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Does your kid you really need that $5 throwaway toy that breaks within 20 minutes of playtime? Do you really need 20 low-quality shirts a year that rip with the

by esarbe 3y ago

Does your kid you really need that $5 throwaway toy that breaks within 20 minutes of playtime? Do you really need 20 low-quality shirts a year that rip with the third usage because the fabric is so flimsy? We've put too much emphasis on consumption of low-quality goods. We are drowning in shitty stuff. Getting rid of shitty stuff isn't "lower living standard" or "poverty".

concordDance 3y ago
How much CO2 is actually needed to make that toy or T-Shirt though? I expect uts pretty minimal.
- esarbe 3y ago
  It's not. [0] Especially if you consider a) the sheer amount of pieces of clothing produced and b) the expected use one gets from one such T-Shirts (see [1]). These are examples of systemic waste product that are only useful for consumerism churn. Besides T-Shirts and plastic waste, there are tons of products that are produces with the least concern for long-term usage. Because it not "economic" - only because we allow to externalize all the associated costs. [0] https://goodfair.com/blogs/nonewthings/did-you-know-that-one-t-shirt-guzzles-over-700-gallons-of-water https://goodfair.com/blogs/nonewthings/did-you-know-that-one... [1] https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/ https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/
  - concordDance 3y ago
    While I appreciate you providing citations, please link to the original sources in the future. In the case the original source of the first link is page 10 of this: https://ctprodstorageaccountp.blob.core.windows.net/prod-drupal-files/documents/resource/public/International%20Carbon%20Flows%20-%20Clothing%20-%20REPORT.pdf https://ctprodstorageaccountp.blob.core.windows.net/prod-dru... The first link has been victim of a game of telephone, where the original source had 15kg per T-Shirt, more than half of that was washing costs, assuming 50 hot washes (and this from over 15 years ago when washing machines were less efficient and electricity much less green). 6kg from T-shirt production being their actual estimate. Is 6kg "a lot"? Depends what you're comparing it to. Worldwide clothing industry in general seems to be around 1% of total CO2 according to the above link. I would love it if we had a sensible estimate for what the sum of CO2 externalities is, but my understanding is estimates can differ by over two orders of magnitude.
    - esarbe 3y ago
      I wouldn't get hung up on individual products. This - gratuitous consumption of throw-away products - is an societal issue that needs to be addressed in a systemic way.

by esarbe 3y ago

concordDance 3y ago

How much CO2 is actually needed to make that toy or T-Shirt though? I expect uts pretty minimal.

esarbe 3y ago
It's not. [0] Especially if you consider a) the sheer amount of pieces of clothing produced and b) the expected use one gets from one such T-Shirts (see [1]). These are examples of systemic waste product that are only useful for consumerism churn. Besides T-Shirts and plastic waste, there are tons of products that are produces with the least concern for long-term usage. Because it not "economic" - only because we allow to externalize all the associated costs. [0] https://goodfair.com/blogs/nonewthings/did-you-know-that-one-t-shirt-guzzles-over-700-gallons-of-water https://goodfair.com/blogs/nonewthings/did-you-know-that-one... [1] https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/ https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/
- concordDance 3y ago
  While I appreciate you providing citations, please link to the original sources in the future. In the case the original source of the first link is page 10 of this: https://ctprodstorageaccountp.blob.core.windows.net/prod-drupal-files/documents/resource/public/International%20Carbon%20Flows%20-%20Clothing%20-%20REPORT.pdf https://ctprodstorageaccountp.blob.core.windows.net/prod-dru... The first link has been victim of a game of telephone, where the original source had 15kg per T-Shirt, more than half of that was washing costs, assuming 50 hot washes (and this from over 15 years ago when washing machines were less efficient and electricity much less green). 6kg from T-shirt production being their actual estimate. Is 6kg "a lot"? Depends what you're comparing it to. Worldwide clothing industry in general seems to be around 1% of total CO2 according to the above link. I would love it if we had a sensible estimate for what the sum of CO2 externalities is, but my understanding is estimates can differ by over two orders of magnitude.
  - esarbe 3y ago
    I wouldn't get hung up on individual products. This - gratuitous consumption of throw-away products - is an societal issue that needs to be addressed in a systemic way.