Forest-free Fashion | earthrise

Published: April 20, 2020, 8:34 a.m.

"There's 150 million trees that disappear every year into the clothing that we all wear," says Nicole Rycroft, a conservationist amd founder of Canopy, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the trees that remain. "It's slated to double within the next decade." So-called fast fashion is incredibly resource-intensive and one of the key drivers of deforestation and biodiversity loss across the globe. The destruction of forests not only devastates surrounding land but also releases tonnes of carbon back into the atmosphere. For the fashion industry, after forests are cleared, the wood is pulped and processed into fabrics called rayon and viscose. But as much as 70 percent of the harvested wood is dumped or incinerated, never making its way into the final garment. So the process is shockingly wasteful. Now there are companies like re:newcell, which work to recycle previously worn garments, breaking them down and reconstituting the fibres into brand new fabrics that can be made into clothes. This new sustainability focused approach is targeting the fashion industry. Canopy already works with more than 170 top global brands including H&M to transform the viscose and rayon supply chain. "Even though trees can grow back, ancient and endangered forests are irreplaceable," Rycroft says. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/