Introduction

Lots of people are planning to buy no new clothes this year, favouring second-hand or making do with what they already have. However, sales at online fast fashion sites, trade is going well. Could you give up buying new clothes for a year? Would you do it over concerns with the environment? Georgina and Neil?discuss this fashion and environment and teach you some useful items of vocabulary.

This week's question

Do you know how many items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK in 2017? Was it…?

a)????23 million items

b)????234 million items?

c)?????2.3 billion items

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript??

Georgina

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgina…?

Neil

And I'm Neil.?

Georgina

In this programme, we’re talking about buying clothes and only wearing them a few times before buying more clothes!?

Neil

This is something known as fast fashion – it’s popular, it might make us feel good, but it’s not great for the environment.?

Georgina

Which is why lots of people this year are?pledging?– or promising publicly - to buy no new clothes.?

Neil

I for one am wearing the same shirt I bought seven years ago.?

Georgina

You’re certainly not a fashion victim, Neil! But first, let’s test your knowledge of fast fashion with a question. Do you know how many items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK in 2017? Was it…?

a)????23 million items,

b)????234 million items or

c)?????2.3 billion items?

What do you think, Neil??

Neil

I’m sure it’s lots, but not billions, so I’m going to say 23 million items.?

Georgina

I shall tell you if you’re right at the end of the programme. Let’s talk more about fast fashion, which is being blamed for contributing to global warming.?

Neil

And discarded clothes – that means ones that are thrown away - are also piling up in landfill sites, and fibre fragments are flowing into the sea when clothes are washed.?

Georgina

It’s not great – and I’ve heard the average time someone wears something is just seven! So why is this, and what is driving our desire to keep buying more clothes??

Neil

I think we should hear from fashion journalist Lauren Bravo, who’s been speaking on the BBC Radio 4 programme, You and Yours. She explained that clothes today are relatively cheaper than those from her parents’ days…?

Lauren Bravo, fashion journalist

A lot of clothing production got?outsourced?- offshored over to the developing world, so countries like Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and China

are now responsible for making the vast bulk of all the clothes that are sold in the UK. And with that, we've seen what we call ‘chasing the cheapest needle’ around the world, so the fashion industry constantly looking to?undercut?competitors, and with that clothes getting cheaper and cheaper and cheaper.?

Georgina

Right, so clothes – in the?developed?world at least – have become cheaper because they are produced in developing countries. These are countries which are trying to become more advanced economically and socially.?

Neil

So production is?outsourced?– that means work usually done in one company is given to another company to do, often because that company has the skills to do it. And in the case of fashion production, it can be done cheaper by another company based in a developing country.?

Georgina

Lauren used an interesting expression ‘chasing the cheapest needle’ – so the fashion industry is always looking to find the company which can make clothes cheaper –?a company that can?undercut?another one means they can do the same job cheaper.?

Neil

Therefore the price of clothes gets cheaper for us.?

Georgina

OK, so it might be good to be able to buy cheaper clothes. But why do we have to buy more – and only wear items a few times??

Neil

It’s all about our obsession with shopping and fashion. It’s something Lauren Bravo goes on to explain on the You and Yours radio programme. See if you can hear what she blames for this obsession…?

Lauren Bravo, fashion journalist

Buying new things has almost become a trend in itself for certain generations. I think that feeling that you can't be seen in the same thing twice, it really?stems from?social media, particularly. And quite often people are buying those outfits to take a photo to put on Instagram. It sounds?illogical, but I think when all of your friends are doing it there is this invisible pressure there.?

Georgina

Lauren makes some interesting points. Firstly, for some generations, there is just a trend for buying things.?

Neil

It does seem very wasteful, but, as Lauren says, some people don’t like to be seen wearing the same thing twice. And this idea is caused by social media – she uses the expression ‘stems from’.

Georgina

She describes the social pressure of needing to be seen wearing new clothes on Instagram. And the availability of cheap clothes means it’s possible to post new images of yourself wearing new clothes very regularly.?

Neil

Hmm, it sounds very wasteful and to me,?illogical?– not reasonable or sensible and more driven by emotions rather than any practical reason.?

Georgina

But, there is a bit of a?backlash?now – that’s a strong negative reaction to what is happening. Some people are now promising to buy second-hand clothes, or ‘vintage clothes’, or make do with the clothes they have and mend the ones they need. It could be the start of a new fashion trend.?

Neil

Yes, and for once, I will be?on trend! And it could reduce the amount of clothes sent to landfill that you mentioned earlier.?

Georgina

Yes, I asked if you knew how many items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK in 2017? Was it…?

a)????23 million items,

b)????234 million items or

c)?????2.3 billion items?

What did you say, Neil??

