The mass disposal of clothing has become a major problem due to the large amounts of cheap clothing being produced by global companies. The number of clothing items which are merely thrown and wasted is estimated to be approximately one billion per year. This wasteful situation is caused by the surplus that is the result of excessive orders placed by apparel companies to sub-contractors in countries where cheap labor is employed to cut costs. The other side of this is that consumers buy clothing items in short cycles based on current social trends and quickly dispose of them, or sometimes recycle. This issue does not only center around the high environmental impact of the clothing industry. This is also a human rights issue, as the working environment of workers in developing countries forces them to work long hours with very low, unlivable wages and few breaks.