Clothing is one of the basic necessities in life aside from food and shelter. Every year the fashion industry is growing in size because more people are being born; hence more demand for the basic necessities. More people spend their incomes on looking good. Because of this, clothing industry is indeed big business. And from knowledge on economics, big businesses have environmental effect whether positive or negative because of the involvement of many people in the supply of clothes.
Different fabrics are used in the manufacture of clothes. Fabrics are divided into natural fibers like cotton or silk and artificial ones like nylon or polyester. Clothes made from artificial fibers are thought to be cheap and it is for this reason why people prefer clothes made from natural fibers. Aside from this, many of the artificial fabrics are harmful to the environment. Nylon is made from petroleum and polyester is made from the same material to be made into plastic bottles. However, it is not safe to assume that natural fabrics are better than the artificial ones. An example is cotton, a crop that demands huge amount of water for it to grow. This water could have been used for drinking water of people and animals or irrigating of lands.
Manufacturing involves chemicals that are toxic and could bring about harm to people and the environment. This is true not only for clothes but also for every sort of products being manufactured. Many clothes used all over the world are manufactured in developing countries where working conditions are not that ideal. In addition, they needed to be shipped to the different parts of the world, contributing to the increased carbon emissions, not to mention the expensive transportation cost. Because of these factors, some people started producing eco clothes, which are made from natural fibers like bamboo and hemp, and natural dyes for color. This seems to be a great feat for the clothing industry. People will not compromise the environment while being able to fulfill their basic need.