The carbon footprint is still at high rates! How can it be reduced?
A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a result of human activities. When CO2 is released the obvious result is a drastic climate change. Measures have been taken to retain the high rates. But they are not enough so far!
The "carbon footprint" is a term coined by the researchers, William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel, back in the 1990s
Carbon footprint also means the environmental impact caused by people, fashion and car industries, deforestation, meat production and any other pollution that harms nature. The higher the released CO2, the more harmful to the planet!
Fast fashion industry, for example, deals with an infamous vicious cycle, which is production-consumption-disposal-consumption- production, feeds carbon footprint! It's responsible for about 10% of all carbon emissions to the atmosphere!.
Globally speaking, textile production is the second most polluting while the first one is oil industry production! CO2 emission from textile production remains high because more than 1.2 billion tons are released into the atmosphere! Annually!
International flights ad shippings are the other sector in which CO2 emission is pretty high!
"According to UNFCCC, CO2 emission tends to increase to another 60% by 2030, in case a drastic attitude takes place and paradigms change. Don't forget what s happening in China and India regarding their textile manufacturing and other companies as well!"
What can be done to reduce the carbon footprint
- Reduction of the demand for polyester: Despite so many campaigns, the demand for clothes made of polyester, still remains high, because it is a raw material of low cost. Organic cotton fabric is the best option! The use of synthetic fibers, therefore, has a negative ecological impact because it requires the presence of fossil fuels such as crude oil.
- New production methodologies for clothing production and consumption: The average annual rate in relation to the life cycle of a fabric decreased to 36%, compared to 15 years ago, when only 1% was recycled. But still, it remains high, once slow fashion has not yet taken place widely. The bid, therefore, is to spread more the technique of recycling clothes!
- Emissions Inventory Management: This annual report provides a comprehensive accounting of total greenhouse gas emissions for all man-made sources in the United States. The gases covered by the Inventory include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. On the other hand, Inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by “sinks,” e.g., through the uptake of carbon and storage in forests, vegetation, and soils.
The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project determined that in order to hold the global temperature rise to 2˚C or less, everyone on earth will need to have an annual average of carbon footprint of 1.87 tons, by 2050.
