Assessing Public Health and Environmental Racism Impacts of Textile Pollution through Computer-Based Social Justice Research and Multi-Media Art and Data Dissemination

Abstract

Most individuals are unaware that post-consumer textile pollution is a serious public health hazard and an issue of tremendous environmental racism that disproportionately affects communities in the Global South, those with lower socioeconomic status, and quite often communities of color.  Every year, people in the U.S. generate more than 36 billion pounds of textile waste, of which 66% is sent directly into landfills, 19% is incinerated, and only 15% is recycled. Among the small amount “recycled,” more than 30% is shipped overseas, where it ends-up simply degrading in open-air dumps there instead. Decomposing textiles produce greenhouse gases and leachates that pollute groundwater, harm respiratory health and degrade environmental contexts for all living species. Despite the scale of the problem, public awareness of textile waste as a health, environmental racism and social justice issue remains low. In support of Boston College and Schiller Institute values, our project aims to address and amplify this critical challenge of textile waste, as an issue of environmental injustice, environmental racism, and risk to human health. The project work involves research collaboration across fields of engineering and design, computational learning, art and art advocacy, applied developmental psychology, social justice education, public health, and environmental studies.

Presentations

• The Aftermath of Textile Waste: How Fast Fashion is Impacting the Environment, Boston Public Library - Invited Community Speaker Event, October 2022
• Environmental and Gendered Health Effects from Post-Consumer Textile Waste, International Conference on Gender Research, April 2023. 
  • Poster won the International Conference on Gender Research poster award for 2023. 
    

Publications 

• Post-Consumer textile waste and disposal: Differences by socioeconomic, demographic, and retail factors. (DeVoy, et al 2021). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X21005390
  

Media

• Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment (article by BU School of Public Health)
• Schiller Grant 'Aftermath' Textile & Bioreactor Sculpture at BC McMullen Museum Opening Jan. 28 (article by BC Lynch School)
• ‘Aftermath’ Sculpture, Exhibited at Boston University, Reveals Impact of Global Textile Waste (article in The Heights)
• NBC-Universal interview with Eric Alvarez (LX Explains news segment)
• WBZ News Radio interview with James Rojas on AfterMath & Textile Waste (WBZ YouTube & WBZ Website Report)
• Aftermath: Fast Fashion and Textile Waste (Community Education and Learning webinar)
  

Students Trained 

• 5 Students
  • Evan Warns
  • Addison Metzger
  • Evelyn Kotch
  • Zhiyi Zeng
  • Cyrus Rosen

Exhibits mounted

• Aftermath, Boston College McMullen Museum of Art, January-March 2022
• Aftermath, ACCelerate Creativity + Innovation Festival, Smithsonian Museum of American History, April 2022. 
• Aftermath, Talbot Building at Boston University School of Public Health, September-October 2022.
• Aftermath, Hans Rowling Center at University of Washington, [please share date]
• Aftermath, Boston College Arts Festival, April 2023