Producing cotton causes enormous environmental damage in the countries where it is grown. Gigantic amounts of water are used up for producing a harmless t-shirt. And mostly, potable water is ruined and can never be brought back in regions where water is rare.
In order to change this sorry state of affairs, scientists are busily researching. And you currently read a lot in the newspapers about new alternatives to cotton. As on many subjects, you can inform yourself on it in Wikipedia. The best approach would be if you start with the article “Bioplastic” (Biokunststoff).
In my opinion, reserach as such and this kind of research in particular makes a lot of sense. However, I also read articles warning that the “Lactic Acid Shirt“ will not be able to hold a torch to the cotton shirt.
As I open my wardrobe, I get a better idea. A few years ago, I gave myself a rule. I only buy clothes if I will simultaneously dispose of 2 to 3 pieces of the same category. The rule applies to my suits, jackets, trousers, shirts, t-shirts, etc. Regardless of this rule, the total amount of clothes in my wardrobe decreases only slowly.
It is particularly obvious with all those nice advert t-shirts I always used to be given. The compartments of my wardrobe can hardly hold them all. And whenever I want to give away some of the unworn t-shirts, all I get is a forced “thank you, no“. Everybody has too may of them already!
There is probably only one way out. You have to make cotton so expensive that the price will be a motivation to economize. Perhaps it can only be done with taxes and duties. I see no chance for a new modesty with voluntary change in consumer behaviour. All I have to do is open my eyes and look around.
The situation of the production countries could also improve if they were to produce less and accordingly make the goods more expensive. If this does not work, why don’t we use part of the taxes and duties we get for constructive self-help in those countries?
Life in this world could be so easy …
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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