Use, Reuse, Recycle, Repeat

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In the second unit of my Economics class, we focused on matrices, learned the history of economics, and how modern economists and economics have developed. Our class visited The Plant Chicago on a field experience to learn more about circular economies. In our class we also read Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist by Kate Raworth. Students were paired off into groups and every group was tasked with reading, summarizing, and explaining a chapter to the class. After the presentations, we were then presented with our action project. For this project, we had to create an idea for the eighth chapter in Doughnut Economics. All though we did not have to write out a whole chapter ourselves. We were tasked with writing out the introduction/summary to the chapter that would go into the book as well as creating an image related to our idea. I hope you enjoy my project!

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Chapter 8

Use, Reuse, Recycle, Repeat

Textile Reusing in the 21st Century


“For the twenty-first century, a far bigger goal is needed: meeting the human rights of every person within the means of our life-giving planet.” Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Capitalism, overconsumption, and the ideals of “spend now think later” have allowed fast fashion to emerge in the textile industry for the past century. In order to meet public demand and trends, fashion retailers produced clothes in mass quantities. As fast fashion continues, we are now witnessing the damaging effect it has on both human lives and our world. The EPA estimates that during 2018, 17 million tons of textiles were generated. While 11.3 million tons of textiles were disposed of in landfills, the EPA estimated that the amount recycled textiles in 2018 was only 2.5 million tons.

Now, what if there was another step we could take to help keep textiles out of landfills. While our minds go straight to growing the GDP, fast fashion, at what cost? Will we stop when all of the children in the third world countries are taking part in child labor? Will we stop when the rivers are polluted with dyes and deadly chemicals, or when all of the textile resources are gone? Well, the solution may be closer than you think. While world organizations currently do not have enough data on textile reusing, it is time to make it more mainstream.

CH. "Chapter 8 image." Google Drawing, 2021.


There are over 300 million employees in the $1.3 trillion clothing industry. With such a big foot in our economy and everyday life. It is only fair that we update and renovate this industry as we rethink our way of economics. While predecessors have suggested a cradle-to-cradle approach on the textile industry, with the increase of synthetic materials, returning such materials back to the earth or recycling them is slim. This is when we implement the use, reuse, recycle, repeat method. Use in this instance applies to when the product is first used after creation. Reuse applies to giving that product new life by upcycling it and/or donating it to keep this product in the triangle. Once the product can not be reused anymore, it is recycled and repurposed. Then the cycle repeats again. The idea is to only bring things into the cycle that is absolutely necessary and that you absolutely need. Therefore keeping it in this cycle and economy without having to put extra strain on human health and the world's resources.


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Works Cited


Durocher, Yanie. “Circular Economy And The Textile Industry.” Forbes, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/12/01/circular-economy-and-the-textile-industry/?sh=1f7a50bc57a9.

“The Fast Fashion Industry.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 12 Dec. 2019, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/49c1323a952b4e24ae772d4a659ed3b7.

“Frequent Questions Regarding EPA’s Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling | US EPA.” US EPA, 31 Jan. 2018, https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/frequent-questions-regarding-epas-facts-and.

“Guide to the Facts and Figures Report about Materials, Waste and Recycling | US EPA.” US EPA, 7 Sept. 2017, https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/guide-facts-and-figures-report-about.

“How the United Nations’ SDGs Relate to the Fashion Industry.” Remake, https://www.facebook.com/remakeourworld, 19 Feb. 2020, https://remake.world/stories/news/how-the-united-nations-sdgs-relate-to-the-fashion-industry/.

The Impact of Textile Production and Waste on the Environment (Infographic) | News | European Parliament. 2020 Dec. 29AD, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographic.

“Textiles: Material-Specific Data | US EPA.” US EPA, 12 Sept. 2017, https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data.


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