Material World: Inside Fashion's Quest to Make Sustainable Clothes Fit

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Every other week, hosts Lindsey Rupp and Jenny Kaplan guide you through the consumer universe, breaking down what's going on with all the things people buy.

Americans love what they wear -- until it's time to throw it away. Each year, we generate 21 billion pounds of discarded clothing, amounting to 70 pounds per person. Now, as the world finally begins to address climate change, is there a business case for the fashion industry to invest in sustainability? Lindsey and Jenny talk brands including H&M, Levi Strauss and Timberland about what they're doing to make their products more green. With apparel at the beginning of its transformation, customers will need to demand improvements to help spur change.

To contact the authors of this story: Lindsey Rupp in New York at lrupp2@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Kaplan in New York at jkaplan84@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alec McCabe at amccabe@bloomberg.net.