Once more into the breeches
 

One cotton shirt uses the same amount of water as 630 people need to drink. So do we really need to buy brand new clothes for our children when there are so many second-hand ones available?

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I've always worn my clothes to rags, was raised on hand-me-downs.
However one can still buy brand new designer label jeans for $5 down at St Vinnies.

Same here, roughy. There are similar (worse) statistics about woollen clothing as well. But all of my woollen stuff lasts forever, compared to other garments. Perhaps its because I don't buy to trends. Plain colours, that look as "in fashion" today as when I bought them. I wear them out until they start looking tired, then I wear them for work until they disintegrate http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cool.png

Same here.
I have good stuff reserved for going out occasions, when it gets tired it changes to around the yard wear, then when its really grotty and nearing the end of its life its working on the car wear, then it gets the buttons taken off and used for rags in the shed, its final duty will be to be soaked in some old turps or kero and used to start the fire.

I've worn many second hand clothes.

My kids have had plenty and some of their cast offs have adorned at 2 - 3 other kids. These days we tend to buy most of their clothes new as ours are the eldest in the extended family. When they grow out of them, they get handed around the nieces and nephews.

Wel 630 people for how long? One day, it would seem if we average about 7 lites each. If you wear a shirt for two years, then you could say it costs one days worth of drinking water. Not bad really.

hang on.. you have to wash it yet.

I too grew up with hand me downs, my brothers hand me downs to my disgust but out on the farm it didn't matter. When we moved to town Mum was a little more understanding http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.png Jumpers were knitted and clothes were sewn back then, I would ofter whip up a skirt in the afternoon to wear out that night. This is not something that happens regularly these days with the cheap clothes of today.

I still wear my clothes til the end of their days, then pass them on to a second hand store if there is any more wear in them. I don't buy fashion so my wardrobe is classic and if I haven't worn it in a year it's moved onto friends or Salvos.

Yes. I think that would take at least as much water as the manufacture.

Yes, one day it says in the link from the linked article. And I think you mean one person's drinking water for the time you wore the shirt.

But you have to wash a second hand shirt too.

Also, I wonder what percentage of water that goes to cotton growing is directly removed from the drinking water supply, directly or indirectly? And part of this is the water it takes to dye the shirt, so if I wear white shirts, is that better?

Doesn't cotton have to be bleached to get it white enough for use? A white shirt will show dirt more readily, so it'll have to be washed more often.

Maybe we should go back to wearing animal skins.

Nude up, for the environment http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.png

Which environmwnt would that be?
Me nuding up would put things in peril I fear
http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.png

Can't be worse than some of the current fashions, j's http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.png

You havn't got any of those god awful "full sleeve" tattoos or wopping great body piercings have youhttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.png

hehehe ... nothing _added_ by choice that you'd call god awful I am sure ... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.png