Why do your jeans wear out so quickly? - Madhavi Venkatesan

343,086 views ・ 2021-11-30

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

Translator: yitong liu Reviewer: Thomas Tam
00:06
The first pairs of jeans were designed for durability.
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第一條牛仔褲係諗住襟用嚟做設計
以法國城市 Nîmes 命名
00:10
Named for the French city of Nîmes,
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00:12
denim was constructed as a sturdy cotton weave worn by sailors.
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牛仔布係由水手穿嘅結實棉編織而成
00:17
This rugged material got even stronger in the 19th century,
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19 世紀 Levi Strauss 同 Jacob Davis
00:20
when Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis added metal rivets to reinforce stress points.
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加上金屬鉚釘增強咗壓力承受 使原先襟用嘅材料變得再襟用啲
00:26
Their design introduced a new brand of durable trousers
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為加州礦工帶嚟新牌仔至襟嘅褲
00:29
for California miners that could withstand years of wear and tear.
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能夠抵受經年累月嘅磨損
00:33
Over the course of the 20th century,
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喺 20 世紀
00:35
these working-class pants have transformed into fashion icons.
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呢種勞工階層嘅褲 一變成為時尚嘅標誌
00:39
But as the demand for jeans has gone up, their durability has gone down.
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但由於增加需求 牛仔褲襟用程度降低咗
00:44
Today, most pairs last no longer than a year.
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依家啲牛仔褲多數都著唔到成年
00:47
And each new pair you buy has a much higher cost than you might think.
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而每條牛仔褲嘅成本 比你想像中高好多
00:51
Every pair of jeans begins its life in a cotton field.
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佢嘅生命喺由棉花田開始
00:55
It takes about 0.7 kilograms of cotton to produce a single pair of pants.
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生產一條褲大約需要 0.7 公斤嘅棉花
01:00
Growing this much cotton requires roughly 10,000 liters of water,
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要用 10,000 公升嘅水嚟種植佢哋
01:05
not to mention various herbicides and pesticides,
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重有各種除草劑同殺蟲水呢
01:08
which can contaminate groundwater.
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冚唪唥都污染地下水
01:10
The cotton is harvested by hand or industrial machines
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棉花係用人手或者機器嚟採摘
01:14
and transported to textile factories where it’s spun into yarn.
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然後運送到紡織廠、紡成紗線
01:17
At this point, it’s typically combined with plastic fibers like spandex
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再結合氨綸等纖維塑料
01:22
to increase the yarn’s elasticity.
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來增加紗線嘅彈性
01:24
These plastic threads make modern jeans more comfortable and flexible,
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使到現代嘅牛仔褲更舒適、有彈性
01:28
but also much less durable.
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但亦都無咁襟用
01:31
Next, the yarn is dyed jeans’ trademark blue.
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跟著紗線染成標誌著牛仔褲嘅藍色
01:34
Historically, this color came from natural plant-derived indigo.
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以前原本係用天然植物嘅靛藍
01:38
But most modern manufacturers use a synthetic dye
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但多數製造商依家已經改用
01:41
made from petroleum byproducts and toxic chemicals.
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由石油副產品同有毒化學品合成嘅染料
01:45
Once dyed, the cotton-plastic blend is woven into denim sheets,
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染色後,把棉塑料混紡編織成牛仔布
01:49
which are then cut and sewn into jeans.
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再裁剪、縫製成牛仔褲
01:52
After assembly, some jeans undergo additional procedures
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有啲牛仔褲製成後需要額外加工
01:55
to get a distressed look.
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造成褪色嘅效果
01:57
This often includes chemical sprays and multiple cycles of acid-washing,
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呢個過程通常包括化學噴霧 同多次酸洗嘅處理
02:02
the toxic runoff can turn rivers indigo-blue.
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啲有毒嘅水將河流變成靛藍色
02:05
Finally, there are the zippers, buttons, and rivets
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最後,重有由銅同其他金屬製成嘅
02:08
made of copper and other metals,
