Going shopping with your parents for new clothes can make you happy. However, in the UK we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. What people might not realize is that the fashion industry, especially “fast fashion”, is harmful to the planet.

Fast fashion refers to cheap clothing items that are quickly produced by large companies to follow the latest trends (时尚). The aim of fast fashion is to get the new styles into shops as fast as possible so customers can buy them.

The fashion industry is responsible for between eight and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions (排放), which cause climate change. To keep prices low, fashion companies often use a fabric called polyester, which is a type of plastic that is not biodegradable. Producers dye (染色) fabrics using lots of chemicals, which can pollute the environment. Making clothes also requires lots of water. The clothes then have to be shipped to the countries where they’re going to be sold, which produces even more polluting emissions. Fast fashion items aren’t made to last forever because they often go out of style quite quickly. Some people throw their clothes away when they don’t want them any more. Each year, the UK sends 300,000 tonnes of clothes to landfill.

What can we do to help? Try buying second-hand clothes. They aren’t too expensive and help to reduce the amount of clothes that get thrown away. Someone else could wear a T-shirt that doesn’t fit you or suit your style any more. Donate or swap. If items of clothing start to look very worn or get ripped, they can be fixed or reused in a different way.

When studying a map of China, did you see the Mu Us Desert (毛乌素沙地) in the northwest? If you didn’t, then you probably never will. That’s because the desert is disappearing (消失).

You might wonder: Why is this happening? Who is the “killer”? Well, this is not a murder (谋杀) story. It is, instead, the result of years of people’s efforts (努力) of planting trees.

The Mu Us Desert was a very big desert in China. Sandstorms (沙尘暴) were common in northern Shanxi. Lots of people had to leave their homes.

The fight against desertification (沙漠化) began in the 1970s. The work was so tiring. He Li led a team to plant trees in Bulanghe, a town in Yulin, Shanxi. They once spent a whole afternoon planting trees under a burning sun. That night, however, a strong wind blew away all the young tress. Crying was no use. The next day, the team replanted all the trees.

In Yulin, there are many other sandstorm fighters. One of them is Guo Chengwang. With the help from the government in 1985, he started to plant trees in his village. Guo is now in his nineties. His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still going on doing the job. The family has turned 30 km² of desert into woods.

These trees have made a big difference. In Yulin, the number of sandy days has dropped from 100 in 2000 to 10 in 2021. With everyone’s working together, the Mu Us Desert will be disappearing. Our motherland is becoming greener and lovelier.