A Christian charity is ramping up its efforts to combat fast fashion in a bid to slow down climate change. 

The textile industry is at the forefront of the environmental emergency, with the overconsumption of clothing and garments largely bearing the brunt of the blame. 

Tearfund is encouraging people to make informed choices before purchasing new clothes by making people aware of the devastating consequences behind their purchases. 

The organisation has shared statistics showing that less than 23 per cent of people would consider the good of the planet to be a reason for buying less clothes. 

To add fuel to the fire, 57 per cent of people own new clothes they have never worn. 

For some people in the UK, climate change may be considered to be a problem for the future, but Ruth Valerio, a director at Tearfund, has described the immense difficulties currently faced by people in poverty as a result of global warming. 

She said: "So the co2 emissions that are generated by the fashion industry are one of the key ways that the climate crisis is increasing.

"At Tearfund, I hear every day the devastating impact that the climate crisis is having on people living in poverty. That of course, has been caused by a whole variety of things, but fashion is one of those areas because it is so energy intensive."

She continued: "Let me just give you one big example; let me tell you about Lamouchi. He's a fisherman, he lives with his wife and two sons in a village in one of Bangladesh's coastal areas.

"It's an area where, during the monsoon season, they'll often have cyclones and floods but because of climate change, disasters such as these have become more frequent and severe. 

"So this means that people are losing their lives and their homes and their businesses, and vulnerable people like Lamouchi and his family are being pushed further into poverty.

"It means that he's no longer able to earn enough from fishing and he often risks his life just to bring in what his family needs. 
"So then he's got himself into a financial situation where he's having to take out loans, so gets into a cycle of debt. 

"This is just one example but I could talk about people all over the world, whether it's through flooding or drought, or not being able to grow their crops.  

"People all around the world are being impacted by the climate crisis right now.

"This isn't an issue for the future. This is an issue for now."

To combat the issue, Teafund is launching a month-long challenge, encouraging people to limit their wardrobes to just ten items, in order to see how many new clothes we really need to purchase. 

To find out more information about the Great Fashion Fast challenge, visit tearfund.org/fashion.