Many people know that most things today are made overseas; However, not much thought is given to what it takes to produce the simple things we buy and use every day. A basic shirt purchased at a low price has priceless consequences. The fast fashion industry is growing rapidly and providing a continuous cycle of cheap clothing designed for landfills. In the film Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard explains the linear process from extraction to disposal that applies to the fast fashion industry and affects the environment, production workers and the amount of consumer waste. The environmental impact of textile and clothing manufacturing is detrimental to natural resources and is not sustainable. Buying a cotton shirt seems to be a good choice for most consumers because its material is produced from a plant. What people don't know is that cotton is the dirtiest crop in the world due to the heavy use of insecticides and pesticides. “Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land and yet it uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other major crop” (Organic Trade Association, 2011). In addition to soil pollution from agricultural production, coal-burning factories and textile factories release chemicals into the air and water. As Leonard (2007) explains, factories built abroad not only pollute water, land and air, but the pollution also eventually returns to water and wind currents. Water is contaminated with countless toxic chemicals and used in excess to grow and produce textiles for clothing production. A good example of this abundant waste is that a t-shirt requires 2,700 liters of water to produce. Fast fashion is harming the environment globally and this is just the beginning of this flawed system...... middle of paper ...... choice and 'vote with my dollar' to make a small change. There are many ways to upcycle, upcycle and renew old clothing that could make a small difference, such as donating, buying second-hand or vintage clothing, altering and updating and using old materials to make clothes. rags. As Beth Greer (2013) points out in her article “The Truth About the Clothes We Wear,” we should look for “organic cotton and fair trade products, avoid polyester and nylon because they are made from oil and avoid any advertised clothing.” as being anti-shrink, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antistatic, anti-odor, anti-flame, anti-wrinkle or anti-stain. These all contain chemicals that have not been tested for safety on humans. Unfortunately, it will still be decades before there is enough change to begin to reduce the amount of damage caused by this industry, but I hope to see that change in my lifetime..