Pollution is out of fashion: how to reduce the damage caused by textile waste? - Voila! money

The fashion industry is turning the planet into a fashion victim.../ShutterStock, Ground Picture

The new technology, with an emphasis on the development of artificial intelligence, is gaining momentum and the revolution it brings with it may be the highlight of the 21st century. Alongside its spread in all directions, there is also an all-encompassing political issue on the agenda that is likely to divert everyone's attention in the coming years: the state of the planet.

The fashion industry is seen as one of the industries responsible for his condition. When you look at the simple data, hair-raising results emerge: the global fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, consumes 20% of the world's water and is the second largest polluting source of fresh water in the world. That's because making a cotton shirt requires 2,700 liters of water – the amount a person drinks in two and a half years.

From the 60s to recent years, there has been an 800 per cent increase in the amount of textile waste buried, with only one per cent of textile waste recycled. Half a million tons of microplastics are produced by the fashion industry and are discharged into the sea every year.

The new technology has recently been mobilized to solve the pollution problems of the fashion industry. For example, she did so when she began producing virtual models dressed in the fashion company's best shirts. This is an advertisement that looks like it was taken from the previous era, but in practice not a single size of fabric was cut in order to photograph it. Everything remains virtual.

Tal Manelbaum, Entrepreneur and Investor, StyleTech/Private

Now the new technology is taking another step forward, this time towards the consumer. Until now, the consumer would order a garment from a huge inventory that has already been produced. Thus there was a chance that the garment he purchased would not fit his size, and the result would be the return of the product, the order of another garment and God forbid, which leads to increased pollution on the transport planes that bring the products.

Now, the new technology makes it possible to optimally precise for the consumer the size and model required for him, thus minimizing the chance that he will replace the product. The garment he orders from the site is made from scratch especially for him, and thus we get clear savings: less fabrics produced and waste water and fewer transport flights that return endless products.

On paper, all well and good. In practice, more fashion companies need to internalize the necessary technological change, take responsibility, adopt the new solutions and reduce pollution.

These things don't happen in a day or two. Members of the fashion industry still live the reality of the old world, according to which production increases demand and sales. At the same time, many members of the public have begun to internalize the connection between their consumption and the climate situation.

It will probably take some time, but that's where the world will eventually go. The internalization of the connection between the fashion industry and the climate situation will eventually make its mark.

And this will eventually apply to all of us: the giant corporations, the buying public as a whole, and also the governments, which will begin to enact laws that will reduce pollution and encourage the adoption of new technologies that provide solutions. In Europe, for example, companies that are perceived as protecting the planet and meet certain conditions that are set and updated frequently receive tax benefits. Presumably, the United States will eventually adopt this line as well.

Israel, unfortunately, is not acting properly when it comes to reducing pollution. For some reason, this is perceived as a trivial matter compared to the challenges, especially security, facing Israel. In contrast to the positions on security and foreign policy, economy and society, religion and state, which the various parties wave back and forth, the issue of the environment is perceived as almost orphaned. He has no significant political lobby and no one to argue fiercely for him.

This is a misconception. A clean environment must be part of the security concept in a sustainable country. Therefore, it is important that Israel take positions in favor of preserving the planet and join the overall struggle to preserve it, inter alia by adopting new technologies.

The writer is an entrepreneur and investor, styletech

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