Table of Contents
Directions
Your professor is teaching a class on Environment. Write a post responding to the professor’s question. In your response, you should:
- express and support your personal opinion
make a contribution to the discussion in your own words - An effective response will contain at least 100 words. You have ten minutes to write.
Class Discussion
Today, we are discussing the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Apart from the challenges of implementing global policies, should the fashion industry be legally forced to take back and recycle all used clothing?
The fashion industry should be legally required to recycle used clothing. It’s a practical solution to reduce waste and pollution. If companies take back clothes, they can reuse materials instead of producing new fabric, which saves resources and energy. This law could also encourage more sustainable production methods.
I understand Emily’s point, but we should also consider the cost and logistics. Forcing all companies to do this might hurt small businesses and increase prices. Recycling isn’t always efficient, and some clothes can’t be reused safely. So, maybe the focus should be on better design and consumer awareness instead.
Sample Answers & Evaluation
🏆 Perfect Score – The Sniper Approach (30/30)
While Liam highlights the financial and logistical challenges of compulsory recycling in the fashion industry, he fails to consider the fundamental environmental consequences of continued textile waste accumulation. The core issue is not merely economic feasibility but environmental sustainability, which demands urgent legislative measures to facilitate a paradigm shift in industry practices.
Why should the industry bear this responsibility? Because the fashion sector is among the largest contributors to landfill waste worldwide. For instance, in 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that over 17 million tons of textiles ended up in US landfills, exacerbating pollution and methane emissions. Without legal mandates, voluntary efforts are insufficient due to the industry’s scale and complexity.
Moreover, successful cases like Patagonia’s Worn Wear program demonstrate how take-back initiatives facilitate circular fashion, reducing raw material extraction and carbon footprints. Legislating recycling obligations would incentivize similar sustainable models globally, advancing environmental protection on a larger scale. Therefore, forcing the fashion industry to recycle used clothing is a necessary and effective environmental strategy.
Teacher’s Feedback
Score: 30/30
Logic: This student used the sniper approach by identifying the flaw in the opposing argument about cost and logistics and instead focused deeply on the urgent environmental issue. They provided precise data from the EPA and used a real-world example (Patagonia’s Worn Wear program) to strengthen the argument, showing a deep understanding and authoritative knowledge.
Golden Vocabulary: paradigm shift, facilitate, circular fashion
🏆 High Score – The Standard Approach (25/30)
I agree that the fashion industry should be legally required to take back and recycle used clothing. One main reason is that many clothes are thrown away, which causes pollution and wastes resources. For example, if companies recycle old clothes, they can make new fabrics from them, which helps save energy and reduce waste.
However, I understand that recycling can be difficult and expensive for some companies, especially small ones. But making laws will encourage them to find better ways to recycle and reduce their environmental impact. Overall, I believe legal responsibility will help the environment by reducing textile waste and promoting recycling in the fashion industry.
Teacher’s Feedback
Score: 25/30
Logic: This essay clearly states an opinion and supports it logically but uses general ideas and a hypothetical example instead of specific data or real-world cases. The vocabulary is simpler compared to the perfect score answer, which affects its impressiveness and depth.
Golden Vocabulary: pollution, resources