Environment: IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many people today buy new clothes frequently and throw them away after only a few uses. This is mainly because clothing has become very cheap and trends change constantly, and the result is serious harm to the environment through waste, resource use and pollution.

There are several reasons for this behaviour. The most important is price. The fast fashion industry produces clothes in huge quantities at such low cost that a T-shirt can cost less than a cup of coffee, so buyers feel little guilt about replacing it. Trends also change faster than ever before. Social media constantly shows influencers and celebrities in new outfits, and many young people feel pressure to keep up with trends and avoid being photographed in the same clothes twice. Cheap garments are also often poorly made, so they lose their shape or colour after a few washes, which encourages people to replace them rather than repair them. Finally, shopping itself has become a form of entertainment for many people, whether in shopping centres or online late at night.

The effects on the environment are considerable. Huge quantities of unwanted clothing end up in landfill, where synthetic fibres such as polyester can take hundreds of years to break down. Production also requires enormous amounts of water and energy; growing the cotton for a single pair of jeans uses a great deal of water, and many factories run on fossil fuels. In addition, the dyes and chemicals used in manufacturing are often released into rivers, and tiny plastic fibres from synthetic clothes are washed into the sea every time they go through a washing machine.

In conclusion, people buy and discard clothes so quickly because they are cheap, fashionable and quickly worn out. This habit produces large amounts of waste and pollution and uses up valuable natural resources.