Fast fashion.
Sustainable fashion.
What do all of these words mean?
In today's episode, we are going to find out.
I'm Oliver and welcome back to the Easy English Podcast, the best place for clear and slow english listening practice, to learn vocabulary and improve your english listening skills.
So today we are going to be talking about something that we do pretty much all of us every day, and that is dressing ourselves.
But we're going to look at it from a special angle, and that is sustainable fashion.
And I will explain what that is in a little moment.
But generally speaking, before we look in detail, it means choosing clothes and ways of buying and wearing them that are good for our planet and good for people as well.
It's about thinking where our clothes are from, what they're made of and what happens to them after we wear them too.
And we're going to explore how we can dress for the planet.
If I'm a little bit tired today, I apologize.
I'm just back from quite a long hike.
So I was doing some walking in the mountains. which was quite tiring.
And after, my friends and I, we travelled to some different areas in Northern Ireland.
I posted some photos on Patreon if you want to check them out.
But first, let's look at our key vocabulary for this episode.
As always, we're going to look at five useful words and phrases, but today it's just words which I want you to listen out for in the episode, to do some active listening and see if you can hear them.
And then we'll move on to the main episode.
Okay, so our first word today is sustainable.
Sustainable.
This is an adjective.
And you are going to hear me use this word quite a lot in today's episode.
It means to be able to continue for a long time without causing damage to the environment.
Sustainable practice helps protect our environment.
The second word is fabric.
Fabric.
And this is a noun.
And it is material that is made from threads.
So it's something, it's material that we use to make clothing, to make clothes like cotton or wool or polyester.
You've probably heard a few of these words.
That is fabric.
It's the material that we use to make clothing.
Okay, our third word for today, waste, waste.
And this is a noun.
And it means unwanted materials or things that are thrown away.
So reducing waste is important for the environment.
Our fourth word is fair.
Fair.
And it's an adjective.
It means treating everyone equally and correctly.
So something that's morally right.
Workers should be paid a fair wage.
So we're treating them equally and fairly in a correct way.
And finally, our final word for today is repair.
Repair.
And this is a verb.
It means to fix something that is broken or damaged.
If your shirt has a small hole, you can repair it.
Okay, keep these words in mind and look out for them as we talk about sustainable fashion in today's episode.
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Okay, and into our main episode.
To understand sustainable fashion, let's first talk about something called fast fashion.
Imagine clothes that are made very quickly.
They're very cheap and they follow the newest trends.
People buy them, they wear them a few times and then they throw them away, because new trends come out every week.
This is fast fashion.
And it doesn't have to be weekly.
It can be every month, every couple of months.
This constant change in trend causes people to get rid of their old clothes and buy new ones.
And it isn't just with fashion.
You probably have noticed this in other areas of buying products outside of even clothing.
But back to fashion.
The problem is making these clothes uses a lot of water and energy.
And this often creates a lot of waste because they are thrown away quickly.
Also, sometimes the people who make these clothes are not paid a fair wage for their work, and the working conditions are often not very good.
The fabric used to make the clothing can come from very far away, and this adds to even more pollution and a negative impact on the environment.
This quick cycle of buying, wearing and throwing away fabric and clothing is not sustainable for our planet or for our people.
So why is choosing sustainable fashion sometimes or more increasingly seen as important?
It matters for two main reasons, our planet and the people who make our clothing or our clothes.
For the planet.
The fashion industry uses, like I mentioned, that large amount of water to grow materials like cotton and to dye fabric.
So to change the color of the fabric.
It also creates a lot of pollution from chemicals and these are used in the dyeing process, and from the factories that are producing this clothing, producing the dyes, the clothing and everything around the industry.
When cloves are thrown away quickly, they end up in a big pile of waste.
And we call these big piles of waste landfills.
And this can take hundreds of years to disappear.
And there are many parts of these piles of rubbish or waste that will never disappear in our lifetimes or our children's lifetimes, or even a thousand years.
So choosing sustainable options help to reduce this pollution and waste.
Now for the people.
Many clothes are made in factories where workers are paid little and they work in difficult conditions.
Sustainable fashion.
On the other hand, tries to ensure that workers are paid a fair wage and that they work in safe places.
It's about being kind to both the earth and the people on it.
Look, I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to fast fashion.
Personally, I am not very fashionable.
I'm not very into clothing or fashion or buying clothes.
And when I do, I try to make it as easy and quick as possible.
