Clothing consumption almost doubled between 1975 and 2020, according to Textile Exchange, a nonprofit that organises textile and apparel manufacturers and brands around sustainability. Photo: Freepik
At the height of the holiday season on Amsterdam’s Kalverstraat last December, thousands of shoppers who regularly descend on the popular shopping district came face to face with the grim reality behind humanity’s sartorial excess.
A local activist group had deposited an enormous pile of clothes on the sidewalk, in sight of stores such as Adidas, Zara and the popular Dutch casual fashion chain Cotton Club.
