Earth911 is honoring the 52 years of Earth Day with 52 Actions for the Earth. Each week through Earth Day 2023, we will share an action you can take to invest in the Earth and make your own life more sustainable. The environmental impact of the global textile and fashion industry is so big that EarthDay.org has made sustainable fashion one of its major campaigns. This week, you can use social media to take action for the Earth by becoming a fashion influencer.<\/p>\n

Action: Become a Sustainable Fashion Influencer<\/h2>\n

Fashion<\/h3>\n
We\u2019re so used to $10 T-shirts, seasonal trends, and shops that rotate merchandise every two weeks, few of us can imagine a world without fast fashion. The average person today buys 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago. But they only keep their clothes for half as long<\/a>. The average garment may be worn as few as 10 times before disposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n
But every aspect of making, selling, and replacing all that disposable clothing has a big environmental impact. The fashion industry is responsible for nearly 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>. Every year, 40 million tons<\/a> of textiles are disposed \u2013 many of them never worn. It takes nearly 3,000 liters of water<\/a> to make one cotton T-shirt and 3,781\u202fliters of water<\/a> to make a pair of jeans. Yet cotton, especially organic cotton, is a better fabric choice than synthetics. More than half of our clothes are made of oil-derived synthetic fibers that contribute to 35% of all ocean microplastic<\/a> pollution. After technology manufacturing, the garment industry is the next leading cause of modern slavery<\/a> and child labor.<\/p>\n

My Planet My Closet<\/h3>\n
Quitting fast fashion for good and investing in sustainable fashion isn\u2019t easy, especially when social media is overflowing with haul videos and #ootd (outfit of the day) images that encourage a throwaway approach to dressing. You can take inspiration from EarthDay.org\u2019s Fashion for the Earth Ambassadors<\/a> and shift your own influences by following more sustainable fashion influencers<\/a> in 2023. But it\u2019s even better to become an influencer for good yourself.<\/p>\n
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Inspire others with your sustainable wardrobe via EarthDay.org\u2019s My Planet My Closet showcase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As part of EarthDay.org\u2019s sustainable fashion campaign, they are renewing My Planet My Closet<\/a>, a showcase for the efforts of regular people to move past fast fashion and develop a more sustainable wardrobe. To participate, make a short MP4 video showing off your sustainable closet, and share it with EarthDay.org. They might use it on Twitter, other social media channels, their web page, or all of the above.<\/p>\n
You can follow EarthDay.org\u2019s guidelines and join their campaign or just do your own thing. On the social media platform of your choice, create a video, reel, image, or text post that relates to sustainable fashion. Demonstrate how you reduce the impact of your wardrobe, show off your creative remixes of your capsule wardrobe, or share facts about the environmental impact of the fashion industry. If you know how to mend or recently hosted a clothing swap, make a how-to video or blog about the experience. Read some of Earth911\u2019s articles on making fashion sustainable if you need inspiration, and don\u2019t forget to tag @Earth911!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n