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Looks like my data was flawed: Looking at the source[1], it's 3.6% (not 8%) in 2011 and it's a percentage of what's recycled. So, I don't know if we recycle mo

by Buetol 9y ago

Looks like my data was flawed: Looking at the source[1], it's 3.6% (not 8%) in 2011 and it's a percentage of what's recycled. So, I don't know if we recycle more or less today than in 1960. [1]: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P100GMT6.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=2011%20Thru%202015&Docs=&Query=%28textile%29%20OR%20FNAME%3D%22P100GMT6.txt%22%20AND%20FNAME%3D%22P100GMT6.txt%22&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C11THRU15%5CTXT%5C00000007%5CP100GMT6.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=78&SeekPage=f https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P100GMT6.txt?ZyActionD=Z... (page 76)

dredmorbius 9y ago
Fair question, and one that might require some digging to get to. If you're interested in this, the US BLS household expenditure survey data, or some metric of industrial activity data, might be useful. The HHES would provide a baseline on spending by category and should include clothing. The industrial data might provide metrics on quantities of textiles produced, possibly measured by either fabric area (e.g., yards) or mass (e.g., tons). Total purchases of clothing as measured in garments or outfits have probably risen over this time, though I'm saying that without a strong basis in data. Much of this has to do with the introduction of more synthetic fabrics -- clothing is such a strong indicator of time period in large part because of the number of synthetic textiles (and garments utilising them) that became available over the 20th century, from early viscose rayon, to nylon, polyester, and other materials. This resulted in a shift of fabrics from cottons (mostly working-class) and wool (professional), with some leather and fur (high-ticket items) to a wide range of single- or blended-fibre fabrics, as well as various dyes and other treatments. (I'm not an expert on the field, by any stretch, though I've been becoming increasingly aware of these developments, underlying technology, and numerous implications.) See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Expenditure_Survey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Expenditure_Survey I've not found any readily-available long-term historical data based on a quick search, though I'm sure it's available if you know where to dig (or dig long enough to find out).

by Buetol 9y ago

dredmorbius 9y ago

Fair question, and one that might require some digging to get to. If you're interested in this, the US BLS household expenditure survey data, or some metric of industrial activity data, might be useful. The HHES would provide a baseline on spending by category and should include clothing. The industrial data might provide metrics on quantities of textiles produced, possibly measured by either fabric area (e.g., yards) or mass (e.g., tons). Total purchases of clothing as measured in garments or outfits have probably risen over this time, though I'm saying that without a strong basis in data. Much of this has to do with the introduction of more synthetic fabrics -- clothing is such a strong indicator of time period in large part because of the number of synthetic textiles (and garments utilising them) that became available over the 20th century, from early viscose rayon, to nylon, polyester, and other materials. This resulted in a shift of fabrics from cottons (mostly working-class) and wool (professional), with some leather and fur (high-ticket items) to a wide range of single- or blended-fibre fabrics, as well as various dyes and other treatments. (I'm not an expert on the field, by any stretch, though I've been becoming increasingly aware of these developments, underlying technology, and numerous implications.) See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Expenditure_Survey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Expenditure_Survey I've not found any readily-available long-term historical data based on a quick search, though I'm sure it's available if you know where to dig (or dig long enough to find out).