B2 – Upper Intermediate
Will you accept the challenge of buying fewer things?
Look at a popular online magazine headline and talk about your shopping habits and how they could influence your life and our planet.
Greenpeace campaigner Bonnie Tang said: “Hong Kongers love buying clothes and, apparently, throwing them away as well. At the rate they are entering our landfills we have to wonder why they are buying so many outfits only to throw them into trash bins. This level of wasteful consumption is ultimately a heavy burden on the environment.”
A Greenpeace study on the amount of textiles discarded in Hong Kong over the past 10 years found that the weight of discarded clothing averaged 100,000 tonnes annually. Although the amount of clothes being thrown away remains high, the government fails to collect and provide statistics on the environmental costs of public consumption or wastage of clothing.
“The issue of clothing waste has many mini-solutions including recycling, upcycling, and donation, however the thread that is woven throughout this issue is overconsumption,” Tang added. “Overconsumption is fueled by consumer demand and met all too enthusiastically by the fast fashion industry.”
Greenpeace calls on the Hong Kong public to acknowledge the impact that high consumption levels have on the environment. Consumers are urged to reduce unnecessary spending and adopt more environmentally-friendly consumption habits, such as buying clothes made from non-toxic materials, wearing second-hand clothes, repairing worn clothes, and not discarding old clothes.
Facts retrieved from https://www.greenpeace.org/
Discussion Questions:
- Do you have a lot of clothes or do you have a small wardrobe?
- What can people do to minimize the negative effect of their shopping habits?
- Have you ever thought about changing your shopping habits?