Fast fashion fix: New research aims to keep clothing out of landfills
Fast fashion fix: New research aims to keep clothing out of landfills
Researchers are hoping their new study will be used to change how much clothing ends up in landfills.
The study was lead by Sabine Weber, a professor of fashion at Seneca College, in partnership with the University of Waterloo.
It showed Canadians throw out about a billion pounds of fabric items per year, making up just over four per cent of landfill waste.
"If the industry would continue on the same path as we are now, then I think we would emit for a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions," Sabine Weber explained.
"We use a lot of energy to produce the textiles, so it makes sense to avoid throwing them away," added Olaf Weber, the Research Chair of Sustainable Finance at the University of Waterloo.
The researchers used a ranking system to evaluate the quality of the clothes. For example, a pair of ripped, stained jeans could be repaired and resold. Cotton shirts can be reused as reclaimed fibers for fashion or home insulation.
"The question is, of course, where can we recycle them and how can we recycle them," Sabine Weber said. "We have a program for everything, but not for textiles.”
"So there are some that are really high quality and they don't belong in the waste, because we can reuse them. Others can be recycled," Olaf Weber said.
Consignment stores like Carousel Clothing in Kitchener are proving sustainability is here to stay. The store buys used clothing to resell to customers. Any clothes they don't sell are donated to charity to be re-used.
"We see a lot of fast fashion come through the door and we do turn a good chunk of it down," Paula Wilkie, the owner of Carousel Clothing, said. "That's the last thing I want to see is stuff being thrown out."
Despite the growth of 'fast fashion,’ Wilkie is seeing a shift in the mindset of shoppers.
"A lot of calls from the younger generation that are looking to recycle and repurpose their clothes," Wilkie said.
The researchers hope to build infrastructure to recycle clothing in Canada, to try and change how each province deals with waste and keep clothes out of landfills.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has forced the House to spend the day debating a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Some of the world's largest central banks came together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group AG to buy rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic deal.
Four police officers were assaulted over the weekend while attempting to make an arrest in St. Thomas. Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, police responded to a home in the north end of the city.
Lane restrictions are now in place on Wellington Street as construction gets underway on Phase 1 of the Wellington Gateway and Municipal Infrastructure Improvements project.
Police say they found the accused had been driving while under suspension and had an open liquor container in the vehicle, adding to the number of charges he faces.
According to officers with the Huronia West OPP detachment, a search of the vehicle turned up a "substantial amount" of suspected drugs with a street value of roughly $20,000.
A 46-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries after a single-vehicle crash on MR80 near Donaldson Crescent in Val Caron.
The city of Ottawa's planning committee has approved a housing development in Orleans after it was delayed due to concerns about the number of parking spaces.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) announced Monday morning that a third person has died in connection with the tragedy in Amqui, in the Lower St. Lawrence region, where a driver drove his pickup truck into pedestrians a week ago.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
Manitoba is planning to create an integrated missing persons response unit, sharing information between police agencies, CFS and Indigenous advocates when someone goes missing.
An 11-year-old boy was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition after being struck by a vehicle in the northwest Calgary neighbourhood of Royal Oak.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Jason Copping will give an update on the effort to import and distribute children's pain and fever medicine Monday afternoon.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
A vehicle burst into flames in South Vancouver after an early morning collision Monday, prompting police to shut down the intersection at Kingsway and Tyne Street amid an investigation.
People who rely on transit to get around parts of the Fraser Valley are scrambling to find alternatives as workers with BC Transit walk the picket line.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
