By LilMissMeg
763 views
30th Jul 2024
While completing my master’s program, where I majored in sustainability and environmental compliance in business, I chose the clothing industry as the primary focus of many of my assignments. I analyzed and feverishly tore apart dozens of retailers, as well as the decisions that we as consumers make regarding where to purchase our clothes and how often.
I learned that the fast fashion industry accounts for approximately 10% of global carbon emissions annually, at an estimated 5 billion tonnes per year (https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/62308/how-fast-fashion-fuels-climate-change-plastic-pollution-and-violence/). Each year, upwards of 90 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfills, approximately 60% of which is actually plastic (https://theroundup.org/textile-waste-statistics/). These numbers are truly scary, especially when you consider how expensive it is to consistently purchase from “ethical” brands. These brands may not be accessible to the average consumer.
8 months pregnant, facing a complete closet overhaul, and equipped with this distressing knowledge, I felt as though I had no choice but to contribute to these damaging statistics. Even donating clothing in the hopes that it would go to “a new, loving home” wasn’t a foolproof solution, as a large amount of these textiles still end up in landfills, are incinerated, or are shipped overseas (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/01/04/how-to-donate-clothes-waste-environment/). And what about the items I couldn’t possibly donate, such as worn panties, bras, and socks?
Fast forward two years, after many trips to my local city women’s shelter, and many failed attempts at using old socks or panties as rags (it just isn’t practical, trust me), and I found myself on All Things Worn. Suddenly the used intimates I had refused to discard, the ones making my dresser drawers completely dysfunctional and impossible to close, were a wealth of possibility. I was initially thrown for a bit of a loop: could I really be getting paid to send old panties directly to “a new, loving home” where they would have an entire second life? Could my bras really be taking on an entirely new purpose, bringing joy to someone else specifically because they’re used? Are my hole-ridden, trash-bound socks really another’s treasure?
The answer? Yes. And with each kilogram of textiles I lovingly package for an excited buyer, around 25 kilograms of carbon emissions are avoided (https://phys.org/news/2022-09-reusing-kg-co2.html#google_vignette).
Wanna take your kinky environmental advocacy a step further? Sellers: use recycled packaging materials, ship with the smallest box/envelope you can while maintaining your item’s quality, and ask buyers if they’re okay with economy shipping options where appropriate. Buyers: request the aforementioned things from your sellers, or at least agree to them. Everyone: encourage your (of age) friends and relatives to sell their used intimates instead of throwing them away!
I recall a few instances where I wondered how the carbon emissions of fast fashion would stack up against that of the sex work industry (please note that for purposes of this blog I am referencing legal activities pertaining to monetizing sexual content when I reference sex work; the detrimental impacts of the climate crisis on socioeconomic status and career choice for women is another topic entirely). The stigmatization of sex work unfortunately saw me too nervous to use it as a thesis topic, but I still wondered and decided to look into it.
As it turns out, the sex work industry, particularly porn, has quite a sizable carbon footprint. The streaming of online porn generates 300 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually (https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-02.pdf), approximately the same amount of emissions that the entire country of Belgium produces in a year (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/porn-online-carbon-dioxide-emissions-climate-change-belgium-a9002241.html#). This is a result of the amount of energy required to store, share, and access content.
Now, I don’t have any studies to cite for this next point, but I’d wager a lot on the idea. It’s likely that individuals who don’t pay for their porn to be personalized, instead visiting free porn websites to endlessly scroll through millions of videos, consistently require more content at their disposal than individuals who purchase personalized videos and pictures. By making content (sellers) and paying for content (buyers) with an individualized touch, we are rejecting the notion that we as humans require a massive hub of sexual content constantly at our disposal, spitting out millions of tonnes of carbon emissions every day, just to get our rocks off. We are refusing to perpetuate the notion that porn isn’t an art, isn’t a science, and isn’t worth paying for. We are consuming ethically.
Bonus kinky environmentalism tip for sellers: upload all of your content to one central location and share from there to reduce the amount of uploading, downloading, sharing, and storing required.
The next time that you package and ship a pair of panties, film a custom, or purchase any of the above, give yourself a pat on the back. Your panties, your kinks, YOU, are contributing to our collective planetary health.
🚨 Moving Sale!!! Read me plz!!! 🚨 -ALL PHYSICAL ITEMS $15 SHIPPED -ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS $5 SHIPPED -Proof pictures and tracking included, but I can’t fulfill custom video, photo, baking, erotica, etc. requests...
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