460,000 tons were discarded.

The recycling of clothing, in which unused clothing is collected and remade into another product or processed into cotton or yarn, amounted to 110,000 tons, while the reuse of garments as used clothing remained only at 130,000 tons.

This summer, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry compiled a road map for promoting the recycling of clothing. It aims to reduce the amount of clothing discarded by households by 25% by fiscal 2030 from the fiscal 2020 level. Specific steps must be devised to achieve the goal.

To increase recycling, it will be essential to collect as much unused clothing as possible.

An increasing number of retailers, such as Uniqlo, are installing collection boxes for unneeded garments in their stores. Onward Kashiyama, a leading apparel company, collects its own products that have been used at home through its stores and online.

It is important for the entire industry to accelerate such efforts.

The trend toward greater recycling of clothing is gaining momentum worldwide. The European Union is planning to introduce regulations that will prohibit apparel businesses from discarding unsold clothing.

There is also a growing trend among young people around the world to choose products that have less of an environmental impact. Such a shift in awareness needs to take root in Japan as well.

In addition, the government and private sector are working together to improve the performance of equipment that automatically sorts different types of clothing, such as sweaters and shirts. The development of technology that contributes to greater work efficiency and cost reductions is also important for promoting recycling.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 26, 2024)