“快時尚”（fast fashion）產業的興起讓消費者們能以低廉的價格買到緊跟潮流的時裝，但這也意味著新的衣服往往沒穿多久就會被送往垃圾場填埋或被焚燒。這一現象推動了人們對長久、耐用的紡織物的需求。“隨身英語” 介紹這些新型的服裝材料，并探討怎樣才能讓追求時尚這件事變得更環保。
Vocabulary: fashion 詞匯：時尚
Choosing what to wear can be a tricky problem, especially if you’re a fashion victim. Trying to keep up with the latest styles involves regular visits to the shops and sometimes forking out for expensive designer clothes. But when the fashion changes, these clothes languish in the back of cupboards gathering dust, or just get thrown away.
There are many stores that now offer cheap ‘fast fashion’ – low-price items that imitate the styles of more expensive designer brands. Environmentalists are angered by the amount of energy involved in making these clothes and that many of them are made from non-recyclable materials. This means that items are just incinerated or go into landfill.
Writing about this for the BBC, Eleanor Lawrie says that people in the UK are the worst in Europe for doing this - with a million tonnes of unwanted textiles a year being discarded. And she says “on top of often poor labour conditions for garment workers, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of the world's waste water, and 10% of carbon emissions.”
This is something the fashion industry is becoming more aware of and has led to a new crop of biomaterials that replace wasteful textiles like cotton and leather. Examples include Pi?atex, a leather-like substance made from discarded pineapple leaves. It's been used in collections by Hugo Boss and H&M. And there’s mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, that’s being used to create food, packaging and textiles.
Cotton is a very resource-intense crop to grow. Eleanor Lawrie says “about 15,000 litres of water [are] required to make one pair of jeans.” So, buying organic cotton is a better choice. And there is also Tencel, also known as Lyocell, a natural product that's now growing in popularity. It's made by extracting cellulose fibre from trees; its manufacture is thought to use 95% less water than cotton processing.
But creating sustainable textiles is only part of the battle – buying ethically, buying second hand and buying fewer clothes are the obvious environmentally friendly choices. Dr Richard Blackburn from Leeds School of Design told the BBC that “I don't think you should consider buying any item of clothing unless you commit to 30 wears. Unless you can do that you're not even starting to be sustainable.”
詞匯表
fashion victim 盲目追求時尚的人
style （服裝）風格，流行式樣
fork out （不情愿地）付錢
designer 出自著名設計師的，名牌的
fast fashion “快時尚”，指更新頻率高、價格低廉、緊跟時尚風潮的服裝
material 材料
incinerate 焚燒
landfill 垃圾填埋場
textile 紡織品
discarded 被丟棄的
garment worker 服裝工人
biomaterial 生物材料
cotton 棉
leather 皮革
Pi?atex “菠蘿皮革”，用菠蘿葉制成的替代皮革面料
collection （服裝品牌推出的）時裝系列
organic 有機的
Tencel “天絲絨”
Lyocell 萊賽爾纖維
cellulose fibre 再生纖維素纖維
sustainable 可持續的
ethically 符合道德準則地
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。
1. What happens to many of the clothes that can’t be recycled?
2. Which European country is the worst for throwing away unwanted clothes?
3. True or false? Using the natural product Tencel as an alternative to cotton, uses 15,000 litres less water to make one pair of jeans.
4. What does Richard Blackburn, from Leeds School of Design, recommend committing to when buying an item of clothing?
5. Which word used in the article means: ‘exist in an unwanted situation for a long time’.
2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思恰當的單詞填入句子中的空格處。
1. Going to university can be expensive – I’m always _______ for text books, pens, food and going out every night!
fork out forking out out forking forking up
2. I went to a great fashion show where they showed lots of the latest _______ clothes – but I couldn’t afford to buy them.
style collection designer ethically
3. My boyfriend bought me a t-shirt made from hemp. I feel good wearing something made from a _______ material that will help the environment.
sustainable ethically cotton substance
4. I went to a party and saw my boss wearing a silly dress made from feathers – she is obviously a _______.
fashion victims fashionable victim fashions victim fashion victim
5. The car was completely _______ when it caught fire after the engine over-heated.
sustainable substance carbon emissions incinerated
答案
1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。
1. What happens to many of the clothes that can’t be recycled?
Many items are just incinerated (burned) or go into landfill.
2. Which European country is the worst for throwing away unwanted clothes?
The BBC’s Eleanor Lawrie says that people in the UK are the worst in Europe. A million tonnes of unwanted textiles a year are discarded.
3. True or false? Using the natural product Tencel as an alternative to cotton, uses 15,000 litres less water to make one pair of jeans.
False. About 15,000 litres of water [are] required to make one pair of jeans with cotton but Tencel is thought to use 95% less water than cotton processing.
4. What does Richard Blackburn, from Leeds School of Design, recommend committing to when buying an item of clothing?
Richard Blackburn, from Leeds School of Design, told the BBC that “I don't think you should consider buying any item of clothing unless you commit to 30 wears.”
5. Which word used in the article means: ‘exist in an unwanted situation for a long time’.
Languish. (When the fashion changes, these clothes languish in the back of cupboards gathering dust or just get thrown away.)
2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思恰當的單詞填入句子中的空格處。
1. Going to university can be expensive – I’m always forking out for text books, pens, food and going out every night!
2. I went to a great fashion show where they showed lots of the latest designer clothes – but I couldn’t afford to buy them.
3. My boyfriend bought me a t-shirt made from hemp. I feel good wearing something made from a sustainable material that will help the environment.
4. I went to a party and saw my boss wearing a silly dress made from feathers – she is obviously a fashion victim.
5. The car was completely incinerated when it caught fire after the engine over-heated.
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