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The real cost of a cheap t-shirt shocked me
I was reading a report from the Clean Clothes Campaign last week and found out it takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt. That's enough drinking water for one person for two and a half years. I buy a few of these a year without a second thought. It made me stop and look at my closet full of fast fashion items I barely wear. The simple choice to buy one less shirt feels small, but the numbers show it's not. How do you balance wanting new things with knowing the real impact?
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kim_martin1mo ago
Those water use numbers are always a bit misleading though. They count all the rainwater that falls on a cotton field over years, not just tap water used in a factory. The real issue is chemical runoff and poor wages. Buying one less shirt doesn't fix the pay for the person who made the other ten you own. Better to buy secondhand or from companies that are actually transparent about their factories.
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holly_price24d ago
Honestly, "buying one less shirt doesn't fix the pay for the person who made the other ten you own" really hit me. That's a solid point, @kim_martin. I've started just keeping a list of brands that actually share where their stuff is made and what they pay, and I only buy from those when I need something new. Secondhand is easier too, I just stick to a few thrift stores near me and avoid the online hype piles. It's not perfect but it stops me from feeling like I'm just spinning my wheels on the guilt trip.
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