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Do you know where the clothes
in your wardrobe come from,
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not just if they are from the high street
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or if your cupboards are packed
with designer labels,
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but what they're made of?
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Do they come from materials
that are harming the planet?
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Are our clothes just a mirror reflection
of what is happening to our environment?
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Hi, I'm Michelle Yeoh.
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I like to look good,
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not only for the red carpet
but in everyday life.
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The connection between our clothes
and their impact on the environment
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doesn't immediately come to mind.
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If a jacket, a skirt or a dress looks good
and if we can afford it, we buy it.
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But the environment pays the price.
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I'm going to find out
what sustainable fashion could look like
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without compromising
the beauty of our clothes.
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The United Nations promotes
a better future for people and the planet
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through a global effort known as
"The Sustainable Development Goals".
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So I've come to the UN's office in Geneva,
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to learn more about what some are calling
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"an environmental emergency
in the garment industry".
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The environmental impact
of the fashion industry's actually immense
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and a large part of that
is the production of textiles.
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Manufacturing of clothes
is very water intensive
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and releases high levels
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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The fashion industry generates
around 10% of global carbon emissions.
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That's more than all international flights
and maritime shipping combined.
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It is also one of the world's
biggest users of water
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and produces around 20%
of global wastewater.
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It takes up to 10 thousand liters of water
to produce just 1 kilo of cotton.
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Enough to make
a single pair of denim jeans.
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That's as much water
as a human being drinks
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over the course of 10 years.
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When we wash synthetic fibers,
the other most commonly used materials,
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they release microplastics into our rivers
which end up polluting the oceans.
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With clothing more affordable
and more availabe than ever before,
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is it time to move on
from throwaway fashion?
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Today with fast and cheap production,
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85% of textiles end up in landfills
or are incinerated.
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So, what's the alternative?
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Forests can provide part of the solution.
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Using the latest technology to produce
wood based fibers for our clothes.
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Of course this has to go hand in hand
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with sustainable forest management.
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If we are to use forests' products,
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we need to make sure
the forests remain healthy
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and continue to grow.
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So fashion out of forests
is possible and sustainable.
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Let's see how it looks like.
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We are traveling to Biella in Italy.
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So I can see for myself if clothing
that has little impact on the environment
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can look as good or even better
than the ones we are all used to.
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We have 4 young italian designers.
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All of them, wathever they do
is with sustainable fabrics.
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I'm choosing a design for a dress
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and a jacket to make
from natural wood based fibers.
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My dress and jacket will be made
to order here in Cittadellarte,
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a place where artists come together
to explore connections
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between their work
and broader social issues.
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Welcome to Cittadellarte!
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Its founder is the world renowned artist
Michelangelo Pistoletto.
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Fashion is very important because
it brings the aesthetic into the society.
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But for me, it's not enough.
We have also to bring the ethic.
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Designer Tiziano Guardini
represents precisely
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this greater awereness of ethics
and production
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a young generation of creative artists
bring to the fashion industry.
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I've picked his design.
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I love the simplicity but at the same time
when you go in you see the details.
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But explain to me the whole process.
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I use only eco sustainable materials
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because, for me, it's important
to think about our future.
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In the second step I search fabrics
that can explain my idea.
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Tiziano works with wood based fibers
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that use on average 60x
less water compared to cotton
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and produces 50x fewer carbon emissions
than synthetic fibers.
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Wood chips from certified
susteinable forests
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are processed into pulp.
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Reduced to a viscous solution
that produces fibers.
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And ultimately,
these are turned into threads,
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with create soft and silky materials
with a light footprint on the environment.
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Smart fashion from sustainable sources
is already widely available.
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And not only from high end designers.
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It is also affordable.
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As we insist for our clothes
to be produced sustainably,
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more and more brands
are quickly joining this new trend.
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I'm in Paris,
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one of the fashion capitals of the world,
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where I will be wearing my new outfit
for the first time.
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Wearing this dress is a privilege,
I realized.
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I would have never thought
that it came from the forest.
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A beautiful outfit is even more satisfing
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knowing that it's been made
from natural materials.
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Materials that are not harming the planet.
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From the forest to the city.
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I made my choice.
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What choice are you making?