Global production of clothing has increased more than 400% in the past 20 years. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the U.S. a staggering 85% of our discarded textiles end up in landfills. At the same time, the majority of individuals who make clothes for the global market live in poverty and the production and processing and distribution of our clothes have a devastating impact on the environment.
“Most people don’t understand the social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry,” said event organizer Carolyn Burnham. “Our personal decisions about what and how many clothes we buy can have a huge impact.”
Batavia Environmental Commission (BEC) and Advanced Disposal invite the public to attend Batavia’s 11th annual A Green Night Out at the Movies. This free event will feature the documentary film “The True Cost,” free popcorn and drinks, an expo of eco groups and businesses and a lively discussion about the issues raised in the movie afterward.
“The True Cost” is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. “The True Cost” is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?
Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth, and Vandana Shiva, “The True Cost” is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye-opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many individuals and places behind our clothes.
The featured speaker for the evening will be Mattias Wallander, CEO of USAgain. USAgain collects clothes and shoes for reuse and rewear across the United States. Since 1999, USAgain has expanded into a nationwide network of more than 8,000 clothing recycling sites in 14 states and planted more than 950,000 trees. Prior to his role at USAgain, Wallander spent 10 years working on environmental and humanitarian development projects in Southern Africa and Central America, seeing first-hand the global need for good and affordable used clothing.
His goal is to make textile recycling as convenient to the average person as it is today to recycle glass, paper, and plastic, and to eventually achieve zero textile waste. With his team at USAgain, Wallander is developing solutions for increasing textile diversion from 15% to 75% through increased consumer convenience and accessibility.
—Batavia Environmental Commission