快時尚的真實代價：英語精讀講義

Buying clothes has never been easier. 文法

買衣服從來沒有這麼容易過。

80 billion items are manufactured every year.

每年生產出 800 億件衣物。

We're putting too much product out there. 片語動詞

我們投放了太多的產品。

Most of that product ending up in landfill.

其中大部分最終被送進了垃圾掩埋場。

So-called fast fashion allows consumers to buy more,

所謂的快時尚讓消費者能買得更多，

but they're wearing these garments less often and disposing of them at an unprecedented rate. 片語搭配

但他們穿這些衣服的次數變少了，並且正以前所未有的速度丟棄它們。

This is where wardrobe castoffs end up. 講解

這就是被淘汰的衣服最終的去向。

Savanna Rags is a clothes recycling and processing plant in Nottingham, England.

Savanna Rags 是位於英國諾丁漢的一家舊衣回收處理廠。

They process discarded clothes from recycling bins around the country.

他們處理來自全國各地回收箱的廢棄衣物。

Mohammed Patel has been running this plant for 12 years. 文法

Mohammed Patel 經營這家工廠已經有 12 年了。

Majority of it will go to Africa and Dubai.

其中大部分會運往非洲和杜拜。

We send some of it to Europe,

我們會把一部分送到歐洲，

and we have a couple of buyers here in the UK that buy from us also.

而且在英國本地也有幾個買家從我們這裡進貨。

Globally, sorting plants like this only deal with around 25% of discarded clothes. 片語動詞

在全球範圍內，這樣的分類廠只處理了大約 25% 的廢棄衣物。

In Britain, more than 300,000 tons of clothes end up in landfill every year.

在英國，每年有超過 30 萬噸的衣服最終被送入垃圾掩埋場。

It's the fastest growing category of waste in the country.

這是該國增長最快的垃圾類別。

But this is a global problem.

但這是一個全球性的問題。

Expanding middle classes in emerging markets are hungry for more and cheaper fashion. 講解

新興市場不斷壯大的中產階級渴望獲得更多、更便宜的時尚產品。

It's estimated that by 2050, 文法

據估計，到 2050 年，

global clothing sales could more than triple. 文法

全球服裝銷售額可能會增長兩倍以上。

And one of the things that we've noticed is that the quality of the actual material being used has gone down. 片語動詞

我們注意到的一個問題是，所用實際材料的品質下降了。

We're now having to process a lot more just to get the same quality of goods that we can sell on. 片語動詞

我們現在必須處理更多的廢舊衣物，才能獲得同樣品質的、可供轉售的商品。

But how can the fashion industry continue to grow while addressing the environmental need for people to buy fewer clothes? 表達脈絡

但是，時尚產業如何在繼續增長的同時，又能滿足讓人們少買衣服的環保需求呢？

New York fashionista Ijeoma Kola is less about rags and more about the latest runway fashions. 文法

紐約時尚達人 Ijeoma Kola 不怎麼關注舊衣服，她更關心最新的伸展台時尚。

Because I post often on Instagram,

因為我經常在 Instagram 上發文，

there is a little bit of pressure to have a new outfit. 片語搭配

所以要穿新衣服就有一點壓力。

She's a fashion blogger.

她是一位時尚部落客。

Her stylish posts and clothing tips are attracting a big online following. 片語搭配

她時尚的貼文和穿搭技巧吸引了大量的線上粉絲。

I found myself before buying a lot of clothes.

我發現我以前買了很多衣服。

I usually bought clothes from H&M and Zara or ASOS.

我通常在 H&M 和 Zara 或 ASOS 買衣服。

But if you're looking for trendy pieces,

但如果你想找潮流單品，

they have them.

他們那裡都有。

They're pretty affordable.

而且價格非常實惠。

Today, she's looking for a new outfit for a swanky industry event.

今天，她正在為一場時髦的產業活動尋找一套新衣服。

But this store doesn't sell clothes.

但這家店不賣衣服。

It rents them.

它出租衣服。

Ijeoma has been championing Rent the Runway's radical new approach to high-end fashion. 用詞

Ijeoma 一直在倡導 Rent the Runway 對於高端時尚的全新激進理念。

Rent the Runway is a clothing borrowing service,

Rent the Runway 是一項服裝租賃服務，

which allows you to rent clothes for either 4 or 8 days at a time. 文法

允許你每次租衣服穿 4 到 8 天。

You're cycling through clothing as fast, 片語動詞

你換衣服的速度一樣快，

but you're borrowing it with other people.

但你是和別人一起借用的。

So other people get to wear the same things that you're wearing as well. 文法

所以其他人也能穿你正在穿的同樣的衣服。

On average, only 20% of clothes are worn on a regular basis. 片語搭配

平均而言，只有 20% 的衣服會被經常穿著。

Rent the Runway's mission is to change consumers' relationship with the clothes they wear. 片語搭配

Rent the Runway 的使命是改變消費者與他們所穿衣服之間的關係。

Rather than buying something, only getting to wear it maybe three, four times before you decide to give it away or throw it away, 講解

與其買一件衣服，大概只穿個三四次就決定送人或扔掉，

an item is worn a lot more when it is being shared across different people.

