Mountain Of Fashion Waste Is Visible From Space, Captured In Satellite Imagery
An image of the Atacama Desert in Chile. Photo 8792082 © Tifonimages | Dreamstime.com
To the brands and shoppers negligently contributing to the fashion waste problem, environmentalists might have one thing to say: take a hike.
New satellite imagery showcases a “mountain” of discarded clothes arising in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The 60,000-tonne heap is so pronounced, it can be seen from space. Not only that, it’s still growing.
Captured and shared by high-res satellite image provider SkyFi, the vision is a daunting representation of the fast-fashion industry, which is said to produce about 92 million tons of waste per year.
The 20-inch, “very-high-resolution” image shows the clothing mountain next to the neighboring city of Iquique.
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Littered among the pile are items like ski boots and old holiday sweaters. Most of these were manufactured in China or Bangladesh, and sent to the US, Europe, and Asia for retail.
If no one wants them, the pieces get deposited into the Atacaman dumping ground.
The rejected goods cannot be disposed of in municipal landfills because they aren’t biodegradable and they contain chemicals, the AFP learned from Franklin Zepeda, the founder of recycled textile firm EcoFibre, back in 2021.
Also, this part of Chile is a tax-free zone, so discarded clothing can lie around without costing disposers.
SkyFi expresses that the image of the giant clothes pile “really puts things into perspective.”
The firm adds, “The size of the pile and the pollution it’s causing are visible from space, making it clear that there is a need for change in the fashion industry.”
Brands and innovators have presented ideas for fashion products that are less likely, or slower, to reach landfills, including pieces that naturally break down into the earth or are made with longer-lasting materials. However, many of these are novelties instead of truly driving change.
SkyFi notes that images like this one can help people recognize problems that have gone out of hand. “Anyone can [now] access satellite imagery to confirm stories and see the world from a new perspective,” it elaborates.
[via Space.com, Hunger Magazine, SkyFi, images via various sources]
