I, Science Radio – 1 April 2019

Broadcast live on April Fool’s day but no joking matter, sustainable fashion. What a show! It was lively and informative. Starting with some shocking statistics about how clothes are the fastest growing source of landfill in the UK, amounting now to 300,000 tonnes each year, the team moved onto a quiz to see if people know how many litres of water it takes to produce a single pair of jeans. The answer is horrific. One of our two producers was closest in their estimate. The other was hopeless and needs to wise up!. Good thing the rest of the show continued to provide more disturbing information about the impacts of fashion wear on the environment. How many people think about polyester as a plastic?. Each time these clothes are washed microfibres make their way into the oceans and up through the food chain into our stomachs. Cotton production is particularly bad for the environment too due to the amount of water required and the toxic pesticides used in its cultivation. The panel handled some challenging questions from the lively audience at home about what to buy if both polyester and cotton are bad for the environment. The social issues surrounding fashion are just as worrying: 97% of clothing items sold in the UK are now made overseas by 40 million garment workers many who do not have basic protection and pay in their workplace. The panel ended the programme positively with 5 suggestions of how to do your bit including only buying clothes that you will wear 30 times. There was one other suggestion that all panel members agreed on .. listen in to find out what this was and the other cracking ideas of how to break the cycle of unsustainable fashion.

Listen below and find the rest of our shows here.

Catch us next Monday at ICRadio.com from 5-6pm!

This week’s I, Science Radio show was hosted by Kathy Grenville, and produced by Hilary Guite and Andrew Dixon. We joined by guests Rachel Ng, Hannah Gormley, and Katy Pallister

Banner image: Person Shopping, Pexels