And, as a result, because I don't think so intensely or deeply about my purchases, I can end up buying products, buying clothing, which are probably not very sustainable or good for the environment or the people that make them.
But I do try to buy better and make more sustainable choices when I can.
So how can we practice sustainable fashion?
Well, you don't need to buy special expensive clothes to be part of sustainable fashion.
There are so many ways that you can dress for our planet.
The first way is by buying less and choosing well.
Instead of buying many cheap items, you can try to buy fewer, higher quality items that are going to last for a longer time.
Think about clothes that you truly love and will wear often.
I guess sometimes this is not always true.
You can buy expensive clothing that can also be poor quality or have problems over time.
But if you check the quality, the material and you buy something that you know will last, you can use it for longer.
You can also try to repair your clothing.
Think about a pair of shoes that need to be fixed.
You can get them fixed instead of just buying another pair.
If you've got something that needs stitched, if there's a rip, you can get that repaired and continue to wear it.
Another great way is to buy secondhand or pre-loved clothing.
So something that someone doesn't want anymore that you might love to have.
And this reuses clothing and keeps it from going to waste.
And when you're done with your clothing, instead of putting it in the bin in the general waste, you can donate it or recycle it as well, so that it doesn't go to a landfill or a waste site.
And even just some of these actions help to make your fashion choices and actions more sustainable.
And they can help reduce waste.
Okay, so now for my favorite time of the episode, and that is our listener spotlight, where I read some of your answers to questions that I have asked in previous episodes or also on other platforms too.
I like to ask questions and keep connected.
A number of weeks ago, I asked what one small change that you have made in your daily life to be more eco-friendly or sustainable.
And why is it important to you?
So I received some amazing, inspiring answers and it hopefully will show how some of you guys are more sustainable and eco friendly.
So first up, we had a message from Maria, who lives in Brazil, and she says I try to use a reusable water bottle every day instead of buying plastic ones.
It's a small thing, but it helps reduce plastic waste, which is very important to me.
That's a fantastic habit, Maria.
Every bottle counts and every refill that you do, I suppose you're saving some more going to waste.
So next up, I heard from Kai, who is from Japan.
And he wrote in saying that I always bring my own shopping bags to the supermarket.
It's simple and it stops me from getting new plastic bags that just become waste.
Excellent habit, guy.
That's so easy to do and a really great suggestion for everyone listening as well.
Finally, another great message and from sophie, who lives in kenya and she said i've started composting my food scraps.
It turns food waste into good soil for plants.
I And it feels good to help the environment in my garden.
That's wonderful, Sophie.
And it's a very active and outdoors way to be eco-friendly and sustainable.
And I think it connects you with nature in a fantastic, wonderful, natural way.
So great comments and messages.
So big thanks and thank you so much to Maria, Kai and Sophie for writing in for this week's episode.
And I would encourage you all to try and answer these questions.
If you're on Spotify, you can leave a comment or YouTube.
You can even email or contact me with your answers.
And that leads me to my next question, which which I will read out your answers for in a future episode.
I want you to answer what is the hardest part about learning English for you?
What do you find the most difficult and why?
So just tell me what part of learning English is the hardest for you and why.
And I'll pick a few of you and read out your comments, because even hearing it and hearing about other learners and what they find difficult or their answers, it helps all of us.
It helps everyone listening.
So do write in.
I love to see and read your comments.
And back to the main episode.
So practicing sustainable fashion has great benefits for everyone.
For you, it can save you money.
You can have more money in your pockets as you're buying fewer items and you're finding great deals second hand.
It can also help you to develop a unique style for through using more items in different ways and finding secondhand items too, instead of just following a fast fashion trend.
So try to repair your clothes and keep them.
That's also a great new skill.
One that I definitely haven't mastered.
For the planet.
It means less waste in landfills, less pollution from the factories that are producing this clothing and less use of precious resources like water as well.
It encourages companies to be more fair and responsible in how they make their clothes.
And by making these choices, you are helping to create a more sustainable, future for everyone.
It's a great way of being fashionable but also sustainable at the same time.
So today we've explored this world of fast fashion and sustainable fashion.
So we learned a lot about the importance of reducing waste, supporting fair working practices and and how to make our clothing choices and decisions around clothing more sustainable.
And we've learned some new words along the way.
I hope you enjoyed this episode and that you learned something new.
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And you can also check out my new book as well.
Thank you so much for listening and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day.
Goodbye.
