How big is the environment?

' Please tell me how you use your jeans, I will tell you how you have contributed to harming our planetary environment! .

Such a research report by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (Ademe) recommended this and proposed some basic principles to respect the natural environment. The report analyzed the life cycle of a jeans from the time when the cotton fields were planted until they were thrown into the trash.

Experts detailed every detail of the environmental impact of a blue denim pants of 600 grams, a 38-gram polyester lining, a button and 6 rivets. These pants are worn by the owner 1 day a week for 4 years, washed every 3 times in the washing machine at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and ironed after washing. Each of the above stages consumes electricity and indirectly harms the environment.

Experts note that buying a woven fabric made from cotton fibers grown in India or grown in Egypt has a different impact on the environment due to the transport of extra energy. Cotton plants that are not fertilized with chemical fertilizers will be less harmful to rivers and groundwater. Finally, it will be an ecological disaster if the pants are produced in a country that does not have regulations on water treatment. Because the dyeing or silvering processes produce chemicals that pollute the water source. When we use our jeans as much as we wash as much as possible to the environment, the washing machine and the iron all use electricity. According to the reporter Nadia Boeglin, high-class jeans, which require dry cleaning, are more harmful to the environment than washing with water due to the high energy consumption and the use of a variety of toxic chemicals.

Ms. Boeglin said that many manufacturers are preparing to market jeans that are less harmful to the environment. Regarding use, she advised to keep some basic principles such as: Wearing pants 2 days a week instead of 1 day, washing after 5 times instead of 3 times and washing with water instead of hot water; should use less and effectively washing powder; Should iron ironing and should not be dried by machine. Eventually she noted the amount of emissions when burning the jeans left in the garbage incinerator equivalent to the spray of a motorbike that ran for 337 km.

Ms. Boeglin added: ' We focus on jeans, but every everyday item comes with the same problem of environmental harm. When we pay a little attention, we can save 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. This problem belongs to our attitude towards the environment '.

Truc Lam