"LONDON — Sustainability in fashion is a hot button topic, with retailers large and small racing to prove their green credentials, but the desire for new attire churns and the industry remains one of the world’s largest polluters as climate activists and watchdogs sound alarms.

The industry is the second largest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

“So, for example, it would take 13 years to drink the water that is used to make one pair of jeans and one T-shirt,” said Fee Gilfeather, a sustainability expert at the nonprofit OXFAM. “It’s just an incredible amount of environmental resources that are required for making the clothing that we wear.”"

Lizzie Knight reports for the Associated Press January 7, 2020. [2]