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11.  Stopping Shopping 

Not sure which way you make the most pollution?  Find out.

                  

 No one can stop shopping entirely, but if you could (almost) kick the habit, it would help

                                  

 There's much too much abuse and pollution in the shopping supply chain. 

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 For example: 
 Animal Skins: 

“‘Fashion is a terrible excuse for animal exploitation.”

“In  2020,  Stockholm  Fashion  Week  kicked  off  with  a  ban  on  exotic  skins,  meaning  no  crocodile,  snake,  ostrich,  or  alligator  skin.”

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 "Sustainable fashion?                       

                    There’s no such thing." 

 "Turns out, there's a lot of harm."  

 Cotton: 

“‘Cotton  defoliants  are  ‘the  most  toxic  farm  chemicals  currently on  the  market’.”

  Too much cotton comes from the forced labor of Uyhgurs in Xinjiang

 Synthetic fabrics: 

“From  the  extraction  of  the  raw  materials  to  the  wastewater from  the  dyes…   synthetic  fabric  is  environmentally  problematic.”

 Garment workers: 

“The clothing industry...employs every sixth person on Earth...the   apparel trade has exploited labor [and] the environment.”

“Systemic  human  rights  abuses  pervade  the  global  garment   industry.”

 Clothes: 

​"Textile  dyeing  is  one  of  the  most  polluting  aspects  of  the global   fashion  industry"  (see  photo).   The  "fabric-dyeing industry...uses  trillions  of  gallons  of  water  a  year."

 

"The  fashion  industry...is  responsible  for  up  to  10%  of  global   carbon  emissions."   “Clothes  account  for  a  massive,  and   growing,  pile  of  waste  that  ends  up  in  landfills.”

 

“Three  East  African  countries  stood  up  to  the  industry  and   initiated  a  ban  on  secondhand  clothing”  imports.

 Fast Fashion:  

 It  can  be  difficult  to  connect  all  the  dots  that  lead  from   glamorous  runways  and  fashion  houses...to  miserable  third world  workers  and  polluted  weather.

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“The  energy-intensive  fast-fashion  sector…has  become  notorious  for…chemicals  that  quickly  end  up  in   landfills  and  oceans.”

 The  ultra-fast-fashion  company  Shein,  “has  poured  significant  funds  into  Google  and  Facebook                      advertising  campaigns,  influencer  deals,  and  even  its  own  social-media  reality  show…

 Ultra-fast-fashion  will  only  keep  ticking  up  in  speed… as  long  as  consumers  continue  to...buy.”

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                                                              Delivery 

 Trucks: 

“Heavy-duty  trucks  are  responsible  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  the  greenhouse  gas  emissions 

 from  the nation’s  transportation  sector”...

“Tractor-trailers,  delivery  vans,  and  heavier-duty  pickup  trucks

 [emit]...45%  of  nitrogen  oxide emissions  and  57%  of…PM 2.5.”

 “Electrifying  delivery  vehicles  would  take  [a  large]  bite  out  of  carbon  emissions”

"The port of Los Angeles...shows apparent increases in NO2 [pollution] in October

2021" due to "record-breaking backlogs of container ships idling offshore."

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 Ships:  

“90%  of  the  world’s  trade  is   carried  via  ocean  traffic”,  and  container  ships  are  “some  of  the   biggest  and  dirtiest  machines  on   the  planet.”

Cargo  ships…burn  some  of  the   world’s  dirtiest  and  carbon-   intensive  fuels.”   “Ships  are   acting  as hazardous  waste   incinerators  for  the  world’s  oil   refineries.”

"The  dumping  of  rubbish  resulting   from  the  routine  operations  of   ships,  and  from  illegal   activities...are  major  sources  of   pollution." 

 Ocean accidents: 

“The  Sri  Lankan…Navy  said...The ship’s crew were aware of [the nitric acid] leak...

 and had sought to dock in Qatar and India but were denied permission." June 2021

"An abandoned cargo ship packed with cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, after a rapidly-   spreading fire..." February 2022

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 What To Do? 

 Recycling? 

 I'm sorry to report that except for paper/cardboard, bottles, and tin/aluminium, many "recycled" materials get incinerated or dumped - in the US or elsewhere.

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 Reuse or Repair 

Support  Right-to-Repair  legislation.   If  we  fix  old  stuff,  instead  of dumping  old  stuff  and  buying  new  stuff,  there’ll  be  less  stuff

in  our  oceans  and  atmosphere - see more on stuff below.

Not  the  best  at  fixing  things?   See  if  there’s  a  Repair  Cafe  (or something  similar)  near  you.

 Buy nothing 

Keep  in  mind  the  clever  corporate  concept  of  planned obsolescence

"The ultimate  goal  is  to  make  you  buy  products  again  and  again".

I’ve  found  that  people  appreciate  a  simple  home-made-type  of  gift.

For  more  info,  read  about  Buy  Nothing  Day.

                    Buy 2nd hand 

                    It  takes  a  little  time,  but  you  can  find  good-quality  items                                    (including suits and other  dress  clothing)  at  second-hand  stores. 

                    Re tech items: buying-second-hand-tech

                    Search - second  hand  stores  near  me

 Consult the scorecards 

Compare  different  apparel  companies  at  an  ethical  fashion  scorecard

"The  fashion  industry  continues  to  rely  heavily  on  coal...plus...fracked gas." 

For electronics, go to:  ethicalconsumer.org/technology/shopping-guide/laptops

or skim:  12-ways-to-reduce-and-control-e-waste-for-2022

 Too much stuff 

 

"That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff...If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house...

And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up.  Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff...That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!"

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