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拉鍊、鈕扣同鉚釘
02:10
whose mining is yet another source of environmental degradation.
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開採呢啲金屬又係污染環境嘅源頭
02:14
All in all, the manufacturing process for a single pair of jeans
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總之一條牛仔褲嘅製造過程
02:18
emits over 33 kilograms of carbon—
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要排放超過 33 公斤嘅碳——
02:21
the equivalent of driving over 110 kilometers.
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相當於開車超過 110 公里
02:24
But this process doesn't just damage the environment.
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但係嗰個過程唔單止破壞緊環境
02:28
Much of the world’s cotton is grown in developing countries,
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多數棉花都係出自發展中國家
02:31
with poor labor practices and few protections for workers.
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呢啲國家勞動效率低 對工人保障又少
通常使用細路同強迫勞動力去採摘棉花
02:35
Cotton here is often picked by children or forced labor,
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02:38
and most jean manufacturing plants frequently expose workers
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多數製造牛仔褲嘅工人喺生產過程中
02:42
to toxic chemicals throughout production.
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都暴露喺有毒嘅化學品度
02:44
One particularly dangerous technique called sandblasting
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有一種特別危險嘅、叫做噴砂技術
02:48
involves spraying jeans with fine sand at high pressures
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需要喺高壓下 將啲細沙噴喺牛仔褲上面
02:52
and has been linked with numerous cases of incurable and often fatal lung disease.
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呢種做法與好多無法治愈 同致命嘅肺部病例有關
02:57
Like many globally produced products,
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同好多全球性嘅產品一樣
02:59
jeans are made in poor countries and bought in rich ones.
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牛仔褲喺窮國製造後運去富有國家嚟銷售
03:02
All these pants will likely be washed dozens or even hundreds of times per year.
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每年呢啲牛仔褲 都要洗幾十、甚至幾百次
03:07
This energy intensive process breaks down the plastics woven into each pair,
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呢種能源密集型嘅過程 會分解牛仔褲嘅塑料
03:12
releasing microplastics into the water
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甩出啲微塑料落水度
03:14
and, perhaps most ironic of all, shortening the jean’s lifespan.
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最諷刺嘅係清洗過程 縮短咗牛仔褲嘅壽命
03:18
Like most waste, discarded jeans end up in landfills,
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最後唔著嘅褲就好似垃圾咁 揼喺堆填區度
03:22
where their decomposition releases methane gas,
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牛仔褲嘅分解會釋放甲烷氣體
03:24
while their dyes and plastics leach into the soil and groundwater.
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染料同塑料會滲入泥土同地下水
03:28
Some companies are working on solutions here,
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有啲公司正喺度研究解決方案
03:31
from using organic cotton to recycling and reusing denim.
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從使用有機棉 到回收牛仔布再利用
03:35
You can also help reduce the environmental impact of your favorite pants
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再售賣二手牛仔褲 藉此減少褲嘅需求數目
03:38
by buying used jeans and buying fewer pairs altogether.
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你也可以幫助 減少鍾意嘅褲對環境嘅影響
03:42
Denim manufacturers also recommend only washing your jeans once every 10 wears.
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牛仔布製造商重建議 牛仔褲穿十次先洗一次
03:47
And, when possible, air dry your pants to reduce energy consumption.
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若條件許可 風乾條褲減少消耗能量
03:51
Life cycle and labor problems like these extend far beyond just jeans.
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問題唔單止牛仔褲本身 仲有生命週期同勞動力
03:56
Some governments are pursuing policies to make companies more responsible
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有啲政府正係推行政策 喺工人工資同福利方面
04:00
for worker pay and welfare,
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要企業承擔更多責任
04:02
but unsustainable practices still run rampant throughout the fashion industry.
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但喺整個時裝界 依然故我哋破壞環境
04:06
So when the price tags on your clothes seem like a steal,
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衣服標籤價格 並不等同已竊取嘅資源
04:09
it’s important to consider who’s actually being robbed.
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係時候諗返下邊個先係 真正被剝削嘅人
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