The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
The Second Hand September campaign, led by Oxfam . . . seeks to encourage shopping at local organisations and charities as alternatives to fast fashion brands such as Primark and Boohoo in the name of saving our planet. As innocent as mindless scrolling through online shops may seem, such consumers are unintentionally—or perhaps even knowingly—contributing to an industry that uses more energy than aviation. . . .
Brits buy more garments than any other country in Europe, so it comes as no shock that many of those clothes end up in UK landfills each year: 300,000 tonnes of them, to be exact. This waste of clothing is destructive to our planet, releasing greenhouse gasses as clothes are burnt as well as bleeding toxins and dyes into the surrounding soil and water. As ecologist Chelsea Rochman bluntly put it, "The mismanagement of our waste has even come back to haunt us on our dinner plate."
It's not surprising, then, that people are scrambling for a solution, the most common of which is second-hand shopping. Retailers selling consigned clothing are currently expanding at a rapid rate . . . If everyone bought just one used item in a year, it would save 449 million lbs of waste, equivalent to the weight of 1 million Polar bears. "Thrifting" has increasingly become a trendy practice. London is home to many second-hand, or more commonly coined 'vintage', shops across the city from Bayswater to Brixton.
So you're cool and you care about the planet; you've killed two birds with one stone. But do people simply purchase a second-hand item, flash it on Instagram with #vintage and call it a day without considering whether what they are doing is actually effective?
According to a study commissioned by Patagonia, for instance, older clothes shed more microfibres. These can end up in our rivers and seas after just one wash due to the worn material, thus contributing to microfibre pollution. To break it down, the amount of microfibres released by laundering 100,000 fleece jackets is equivalent to as many as 11,900 plastic grocery bags, and up to 40 per cent of that ends up in our oceans. . . . So where does this leave second-hand consumers? [They would be well advised to buy] high-quality items that shed less and last longer [as this] combats both microfibre pollution and excess garments ending up in landfills. . . .
Luxury brands would rather not circulate their latest season stock around the globe to be sold at a cheaper price, which is why companies like ThredUP, a US fashion resale marketplace, have not yet caught on in the UK. There will always be a market for consignment but there is also a whole generation of people who have been taught that only buying new products is the norm; second-hand luxury goods are not in their psyche. Ben Whitaker, director at Liquidation Firm B-Stock, told Prospect that unless recycling becomes cost-effective and filters into mass production, with the right technology to partner it, "high-end retailers would rather put brand before sustainability."
Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 5
Try yourself:The central idea of the passage would be undermined if:
Explanation
- The passage states that though second-hand shopping can help reduce pollution due to clothing ending up in landfills, such purchases are actually effective in saving the planet only in the case of high-quality second hand clothes, as low-quality older clothes cause microfibre pollution.
- If second-hand clothes only sold high-quality clothes, then the central idea of the passage, that not all second-hand clothing purchases are effective is saving the planet, would be undermined. Option C is the right choice.
- Primark and Boohoo are, according to the passage, 'fast fashion' brands. That is, they sell inexpensive, low-quality trendy clothing. If option A were true, then it would support (not undermine) the central idea that people should not simply purchase second-hand clothes without considering whether what they are doing is effective.
- Even if options B or D were true, these options do not directly undermine the question of effectiveness of second-hand purchases in saving the planet. So, these options are ruled out.
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Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 5
Try yourself:The act of "thrifting", as described in the passage, can be considered ironic because it:
Explanation
- From the context in which the word 'thrifting' is used in the passage, we can conclude that it refers to the purchase of second-hand items at low costs, a practice which is now a trend as consumers get to be 'cool' while also caring for the planet.
- However, as explained in the passage, the act of thrifting can be considered ironic if, instead of saving the planet, it actually contributes to microfibre pollution of the rivers and oceans.
- Option A is the correct choice.
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Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 5
Try yourself:Based on the passage, we can infer that the opposite of fast fashion, 'slow fashion', would most likely refer to clothes that:
Explanation
- Fast fashion refers to inexpensively priced, low-quality clothing that is produced fast to meet market trends. The opposite of this, slow fashion, would most likely refer to clothes that are high quality and long-lasting.
- Note that while option C is easily eliminated, options A and D both relate to the quality of clothing and can be thought of as attributes of slow fashion.
- However, B is a better choice than these options as 'long-lasting' is the direct opposite of 'fast' fashion which is produced fast to meet trends without considering quality.
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Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 5
Try yourself:According to the author, companies like ThredUP have not caught on in the UK for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that:
Explanation
Refer to the last paragraph. All given reasons except C are mentioned. Option C contradicts what the passage says: ' There will always be a market for consignment...'
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