Neil

I said a) 23 million items.?

Georgina

And you were wrong. It’s actually 234 million items – that’s according to the Enviro Audit Committee. It also found that 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions is released by the global fashion industry.?

Neil

Well, we’re clearly throwing away too many clothes but perhaps we can recycle some of the vocabulary we’ve mentioned today??

Georgina

I think we can, starting with?pledging -?that means publicly promising to do something. You can make a?pledge?to do something.?

Neil

When something is?outsourced,it is given to another company to do, often because that company has the skills to do it or it can be done cheaper.?

Georgina

And if one company?undercuts?another, it charges less to do a job than its competitor.??

Neil

The expression?stems from?means ‘is caused by’ or ‘a(chǎn) result of’. We mentioned that rise in fast fashion stems from sharing images on Instagram.?

Georgina

And we mentioned this being?illogical. So it seems unreasonable - not sensible, and more driven by emotions rather than any practical reason.?

Neil

And a?backlash?is a strong negative reaction to what is happening.?

Georgina

And that brings us to the end of our discussion about fast fashion! Please join us again next time. Bye.?

Neil

Bye.

Vocabulary

pledging

publicly promising to do something (you can make a?pledge?to do something)

outsourced

given to another company to do, often because that company has the skills to do it or it can be done cheaper

undercuts

if a company undercuts another, it charges less to do a job than its competitor

stems from (something)

caused by or a result of something

illogical

unreasonable - not sensible, more driven by emotions than practical reason

backlash

strong negative reaction to what is happening

雙語(yǔ)版Transcript

Hello. This is6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好。這是BBC教學(xué)英語(yǔ)的六分鐘英語(yǔ)。

I'mGeorgina…?And I'm Neil.

我是喬治娜……我是尼爾。

In thisprogramme,?we're talking about buying clothes and only wearing them a fewtimes before buying more clothes!

在本期節(jié)目中，我們要討論的是買衣服，以及只穿幾次就去買更多衣服！

This issomething known as fast fashion, it's popular,?it might make us feelgood,?but it's not great for the environment.

這就是所謂的快時(shí)尚，它很流行，它可能讓我們感覺(jué)良好，但它對(duì)環(huán)境不利。

Which is whylots of people this year are pledging or promising publicly to buy no newclothes.

這就是為什么今年很多人保證或者公開(kāi)承諾不買新衣服。

I for one amwearing the same shirt I bought seven years ago.

我現(xiàn)在穿著的就是七年前買的那件襯衫。

You'recertainly not a fashion victim, Neil!

你當(dāng)然不是時(shí)尚的受害者，尼爾！

But first,let's test your knowledge of fast fashion with a question.

但首先，讓我們用一個(gè)問(wèn)題來(lái)測(cè)試你對(duì)快時(shí)尚的了解。

Do you know howmany items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK in 2017?

你知道2017年英國(guó)有多少件衣服被運(yùn)往垃圾填埋地嗎？

Was it… a) 23 millionitems, b) 234 million items or c) 2.3 billion items?

是……a) 2300萬(wàn)件，b)2。34億件，還是c) 23億件？

What do youthink, Neil?

你覺(jué)得呢，尼爾？

I'm sure it'slots, but not billions, so I'm going to say 23 million items.

我確定是很多，但不是上億，所以我說(shuō)是2300萬(wàn)件。

I shall tellyou if you're right at the end of the programme.

節(jié)目結(jié)束時(shí)我會(huì)告訴你是否正確。

Let's talk moreabout fast fashion, which is being blamed for contributing to global warming.

讓我們多談?wù)効鞎r(shí)尚，它被指責(zé)是造成全球變暖的罪魁禍?zhǔn)住?/p>

And discardedclothes – that means ones that are thrown away - are also piling up in landfillsites,?and fibre fragments are flowing into the sea when clothes arewashed.

被丟棄的衣服——也就是那些被扔掉的衣服——也堆積在垃圾填埋地，而且清洗衣服時(shí)纖維碎片會(huì)流入大海。

It's not great– and I've heard the average time someone wears something is just seven!

這并不好——而且我聽(tīng)說(shuō)人們穿一件衣服的平均次數(shù)是7次！

So why is this,and what is driving our desire to keep buying more clothes?

所以這是為什么呢？是什么驅(qū)使我們不斷地買更多衣服呢？

I think weshould hear from fashion journalist Lauren Bravo,?who's been speaking onthe BBC Radio 4 programme, You and Yours.

我想我們應(yīng)該聽(tīng)聽(tīng)時(shí)尚記者勞倫·布拉沃的看法，她做客BBC廣播4頻道You and Yours節(jié)目。

She explainedthat clothes today are relatively cheaper than those from her parents' days…

她解釋說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在的衣服比她父母那時(shí)候的衣服要相對(duì)便宜一些。

A lot ofclothing production got outsourced - offshored over to the developingworld,?so countries like Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and China are nowresponsible for making the vast bulk of all the clothes that are sold in theUK.

