We all love buying new clothes cheaply. Most of the time we buy them quickly and cheaply and throw them away after wearing them once.

But these fashionable clothes are one of the causes of greenhouse gas emissions and of water and air pollution. They create excessive waste, and even when they are sent to other countries, in most cases they are of little use.

Britain's Environmental Audit Committee has urged the government to put an end to this industry and has made 18 recommendations on environmental and labour issues. The government says it is working to solve the problem.

Sustainable fashion experts have offered some advice on how to cut down such harmful shopping habits.

"The most important thing is that we have to buy less," said Tolmeia Gregory, an environmental campaigner and ethical fashion blogger known as Tolly Dolly.

"We have to break away from the culture of buying separate clothes for particular occasions, such as for a night out or for holidays," she said.

"At first people may find this aggressive," she said. "But we have to make every possible effort to break away from this practice, and keep in mind that it is a good initiative."

Kate Fletcher, professor of sustainability, design and fashion at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, said the same. "Buying fewer clothes is by no means a terrible injustice or deprivation," she said.

She advised: "Look first at the clothes already in your wardrobe, because they are what shape your quality of life."

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.