What You Can Do to Stop the Fashion Industry from Polluting India’s Rivers

The Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Brahmaputra are just a few of the famous rivers that flow through India. These rivers constitute an essential part of India’s cultural and spiritual character in addition to being a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people. Nevertheless, the fashion industry has been poisoning these rivers with hazardous garbage and chemicals in recent years, having a terrible effect on the environment and human health. It’s crucial to bring attention to this problem and look into methods we can lessen the influence our fashion choices have on India’s rivers as we commemorate the International Day of Action for Rivers.

Effect of the Fashion Industry on Indian Rivers:

The Indian fashion industry is a significant source of river pollution. Heavy metals, dyes, solvents, and other harmful substances are all released into adjacent rivers by textile companies. These substances seriously endanger both human health and aquatic life in addition to degrading water quality. The fashion industry is also well-known for its wasteful methods, which include overproduction, single-use packaging, and “fast fashion” fads that push customers to buy and discard goods quickly.

What You Can Do:

There are a number of actions you can take to lessen your influence on India’s rivers related to fashion.

Select eco-friendly fashion labels:

Search for clothing made of sustainable materials like organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo, and stay away from labels that have a track record of harming the environment.

Invest in used clothing. Buying used clothing is a terrific method to cut down on fashion-related waste and promote a circular economy.

When washing your clothes, use cold water, a full load, and try to avoid using the dryer if feasible.

Encourage efforts to clean up rivers:

Make a difference in your neighbourhood by making a donation to NGOs tasked with observing and reducing textile pollution in India’s rivers or by participating in regional river cleanup campaigns.

When we commemorate the International Day of Action for Rivers, it’s critical to keep in mind how the fashion industry contributes to the pollution of these crucial waterways. We can lessen our impact on India’s rivers and safeguard these priceless natural resources for future generations by choosing our clothing wisely and supporting sustainable fashion manufacturers.