很多服裝生產(chǎn)被外包給了發(fā)展中國(guó)家，所以像印度尼西亞、印度、孟加拉國(guó)和中國(guó)這樣的國(guó)家現(xiàn)在負(fù)責(zé)制作大量在英國(guó)銷售的服裝。

And with that,we've seen what we call 'chasing the cheapest needle' around the world,?sothe fashion industry constantly looking to undercut competitors,?and withthat clothes getting cheaper and cheaper and cheaper.

與此同時(shí)，我們?cè)谌蚍秶鷥?nèi)看到了我們所謂的"追求最便宜的服裝制造"，所以時(shí)尚產(chǎn)業(yè)不斷地尋找要價(jià)更低的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，由此，衣服變得越來(lái)越便宜。

Right, soclothes – in the developed world at least – have become cheaper,?becausethey are produced in developing countries.

沒(méi)錯(cuò)，所以至少在發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家，衣服變得更便宜了，因?yàn)樗鼈兪窃诎l(fā)展中國(guó)家生產(chǎn)的。

These arecountries which are trying to become more advanced economically and socially.

這些國(guó)家正努力在經(jīng)濟(jì)方面和社會(huì)方面變得更加先進(jìn)。

So productionis outsourced – that means work usually done in one company is given to anothercompany to do,?often because that company has the skills to do it.

所以生產(chǎn)是外包的——那是指通常在一家公司完成的工作被交給另一家公司去做，通常是因?yàn)槟羌夜居心芰θプ觥?/p>

And in the caseof fashion production, it can be done cheaper by another company based in adeveloping country.

就服裝生產(chǎn)而言，設(shè)在發(fā)展中國(guó)家的另一家公司生產(chǎn)服裝更便宜。

Lauren used aninteresting expression 'chasing the cheapest needle',?so the fashionindustry is always looking to find the company which can make clothescheaper,?a company that can undercut another one means they can do thesame job cheaper.

勞倫用了一個(gè)有趣的表達(dá)"追求最便宜的服裝制造"，所以時(shí)尚產(chǎn)業(yè)總是在尋找制作衣服更便宜的公司，一家公司比另一家公司的要價(jià)低是指他們可以以更便宜的價(jià)格做同樣的工作。

Therefore theprice of?clothes gets cheaper for us.

因此衣服的價(jià)格對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)變得更便宜。

OK, so it mightbe good to be able to buy cheaper clothes.

好吧，所以能買到更便宜的衣服可能是件好事。

But why do wehave to buy more – and only wear items a few times?

但為什么我們要多買衣服——而且衣服只穿幾次呢？

It's all aboutour obsession with shopping and fashion.

這都是因?yàn)槲覀儗?duì)購(gòu)物和時(shí)尚的癡迷。

It's somethingLauren Bravo goes on to explain on the You and Yours radio programme.

這是勞倫·布拉沃在You and Yours廣播節(jié)目中繼續(xù)解釋的。

See if you canhear what she blames for this obsession…?Buying new things has almostbecome a trend in itself for certain generations.

看看你是否能聽(tīng)出她將這種癡迷歸咎于什么……買新東西幾乎已經(jīng)成為特定幾代人的一種潮流。

I think thatfeeling that you can't be seen in the same thing twice, it really stems fromsocial media, particularly.

我覺(jué)得你不能被看到同一件衣服穿兩次的那種感覺(jué)實(shí)際上格外源于社交媒體。

And quite oftenpeople are buying those outfits to take a photo to put on Instagram.

很多時(shí)候，人們買那些衣服是為了拍照發(fā)到Instagram上。

It soundsillogical,?but I think when all of your friends are doing it,?thereis this invisible pressure there.

這聽(tīng)起來(lái)不合常理，但我認(rèn)為當(dāng)你所有的朋友都這么做的時(shí)候，就會(huì)有一種無(wú)形的壓力。

Lauren makessome interesting points.

勞倫提出了一些有趣的觀點(diǎn)。

Firstly, forsome generations, there is just a trend for buying things.

首先，對(duì)幾代人來(lái)說(shuō)，買東西只是一種潮流。

It does seemvery wasteful,?but as Lauren says,?some people don't like to be seenwearing the same thing twice.

這看起來(lái)確實(shí)很浪費(fèi)，但正如勞倫所說(shuō)，一些人不喜歡被看到穿同一件衣服兩次。

And this ideais caused by social media – she uses the expression 'stems from'.

