EVERY YEAR, AMERICANS THROW AWAY EIGHT MILLION TONS OF CLOTHES

 The fashion industry produces a lot of clothes every year, but not all of them are worn for long. In the United States, Americans throw away eight million tons of clothes every year. This number is shocking and shows us how much waste fashion can produce. In this lesson, we’ll explore the causes and effects of clothing waste. We will use present simple, present continuous, past simple, future tenses, modals, comparatives, superlatives, adverbs of frequency, and prepositions to talk about habits, solutions, and environmental impact.

Examples:

• Americans throw away tons of clothes every year.

• I am recycling my old clothes this weekend.

• We used to keep our clothes longer.

• People will need to change their habits.

• You shouldn’t throw clothes in the trash.

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🧠 GRAMMAR

1. Present Simple – for facts and habits.

• People throw away clothes every day.

• Fashion creates a lot of waste.

2. Present Continuous – for actions happening now.

• I am sorting my old clothes right now.

• We are learning how to reduce waste.

3. Past Simple – for completed actions.

• I threw away some clothes last year.

• She didn’t know how bad the waste problem was.

4. Future (Will / Going to)

• We will reduce waste if we recycle.

• I am going to donate my old shirts.

5. Modal Verbs

• You should give your clothes to charity.

• We mustn’t ignore the problem.

• We can repair clothes instead of throwing them away.

6. Comparatives and Superlatives

• Throwing away clothes is worse than donating them.

• Recycling is the best option for old clothes.

7. Frequency Adverbs

• I rarely throw clothes away.

• He always recycles old items.

8. Prepositions

• Clothes end up in landfills.

• I gave my old jacket to a shelter.

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🧾 VOCABULARY (10 Words)

1. Waste – something that is thrown away or not used.

2. Landfill – a place where trash is buried.

3. Recycle – to use something again.

4. Donate – to give something to someone who needs it.

5. Charity – an organization that helps people.

6. Tons – a very large amount or weight.

7. Environment – the natural world around us.

8. Repair – to fix something that is broken.

9. Reuse – to use something again.

10. Impact – the effect something has on a situation.

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💬 USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

• That’s a huge amount of waste!

• We need to change our habits.

• Let’s recycle instead of throwing away.

• You can donate what you don’t use.

• Clothes should not end up in landfills.

• I’m going to sort my closet this weekend.

• This shirt is old, but I can still use it.

• We throw away too much these days.

• What can we do to reduce clothing waste?

• It’s better to reuse and repair.

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✏️ SENTENCES

Positive:

• Americans throw away eight million tons of clothes every year.

• I always try to donate my old clothes.

Negative:

• We mustn’t throw clothes in the trash.

• I don’t buy clothes that I won’t wear.

Questions:

• How many tons of clothes do Americans throw away?

• What do you do with your old clothes?

• Are you going to recycle them?

• Will people stop wasting clothes in the future?

• Should we donate more often?

Answers:

• Eight million tons.

• I usually donate or reuse them.

• Yes, I’m going to recycle this weekend.

• I hope so. People are becoming more aware.

• Yes, we should help reduce waste.

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🗣️ CONVERSATION

Anna: Did you know Americans throw away eight million tons of clothes every year?

Mark: That’s crazy! I didn’t know it was so much.

Anna: It’s true. Many clothes are only worn a few times.

Mark: I am going to sort my closet tomorrow. I have clothes I never wear.

Anna: Good idea! We shouldn’t just throw them away.

Mark: Yeah. I can donate them to a charity.

Anna: That’s great! I will help you if you want.

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📖 LONG READING

The Problem with Clothing Waste

In the United States, people throw away eight million tons of clothes every year. That’s a very big number! Most of these clothes go into landfills and create pollution.

Some people throw away clothes because they are old or damaged. Others throw them away just to make space for new ones. But many of these clothes can be reused or recycled.

Ten years ago, people used to keep clothes longer. Now, fashion changes fast. People buy cheap clothes and throw them away quickly. This habit is bad for the environment.

We can reduce clothing waste. We should donate clothes we don’t use. We mustn’t forget that our actions matter. I am going to recycle my old clothes and repair some of them too.

Questions:

1. How many tons of clothes do Americans throw away each year?

2. Why do people throw clothes away?

3. Where do most of these clothes go?

4. What did people do in the past?

5. What solutions does the writer suggest?

Answers:

1. Eight million tons.

2. Because they are old, damaged, or to make space.

3. Into landfills.

4. They kept clothes longer.

5. Donate, recycle, and repair old clothes.