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June 23, 2025—The world needs to break its fast fashion fixation. Plus, the first pics from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are stunners; and driverless Cybercabs have hit the road.
—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | A small section of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's total view of the Virgo Cluster shows two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and more. NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory | | In Chile's Atacama Desert, a mountain of more than 59,000 tons of clothing can now be seen from space. This so-called garment graveyard comprises fast-fashion discards inherited from the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 2024 activists, designers and NGOs organized Atacama Fashion Week—with a fashion show atop the garment graveyard—to draw attention to this growing problem. Mauricio Nahas/Artplan | | Humans have a clothing consumption problem. Projections indicate that by 2030 the world will be producing 134 million tons of textile waste every year. In the U.S. alone, at least 17 million tons of textiles are discarded annually, which works out to about 100 pounds of clothes per person. Despite being worth some $1.7 trillion, bringing the latest fashion trends to the masses as quickly as possible, the global fashion industry has for years been allowed to operate with little transparency or oversight.Why this matters: Fast fashion has a huge resource footprint: Annual textile production uses up enough water to fill at least 37 million Olympic-size swimming pools. Cotton agriculture alone uses 2.1 percent of the world's arable land. And because roughly 60 percent of global textiles now contain plastic derived from fossil fuels, it is estimated that more than a third of the microplastics in the oceans today were shed from clothing. The fashion industry is also responsible for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than the aviation and shipping industries combined. If apparel consumption continues to grow at its current rate, by 2050 the industry will be using more than one quarter of the world's carbon budget. To meet growing demand, millions of low-paid garment workers around the world toil in unsafe conditions.
What can be done: Donation shops are overwhelmed by the volume of low-quality garments they receive, and many of these items are exported or thrown away anyway. So what can consumers do? First, resist impulse buys and instead shop your closet—you may be surprised what you find. When you do want to buy new basics or accessories, invest in higher-quality products (generally they last longer) made from sustainable materials. New, small companies are emerging for repairing or repurposing damaged clothes. And some brands are pushing into "flexible fashion," creating garments that can be worn if your body shape changes.
Fiber guide: Natural fibers dominated the textile market through the mid-1990s, then human-made fibers took over. Synthetics made up about 67 percent of global fiber production in 2023, according to a recent report, and are known to shed microplastics. About 57 percent of global fibers was polyester, while cotton holds about 20 percent of the market share. Get familiar with the different fabrics in order to make better choices when you do buy new clothes. | | Jen Christiansen; Source: Plastic in Textiles: Potentials for Circularity and Reduced Environmental and Climate Impacts, by Saskia Manshoven, Anse Smeets, Mona Arnold and Lars Fogh Mortensen, Published by European Topic Center on Waste and Materials in a Green Economy, 2021; andFacilitating a Circular Economy for Textiles Workshop Report, by Kelsea Schumacher and Amanda L. Forster, Published by National Institute of Standards and Technology, May 2022 (references) | | | | |
Yakult: Pioneering Global Wellness | | For 90 years, Yakult has been at the forefront of scientific research, focusing on gut microbiota, probiotics, and immunity to enhance human health. Through its innovative development of food and cosmetics, Yakult promotes global wellness, offering probiotic-based solutions in 40 countries and regions worldwide. | | | | |
- Heat waves are now the deadliest weather phenomenon. And yet, many people underestimate how dangerous exposure to heat can be (especially for vulnerable groups like older people and those with underlying conditions). Categorizing heat waves, whether by name or number, similarly to how meteorologist classify hurricanes, could transform the way we think about heat," writes journalist Gina Jiménez. It could help us differentiate between the regular weather forecast and weather conditions that put our lives and economies in danger," she says. | 4 min read
| | - A carpenter, working with a buzz saw, wishes to cut a wooden cube, three inches on a side, into 27 one-inch cubes. This can be easily done by making six cuts through the cube, keeping the pieces together in the cube shape. Can the carpenter reduce the number of necessary cuts by rearranging the pieces after each cut? Click here for the solution.
| | Much of the U.S. is experiencing a heat wave. We'll have plenty of coverage of summer heat in the coming days, but to cool down fast: Drink plenty of cold water, dunk hands or feet in ice-water, limit time outdoors. | | Welcome to another week of discovery! Email me anytime with thoughts, feedback or ideas: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow!
—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor With contributions by Andrea Tamayo | | | | |
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