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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

THE FUTURE
OF FASHION

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1 Warm-up

Have you ever rented any items of clothing?

2 Key words

Match the terms on the left to the definitions on the right.

1. overconsumption a. a piece of clothing

2. a garment b. a place where rubbish is buried

3. landfill c. buying and using more than is needed

4. disposable d. designed to be thrown away after one or a few uses

5. overhaul e. making an agreement to pay to use something for a specific period

of time
6. repurpose f. the length of time that something is good enough to use

7. leasing g. to adapt something so it can be used in a different way

8. a lifespan h. to examine a system carefully and make changes to improve it

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THE FUTURE OF FASHION

3 Find the information

Before you read, guess the answers for each of the questions below, then read the text on the next
page to confirm or correct answers.

1. How much in weight of clothing does the average American throw away every year?

a. 17kg b. 27kg c. 37kg

2. How much is the global fashion industry worth?

a. US$1.2 trillion b. US$2.4 trillion c. US$3.6 trillion

3. How many items of clothing are produced worldwide annually?

a. 40 billion b. 70 billion c. 100 billion

4. What could the clothing rental market be worth in the UK?

a. £875 million b. £923 million c. £995 million

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
THE FUTURE OF FASHION
Clothing rental could be the key to a stylishly sustainable
fashion industry
by Naomi Braithwaite
1.
An astonishing 235 million items of unwanted
clothing were predicted to be dumped in UK landfill
in 2017, while the average American is estimated to
bin 37kg of used clothing annually. Overconsumption
and disposal of unwanted clothing has become a
worrying global problem - and in many cases, this
clothing is unnecessarily thrown away.
2.
Filling landfill with clothing and textiles costs the UK
alone an estimated £82m every year. However, the
consumption of clothing is hugely important to the
economies of many countries, too. Research from
The British Fashion Council, for example, found that
fashion contributes £28 billion directly to the UK
economy - and globally, it is a US$2.4 trillion industry.
3.
Despite this, materialistic values and a widespread
desire for having new things, together with the fact
that the fashion industry constantly creates and sells
different styles, have reduced the functional value of
clothing, making it easily disposable. 100 billion items
of clothing are being produced annually, and 50% of
fast fashion* pieces are disposed of within a year.
4.
Fashion and sustainability have historically had an
uncomfortable relationship. Growing concerns over
sweatshop labour have seen fashion companies
overhaul their social and environmental policies.
Consumers, meanwhile, have grown increasingly
concerned about where and how garments are made.
But while fashion makes efforts to become ethical,
there are still serious concerns over its environmental
impacts.
5.
Fashion is considered one of the world’s most
polluting industries - from toxic chemical use to water
pollution and waste. Some 35% of the global total
of microfibres in the oceans comes from clothes and
textiles.
6.
So what’s the solution? While fashion brands are
working to limit their levels of pollution through
the creation of organic, environmentally conscious
collections, there is still a need to reduce the huge
volume of waste that fashion creates.
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7.
Recycling has become an important way to address
this. H&M, for example, has a successful garment
collection scheme, where they repurpose their
consumers’ unwanted clothing. However, the
recycling process is problematic environmentally. It is
energy intensive and may require use of further fresh
materials. Additionally, while it resolves some of
fashion’s sustainability issues, it does not adequately
address the problem that consumers buy too much.
We must reconsider how fashion is sold, encourage
consumers to waste less, and ensure that garments
have a longer lifespan.
8.
Leasing has been identified as an innovative business
model that gives clothes a longer service life, while
reducing material use and carbon dioxide emissions.
The possible value of the clothing rental market in
the UK is predicted to be £923m and the model is
already well-established for certain items, such as
dinner jackets and wedding suits for men. Despite
this, there are currently just a handful of fashion
companies that are using a leasing model.
9.
Research found there were opportunities for clothing
rental at the luxury end of the market, but there was
resistance to renting lower priced items, which were
just too easy to buy.
10.
If consumers are to engage, rentals need to be
convenient, cheap, accessible and fulfil the desire
for having something new. Clothing rental has the
potential to reduce waste and increase the lifespan of
garments, but to achieve a more sustainable industry
a systemic change in business practice and consumer
behaviour is needed.
Adapted from theconversation.com, July 31st 2018, by
Naomi Braithwaite, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing
and Branding at Nottingham Trent University
*Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothes based on
catwalk designs that are made and put quickly on display
in shops.
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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

THE FUTURE OF FASHION

4 Checking understanding

Read the article again. Then put ‘T’(True) or ‘F’ (False) next to each of the statements below. Say why
the false answers are not true.

1. Shoppers are increasingly more interested in how their clothes are made.
2. Around a quarter of ‘fast fashion’ items that people buy are thrown away within the first year.
3. Recycling doesn’t have any environmental impacts.
4. One of the benefits of leasing is that clothes will not be disposed of so quickly.
5. Luxury items are harder to rent to consumers.

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means.....

1. designed to be practical and useful (adj., P.3):

2. people working in factories with bad conditions and very little pay (two word noun, P.4):

3. thin, light, artificial threads used for making cloth (noun - plural, P.5):
4. deal with (verb, P.7):
5. solves (something) (verb, P.7):
6. successful and having existed for a while (adj.,P.8):
7. a small number (noun, P.8):
8. easy to get (adj.,P.10):

6 Adverbs

Choose the correct adverb to complete the definitions below.

additionally adequately annually historically increasingly unnecessarily

1. : not needing to be done

2. : once a year

3. : having existed for a long time

4. : more and more

5. : as well as what has been mentioned before

6. : in a way that is good enough or satisfactory

Now, create your own sentences using each of the adverbs.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

THE FUTURE OF FASHION

7 Talking point

Answer the questions below in pairs or small groups.

1. Was there anything in the article that surprised you?

2. Do you like the idea of renting clothes? Why or why not?
3. Do you think that clothing rental has the potential for growth in your country?
4. Do you think it is possible to change the way that people buy clothes? Why or why not?

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