Pre-reading questions:
- What kind of materials are your clothes made of?
- Would you like to change the way clothing is made? Why or why not?
Vocabulary:
- corporation /kawr-puh-REY-shuhn/
- process /PROS-es/
- transform /trans-FAWRM/
- clothing /KLOH-thing/
- destruction /dih-STRUHK-shuhn/
[noun] – a large company or group of companies that is controlled together as a single organization
He works for a large American corporation.
[noun] – a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result
The whole process has now been greatly simplified.
[verb] – to change completely the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved
Writers take facts and transform them into stories, trying to tell them in an interesting, accurate way.
[noun] – clothes, especially clothes of a particular type or those worn in a particular situation
They contributed food and clothing for the refugees.
[noun] – the act of destroying something, or the fact of being destroyed
The floods brought destruction to the area.
Article reading:
He proudly wears a round-neck T-shirt made of recycled fabrics tucked into some loose shorts while managing a Finnish start-up where wearing socks to work is the norm. His business, Infinited Fiber, has made large investments in a process that might transform textile waste—waste that would normally be burned or thrown in landfills—into new clothing fiber. Patagonia, H&M, and Inditex, which owns Zara, are presently among the international businesses that use fiber, also known as Infinna. Mr. Alava claims it is a premium textile material that obviates a huge waste problem and feels and looks natural, like cotton. Globally, 92 million metric tons of textile waste are purportedly produced each year, and if current trends in the manufacturing of garments are maintained, this number is anticipated to rise to over 134 million metric tons by 2030, according to the non-profit Global Fashion Agenda. Mr. Alava claims that the product is made through a complicated, multi-step process that starts with the destruction of old fabrics and the removal of synthetic materials and dyes.
Although most of the science required to create the fiber has been known since the 1980s, large-scale production is now a more plausible possibility due to recent rapid technological advancements.
Comprehension questions
- Who used to work in large corporations?
- What is the name of his business?
- Which companies own Zara?
- How many millions of metric tons of textile waste are purportedly produced each year?
- According to the passage, what is a more plausible possibility due to recent rapid technological advancements?
Discussion questions
- Do you recycle things at home? If so, could you tell me more about it? If not, why not?
- Do you buy clothing from Patagonia, H&M, Inditex, and Zara? If so, could you tell me more about their products? If not, where do you buy your clothes?
- If you were an entrepreneur, would you want to change the way clothing is made? Why or why not?
- Do you support Petri Alava’s initiative?
- What do you think of this initiative?