Issue 4 • Week of February 6, 2022

New York Fashion Week starts February 11, and we would like to use this celebration to draw attention to the hottest new look this season -- sustainability.

The average American buys 68 pieces of clothing per year, over 5 times more than in 1980, and wears half of them only 3 times or less. Our thirst for the latest trends has contributed to a global industry now producing 2-3x more than just 20 years ago. This growth is not sustainable for our planet and we must endeavor to buy fewer, higher quality clothes. Yet deciding what to do with unwanted apparel until then is a real challenge.

Grasping this issue is complicated by the fact that fashion industry data is notoriously hard to come by and often prohibitively expensive. Plus, there are numerous voluntary standards that makes it hard for consumers to know what they are buying. So what can consumers do to influence this industry?

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