不如把這件衣服在不同的人之間共享，這樣它的利用率就會高得多。

Rent the Runway only has a couple of flagship stores,

Rent the Runway 只有幾家旗艦店，

but online, it's a giant. 慣用語

但在網路上，它是個巨頭。

And it's disrupting the fashion industry.

它正在顛覆時尚行業。

To date, there are 10 million members, 片語搭配

迄今為止，它已有 1000 萬會員，

so it comes with a hefty laundry bill. 講解

所以隨之而來的是一張巨額的洗衣帳單。

The company claims to have the largest dry cleaning facility in the world. 語氣意圖

該公司聲稱擁有全球最大的乾洗設施。

Rent the Runway is getting more mileage out of items of clothing. 慣用語

Rent the Runway 正在從每件衣服身上榨取更多的使用價值。

It's also helping to tackle an increasing throwaway 用詞

它也有助於應對日益嚴重的用完即棄的

culture.

文化。

But the last thing clothing brands want is for consumers to buy less. 文法

但服裝品牌最不希望看到的就是消費者少買東西。

Except perhaps for Patagonia, an outdoor apparel brand,

也許戶外服裝品牌 Patagonia 是個例外，

which sent shockwaves through the industry with this full-page advert in the New York Times on Black Friday 2011. 講解

2011 年黑色星期五，它在《紐約時報》上刊登的全版廣告震驚了整個行業。

Here in Amsterdam, Ryan Gellert heads up Patagonia's operations in Europe and the Middle East. 片語動詞

在阿姆斯特丹，Ryan Gellert 負責 Patagonia 在歐洲和中東的業務。

The apparel industry has become one of the most polluting in the world.

服裝業已成為世界上污染最嚴重的行業之一。

As an industry, we're creating product that people don't need by stimulating demand and creating this sense that if you don't buy it now, 文法

作為一個行業，我們透過刺激需求來創造人們不需要的產品，並營造出一種感覺：如果你現在不買，

it's not going to be available.

就買不到了。

There's this race to the bottom on price and quality that is an unsustainable model. 慣用語

在價格和品質上出現了這種競相壓價的不良競爭，這是一種不可持續的模式。

Patagonia's philosophy flies in the face of fast fashion. 慣用語

Patagonia 的理念與快時尚背道而馳。

To buy once, buy well, 表達脈絡

只買一次，買好品質的，

and mend clothing for a longer lifespan.

並修補衣服以延長其使用壽命。

So maybe doing that in Amsterdam and then figuring out how to share it elsewhere. 片語動詞

所以也許可以在阿姆斯特丹這麼做，然後弄清楚如何在其他地方分享這種做法。

With the largest single repair facility in North America and mobile mending services around Europe and America,

憑藉北美最大的單一維修設施以及遍布歐美的行動修補服務，

Patagonia's anti-fashion environmental message has resonated with people who buy into their vision. 講解

Patagonia 反時尚的環保理念引起了認同其願景的人們的共鳴。

Helping our customers keep their product in use longer was also one of the original big ideas of Patagonia. 文法

幫助我們的客戶讓他們的產品使用更長時間，這也是 Patagonia 最初的重要理念之一。

Between 2008 and 2014,

在 2008 年至 2014 年間，

profits reportedly tripled.

據報導其利潤增長了兩倍。

Patagonia claims it generates revenue of nearly $1 billion a year.

Patagonia 稱其年收入接近 10 億美元。

Its hope is to inspire other brands to tackle the environmental impact of fast fashion.

它希望能以此激勵其他品牌解決快時尚對環境造成的影響。

If I had the opportunity to sit down with leaders from some of the bigger fast-fashion companies in the world, 片語動詞

如果我有機會和世界上一些大型快時尚公司的領導人坐下來談談，

what I'd really encourage them to understand the full impact of their supply chains. 文法

我真的很想鼓勵他們去了解其供應鏈的全面影響。

Patagonia provides a glimpse into a more enlightened approach to fashion, 片語搭配

Patagonia 讓人們看到了對待時尚的一種更加開明的態度，

but they're a rare example.

但他們是一個罕見的例外。

For Mohammed, the boom in fast fashion has been good for business.

對於 Mohammed 來說，快時尚的繁榮對他的生意很有利。

But this throwaway culture sits uncomfortably with him. 慣用語

但這種用完即棄的文化讓他感到不安。

Sometimes it's soul-destroying,

有時候這很讓人崩潰，

because you come to work and you just think, is this what we've come to, 語氣意圖

因為你來上班時就會想，我們怎麼變成這樣了，

that the human race,

難道人類

all we think about is dispose of things?

腦子裡想的就只是把東西扔掉嗎？

The environmental impact on the planet is just colossal,

這對地球環境造成的影響實在是太大了，

and I don't think we as the human race realize what it is that we're doing just for the sake of wearing a pair of jeans. 講解

而我認為，作為人類，我們並沒有意識到僅僅為了穿一條牛仔褲我們到底在做些什麼。

In order to tackle the throwaway culture,

為了應對用完即棄的文化，

brands and consumers need to change their behaviors.

品牌和消費者都需要改變他們的行為。

Industry pioneers are proving that there are viable business opportunities in selling less. 片語搭配

產業先驅正在證明，在少賣商品中同樣存在可行的商業機會。

Others need to follow suit. 慣用語

其他人也需要效仿。