THE BATTLE TO SAVE EARTH Have you ever decided to change your fashion style Or looked in your closet to find you've outgrown last year's clothes Tossed out clothes and shoes are a big part of the problem of global waste Be a waste warrior to help stop this pollution Even making some small changes can make a big difference The Three Problems with Waste Heaps of Garbage Much of our garbage is thrown into landfills But when waste breaks down in landfills it can harm our environment Plastic found in some clothing and shoes can leak harmful things into the soil and air Waste in landfills lets off a gas called methane as it breaks down On top of that the waste in landfills just sits there stored up for a future generation to deal with That is why waste warriors avoid creating waste We have created landfills to deal with our huge amounts of waste
Wasted Resources When we throw clothes away we often get new clothes to replace them But a lot goes into making new clothes For example each new cotton T shirt comes from cotton plants that must be grown and watered using our planet's limited natural resources Polluted Planet We create pollution when we burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil to power factories that make all kinds of products from fabrics to sneakers When fossil fuels are burned they release carbon dioxide and other gases that trap the sun's heat around our planet This causes temperatures to rise and climates to change Pollution from factories is a key cause of global warming and climate change On average it takes 713 gallons 2,700 L of water to produce the cotton for just one T shirt
The Six Rs So how can you help Here are six ways eco warriors can battle against waste But you don't need to master them all to make a difference Every little bit helps DONATE Refuse If you have a choice say no thanks to extra packaging and bags when you're shopping Reduce Try to get more clothes only When your pants are too short and when you have grown out of the old ones your sweaters are Reuse Before throwing outgrown clothes too tight consider donating them in the trash consider whether someone else could wear them Repair Try fixing old torn clothes rather than throwing them out You may need to ask an adult for help Recycle Aim to recycle all shoe boxes and unwearable clothes so they can be made into something new Rot Put ripped and unusable cotton and other natural fabrics in the compost so they will rot away Fixing old clothes is a simple way to reduce clothing waste
Bring your own fabric shopping bag so you can refuse plastic bags NO PLASTIC
