5–6 CULTURE |  The clothing industry A2

CLOTHING INDUSTRY
1 In pairs, discuss the statistics.
Do you find any of the
information surprising?
2 Read the article. What could
be a reason to consider it
acceptable to wear clothes
and accessories made from
animal products?
FACTS AND FIGURES
■ The world’s clothing and footwear industry is
worth nearly $3,000 billion.
■ China produces and exports more textiles than any other
country, with 54% of the world’s total production.
■ In the USA, the average household spends about
$2,000 on clothing and footwear a year.
■ In the UK alone, there is about $47 billion worth
of clothes in people’s wardrobes that they have
never worn.

The clothing industry today is a global industry, and China manufactures a lot of the textiles
used to make the clothes that we wear. The most common textiles for clothing come from
three main sources:

1 animal (fur, leather, wool) 2 plant (cotton, bamboo) 3 synthetic (nylon, polyester)

People have used animal products to make clothes for centuries, but
nowadays it is much less acceptable to use animal products for clothing.
Fur skins to Europe each year to use in the
clothing industry. Fortunately, there are
In cold climates, people originally hunted animals
many fashion brands who choose not to use
for their fur. This still happens in some parts of the
animal skins to make leather products, and
world, and in places like Russia and Canada people
use fake skins instead which are made from
often wear fur coats to keep warm. But some people
synthetic materials.
buy fur clothing for fashion, too. Fur farming
is big business around the world, and 85% of
the global industry uses the fur of animals Wool
who live and die on fur farms in unpleasant Most of the woollen clothes we
conditions. Fur farms aren’t illegal in many wear come from sheep, and this
places, and in Europe there are 6,000 of them, is generally harmless to the
mainly in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The animal as we need to shear
UK banned fur farming in 2003, but it can still them each spring to remove
import fur from other countries, like China, their thick winter coats.
Fake fur can
which is the largest exporter of fur in the There are some vegans,
look like real fur
world. To protect animals, however, the fake however, who choose
fur industry has grown rapidly in recent years and is now not to wear wool
worth more than $250 million. This is a much more ethical as it is a product
product, costs less and the fur looks real, too. that comes from an
animal. Australia and New Zealand are large
Leather producers of wool, with about 36% of global
wool production and more than 100 million
We wear many accessories made of
sheep in total in the two countries.
leather, such as shoes, belts, jewellery
and handbags. The leather is usually
As long as we are careful in choosing
from animals such as cows, and it is
a by-product of the meat industry. For the clothes and accessories we wear,
this reason, some people think that this is we can avoid buying products that
acceptable. But some countries use the skins of some exotic harm animals.
and endangered animals, such as crocodiles, snakes and
tortoises, to make these accessories. This is both cruel and
careless, and often illegal. Despite
this, a crocodile farm in South
Africa sends about 5,000 crocodile

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 5–6 CULTURE |  The clothing industry A2

3 Read the article again and choose the PROJECT

best answer.
6 Read the notes and prepare for a
1 It is culturally acceptable for countries with cold
classroom debate.
climates to wear clothes made from leather / fur.
1 Work in pairs. Look at the statement on the
2 Some European countries like Denmark / the UK
debate card. Do you agree or disagree?
have a large fur farming industry.
2 Look at the points for and against the statement
3 The clothing industry sometimes uses sheep /
and add two more of your own in each column.
crocodile skin to make leather accessories
like belts. 7 Have a debate. Use your preparation from
4 Companies make fake clothing products from Exercise 6 to help you.
synthetic / plant materials.
1 Work with another pair. Decide which pair will
5 About a third / More than half of the world’s argue for and which against the debate card
wool comes from Australia and New Zealand. statement.
6 It’s important to think about the production / 2 Have your debate. When you have argued your
protection of animals when buying clothes points, swap roles and debate again.
and accessories.

4 Complete the sentences with the correct

country or statistic.
1  exports more fur than any other
“ Using animal products for clothes is
unnecessary and cruel.
”
country in the world.
FOR AGAINST
2 Fur farming hasn’t been allowed in 
for more than ten years. • We should respect • People have
animals, not exploit farmed animals for
3 There are  legal fur farms in Europe. them. thousands of years.
4 The fake fur industry now has a value of • There are lots of • Some materials,
 globally. other materials we e.g. leather, are a
5 Europe receives a large number of crocodile can use for clothes by‑product of the
skins from  each year to make and accessories, meat industry.
accessories. such as polyester,
6 Australia and New Zealand are very popular cotton, etc.
for wool production because they have over •  • 
 sheep.
 
OPTIMISE YOUR CULTURE  

5 Work with a partner and discuss the •  • 

questions.  
1 What types of clothes and accessories have you  
bought recently?
2 Do you know of any textiles for clothes and
accessories that your country produces? Are any
of them made from animal products?

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