Annually, we sell and buy two billion t-shirts globally,

全球每年大約買賣 20 億件 T 恤

making it one of the most common garments in the world.

讓它成為世界上最常見的服裝之一

But how and where is the average t-shirt made,

但是大部分的 T 恤都在那裡製作？又是如何產生的呢？

and what's its environmental impact?

它對環境的影響又是什麼？

Clothing items can vary a lot,

衣著服裝可以非常多樣化

but a typical t-shirt begins its life on a farm in America, China, or India

但是一般 T 恤從美國、中國、或是印度的農場開始它的生命之旅

where cotton seeds are sown, irrigated and grown for the fluffy bolls they produce.

在農場裡種下棉花種子、灌溉後，就會長出渾圓飽滿的棉花

Self-driving machines carefully harvest these puffs,

自動行駛的機器會小心地採收棉花

an industrial cotton gin mechanically separates the fluffy bolls from the seeds,

軋棉機會自行將棉花和種子分開

and the cotton lint is pressed into 225-kilogram bales.

再壓成一捆 225 公斤的棉絨

The cotton plants require a huge quantity of water and pesticides.

棉花田需要大量的水和殺蟲劑

2,700 liters of water are needed to produce the average t-shirt,

一件 T 恤所需的棉花，平均需要灌溉 2700 公升的水

enough to fill more than 30 bathtubs.

這樣的水量可以裝滿超過 30 個浴缸

Meanwhile, cotton uses more insecticides and pesticides

同時，棉花用掉的殺蟲劑

than any other crop in the world.

比世界上所有的農作物都還多

These pollutants can be carcinogenic,

殺蟲劑帶來的汙染物可能致癌

harm the health of field workers,

危害農務人員的健康

and damage surrounding ecosystems.

還會傷害周遭的生態系統

Some t-shirts are made of organic cotton grown without pesticides and insecticides,

有些 T 恤是用有機棉製作，有機棉的種植過程不會使用殺蟲劑

but organic cotton makes up less than 1%

但是有機棉的產量比 22.7 萬公噸還少

of the 22.7 million metric tons of cotton produced worldwide.

而全世界的棉花產量有 2270 公噸，有機棉的產量還不及 1 %

Once the cotton bales leave the farm,

一旦棉花捆離開農場，

textile mills ship them to a spinning facility,

布料工廠就會把他們送去紡織廠，

usually in China or India,

紡織廠大多在中國或印度

where high-tech machines blend,

高科技機具會混合、

card,

整平、

comb,

梳理、

pull,

撕開、

stretch,

伸展

and, finally, twist the cotton into snowy ropes of yarn called slivers.

最後把多股棉線捲成紡紗線

Then, yarns are sent to the mill,

再將棉紡送到紡織廠

where huge circular knitting machines

接下來大型編織器

weave them into sheets of rough grayish fabric

會把棉紡織成大片灰色的布料

treated with heat and chemicals until they turn soft and white.

運用高溫和化學物把它們軟化和漂白

Here, the fabric is dipped into commercial bleaches and azo dyes,

此時，布料會浸泡在漂白劑和偶氮染劑中

which make up the vivid coloring in about 70% of textiles.

70 %的布料會透過此種方式染上鮮豔的顏色

Unfortunately, some of these contain cancer-causing cadmium,

不幸的是，有些藥劑含有致癌的鎘

lead,

鉛

chromium,

鉻

and mercury.

還有汞

Other harmful compounds and chemicals can cause widespread contamination

還有些有害化合物、化學物可能導致大面積的汙染

when released as toxic waste water in rivers and oceans.

例如排放有毒的廢水到河川和海洋中

Technologies are now so advanced in some countries

許多國家的科技十分發達

that the entire process of growing and producing fabric

整個種植和製造布料的過程

barely touches a human hand.

都不需經過人手

But only up until this point.

但是製造完畢就一定會接觸人群

After the finished cloth travels to factories,

做好的布料送到大部分在

often in Bangladesh, China, India, or Turkey,

孟加拉、中國、印度或是土耳其的工廠後

human labor is still required to stitch them up into t-shirts,

勞工還是需要將它們縫合成一件件的T恤

intricate work that machines just can't do.

有些複雜精細的工作無法被機器取代

This process has its own problems.

製作成 T 恤的過程也有一些潛在的問題

Bangladesh, for example,

以孟加拉為例

which has surpassed China as the world's biggest exporter of cotton t-shirts,

它已經取代中國，成為世界上最大的棉 T 出口國

employs 4.5 million people in the t-shirt industry,

全國有 450 萬人投入 T 恤製造工作

but they typically face poor conditions and low wages.

但是他們的工作環境通常不好，薪水也很低

After manufacture, all those t-shirts travel by ship, train, and truck

製造完成後，這些 T 恤會透過船隻、火車、貨車

to be sold in high-income countries,

運送至高度經濟發展的國家，

a process that gives cotton an enormous carbon footprint.

運送過程讓棉花的碳足跡大增

Some countries produce their own clothing domestically,

有些國家的服裝會自產自銷

which cuts out this polluting stage,

縮減汙染程度

but generally, apparel production accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions.

但是平均而言，服裝產業的碳排放量佔了全球的 10%

And it's escalating.

而且與日俱增

Cheaper garments and the public's willingness to buy

便宜的服裝還有大眾的購買意願

boosted global production from 1994 to 2014 by 400%

讓全球服飾製造從 1994 年到 2014 年，成長了 4 倍

to around 80 billion garments each year.

每年更製造約 80 億件服飾

Finally, in a consumer's home,

最後來到消費者的家看看，

the t-shirt goes through one of the most resource-intensive phases of its lifetime.

這是 T 恤一生中耗費最多能源的一個階段

In America, for instance,

像是在美國

the average household does nearly 400 loads of laundry per year

每戶人家每年大約送洗 400 次衣服

each using about 40 gallons of water.

每次用掉 40 加侖的水

Washing machines and dryers both use energy,

洗衣機和烘衣機都需要用電

with dryers requiring five to six times more than washers.

而烘衣機所需的電力比洗衣機多 5 到 6 倍

This dramatic shift in clothing consumption over the last 20 years,

過去 20 年來急遽轉變的服飾消費習慣

driven by large corporations and the trend of fast fashion

和大型企業以及潮流快速變動有關

has cost the environment,

也已經對環境造成影響，

the health of farmers,

還有農務人員的健康，

and driven questionable human labor practices.

更衍生許多勞工問題

It's also turned fashion into the second largest polluter in the world after oil.

還讓時尚產業繼石油之後，成為世界上第二大的汙染產業

But there are things we can do.

即便如此，我們還是可以做一些事情

Consider shopping secondhand.

像是購買二手衣

Try to look for textiles made from recycled or organic fabrics.

或是購買回收再製布料、有機布料製成的衣服

Wash clothes less and line dry to save resources.

減少洗衣次數，還有多曬衣服來節約能源

Instead of throwing them away at the end of their life,

衣服不穿了以後，不要直接丟掉

donate, recycle, or reuse them as cleaning rags.

可以捐贈、回收或是當作抹布使用

And, finally, you might ask yourself,

最後，你可以問問你自己一個問題

how many t-shirts and articles of clothing will you consume over your lifetime,

你這一生會用掉多少件 T 恤或其他衣服

and what will be their combined impact on the world?

而這些衣服對於世界的影響又是什麼呢？