It’s Kuhl To Recycle: You Look Marvelous

What To Wear While Saving The Planet

By Mark Kuhl

For the GPHN

Earth Day is April 22 and as you think of how to be nicer to the environment, consider your fashion choices.

Earthday.org recently highlighted how our fashion habits impact the environment. For example, land is cleared to graze animals for wool and leather and this leads to desertification, soil degradation and biodiversity loss. It takes a surprising 3,781 liters of water to make one pair of jeans from the production of cotton to delivery to stores. An estimated two million tons of synthetic micro-fibers are washed into the ocean each year from the laundering of our fleece jackets (and other synthetic garments).

So, other than avoiding fast fashion, how can we change our fashion habits to lighten our impact on Mother Earth? Buy high quality items that will last. Choose garments made from natural fibers like cotton. Shop at thrift stores. Repair damaged clothing to get another few years of wear before repurposing them as rags.

Mark Kuhl is an environmental advocate who lives in Park Hill with his family. His handy tips and news about recycling household items appear every month in these pages. A directory of his past columns for recycling everything from paint to Styrofoam to shoes is at greaterparkhill.org/sustainability/recycling-directory/.