Americans throw away 13 million tons of clothing each year, and the environmental impact of blue jeans is disproportionately large, even though we keep them longer. It can take up to 2,000 gallons of water to make one pair of blue jeans -- enough to fill 20 bathtubs. Plus another 1,000 gallons just to grow the cotton used in the jeans. Not to mention washing them to make them look fashionably beat-up.
From Vice:
Read Full Article »Fifty thousand tons of indigo dye are made yearly, and more than 95 percent is used by denim makers. An average pair of jeans can take up to half an ounce of dye.
Factories in Xintang, China churn out over 250 million jeans yearly and supply 40 percent of the jeans sold in the U.S. Runoff from factories pollutes nearby rivers.
