Go Shopping and Save Water

You may have heard that 10 liters of water can be saved by shortening shower time by 1 minute; water can also be saved by watering your plants with rinsed rice water, but do you know that even more water can be saved by shopping?

How shopping is related to saving water? Now, try to open your closet and recall the memory on your habit of handling your clothes. How many of your discarded clothes are used or worn less than twice? According to a report by McKinsey, in 2016, apparel purchased by consumers worldwide increased by 60% compared to 2000, but the retention time for each garment is only half of that in 2000. A report jointly published by Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Stella McCartney in 2017 estimates that every second there are textile wastes equivalent to one filled garbage truck enter the landfill or are burnt. The Real Real, second-hand luxury fashion platform recently going public with its IPO at the Nasdaq, also points out that 95% of the clothing can be reused or upcycled.

Discarding your clothes is an easy gesture but how do you feel if you know the amount of water needed to make each piece of your clothing? Take a T-shirt as an example, it takes 1000 gallons of water (about 4545 liters) to produce a single piece. That is to say, every time a T-shirt is discarded, it has to be offset by shortening shower time by 454.5 minutes.

To let the public know exactly how the circular economy can make an impact on the environment, The Real Real has partnered with Ellen MacArthur Foundation experts to launch the Sustainability Indicator in April this year to estimate the water and energy saved from consigning apparels compared to making new clothes. According to their figures, consigning a pair of jeans can save 279 liters of water, while a silk dress and a cashmere sweater can save 30 liters and 80 liters of water respectively.

In Hong Kong, 2HAND provides a second-hand fashion platform for buying and consigning in a easy and convenient way to engage more people joining the circular economy. Whether you are a consignor or a buyer, you can help extend the life of high-quality clothing and save water, and also embrace a modern zero-waste lifestyle!