這種觀點(diǎn)是由社交媒體造成的——她用了"源于"這個(gè)表達(dá)。

She describesthe social pressure of needing to be seen wearing new clothes on Instagram.

她描述了需要在Instagram上被人們看到穿著新衣服的社會(huì)壓力。

And theavailability of cheap clothes means it's possible to post new images ofyourself wearing new clothes very regularly.

而且，有廉價(jià)的衣服意味著可以經(jīng)常發(fā)布自己穿著新衣服的新照片。

Hmm, it soundsvery wasteful,?and to me, illogical – not reasonable or sensible,?andmore driven by emotions rather than any practical reason.

嗯，這聽(tīng)起來(lái)很浪費(fèi)，而且對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，不合常理——不合理或不合乎情理，更多是由情感驅(qū)動(dòng)，而不是任何現(xiàn)實(shí)原因。

But, there is abit of a backlash now – that's a strong negative reaction to what is happening.

但是，現(xiàn)在出現(xiàn)了一些強(qiáng)烈反應(yīng)——那是對(duì)正在發(fā)生之事的強(qiáng)烈負(fù)面反應(yīng)。

Some people arenow promising to buy second-hand clothes, or 'vintage clothes',?or make dowith the clothes they have and mend the ones they need.

現(xiàn)在一些人承諾購(gòu)買二手衣服，或"老式衣服"，或?qū)⒕椭盟麄儸F(xiàn)有的衣服，修補(bǔ)他們需要的衣服。

It could be thestart of a new fashion trend.

這可能是新的時(shí)尚潮流的開(kāi)始。

Yes, and foronce, I will be on trend!

是的，就這一次，我要跟上潮流！

And it couldreduce the amount of clothes sent to landfill that you mentioned earlier.

而且它可以減少你早些時(shí)候提到的被送往垃圾填埋地的衣服數(shù)量。

Yes, I asked ifyou knew how many items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK in 2017?

是的，我問(wèn)你是否知道2017年英國(guó)有多少件衣服被送往垃圾填埋地？

Was it… a) 23million items, b) 234 million items or c) 2.3 billion items?

是……a) 2300萬(wàn)件，b)2。34億件，還是c) 23億件？

What did yousay, Neil?

你說(shuō)是什么，尼爾？

I said a) 23million items.

我說(shuō)是a) 2300萬(wàn)件。

And you werewrong.

你答錯(cuò)了。

It's actually234 million items – that's according to the Enviro Audit Committee.

它實(shí)際上是2。34億件——那是根據(jù)環(huán)境審計(jì)委員會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)。

It also foundthat 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions is released by the global fashionindustry.

人們還發(fā)現(xiàn)，全球時(shí)裝業(yè)排放了12億噸碳排放。

Well, we'reclearly throwing away too many clothes,?but perhaps we can recycle some ofthe vocabulary we've mentioned today?

嗯，我們顯然扔掉了太多衣服，但也許我們可以回收利用一些我們今天提到的詞匯？

I think we can,starting with pledging - that means publicly promising to do something.

我覺(jué)得可以，從保證開(kāi)始——那指的是公開(kāi)承諾做某事。

You can make apledge to do something.

你可以保證去做某事。

When somethingis outsourced, it is given to another company to do,?often because thatcompany has the skills to do it or it can be done cheaper.

當(dāng)某事物被外包時(shí)，它被交給另一家公司去做，通常是因?yàn)檫@家公司有能力做這件事，或者做這件事更便宜。

And if onecompany undercuts another, it charges less to do a job than its competitor.

如果一家公司的要價(jià)低于另一家，那么它做一項(xiàng)工作的費(fèi)用就會(huì)低于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。

The expression'stems from' means 'is caused by' or 'a result of'.

"源于"這個(gè)表達(dá)的意思是"由……造成的"或"作為……的結(jié)果"。

We mentionedthat rise in fast fashion stems from sharing images on Instagram.

我們提到過(guò)，快速時(shí)尚的興起源于在Instagram上分享圖片。

And wementioned?this being illogical.

我們提到這是不合常理的。

So it seemsunreasonable - not sensible,?and more driven by emotions rather than anypractical reason.

因此，它似乎是不合理的——不合乎情理的，更多是由情感驅(qū)動(dòng)，而不是任何現(xiàn)實(shí)原因。

And a backlashis a strong negative reaction to what is happening.

強(qiáng)烈反應(yīng)是對(duì)正在發(fā)生之事的一種強(qiáng)烈負(fù)面反應(yīng)。

And that bringsus to the end of our discussion about fast fashion!

我們關(guān)于快時(shí)尚的討論就到此結(jié)束了！

Please join usagain next time.

下次再加入我們啊。

Bye.

拜。

Bye.