Collectively, Canadians throw away about 500 million kilograms of textiles each year. That is the finding of a 2023 study by the University of Waterloo.
The study, one of the first of its kind in Canada, says Canadians individually discard about 12 kilograms of textiles — such as clothing, home textiles, footwear and soft toys — each year.
Those statistics prompted the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC) to create the Fast Fashion T-shirt board game, an educational game and resource for use in schools and other educational settings. The council represents 40 Manitoban organizations that receive funding from the province for international aid and development work.
The organization’s game aims to help teachers and students learn more about the global fashion industry and to inspire them to make responsible choices in their own fashion decisions.
In the game, players assume the role of T-shirts. Players roll the dice to enter different pathways that a T-shirt may take — like getting torn or being donated to a thrift store. Along the way, players discover the realities behind the fashion industry and its impact on people and the planet.
For James Kornelsen, director of engagement and learning for MCIC, the game is a way to address current global issues.
“So many people are caught up in it, in wanting to know what fashion is new this week, in buying more and more cheap clothing,” he said. “But all of it has consequences for the environment and for people struggling with difficult employment conditions and poverty.”
The game is a way to help people understand how their fashion choices affect people, especially in the Global South, Kornelsen says. He describes the response to the game as “amazing.”
“Students who played it came away with a sense of what they could do to take action on the issue.”
Anna-Marie Janzen, the Winnipeg-based founder of mending company Reclaim Mending, says people who are concerned about the impact of fast fashion can take action by buying better quality items and wearing them longer.
Janzen, who partnered with MCIC to create the Fast Fashion T-shirt board game, says she once wore the same dress every day for a month.
“No one noticed,” she said of that 2013 experiment, which was covered by CBC News. The experience made her wonder why she spent so much money on clothing, she says.
“The experiment helped me realize we can change our ideas about how many items of clothing we need.”
Social norms
The fashion today is driven by very rapid changes in what is fashionable, says Janzen.
“Styles change so fast. We used to have four seasons for clothing styles. Now it changes every six weeks,” she said.
According to the University of Waterloo study, global fashion consumption doubled from 2000 to 2014, due in large part to lower clothing prices. The study cites data showing many consumers dispose of their lowest-priced clothes after a mere three to eight wears.
“So much of the clothing we discard goes directly into landfill,” said Janzen, who encourages people to instead donate their clothes to thrift stores. “It’s always better to give clothing a longer shelf life.”
The University of Waterloo study says behaviours toward unwanted clothes vary by country. In Canada, it is a “social norm” to donate used clothes to charities. About 92 per cent of Canadians have donated some of their clothes to charities, the study says.
Janzen says there is enough clothing in the world today to last for at least six generations. “It’s insane how much clothing that is,” she said.
People who want to learn more about the impact of fast fashion can also take time to educate themselves. Janzen pointed to organizations like Fashion Takes Action, a Canadian organization that promotes sustainable fashion, and Fashion Revolution Canada, the Canadian chapter of the world’s largest fashion activism movement.
“Fashion touches on so many aspects of our lives and our life on the planet,” she said. “We should do what we can to learn more about it and engage in action about it.”
The Fast Fashion T-shirt board game can be downloaded here.
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