Fast Fashion is killing our Planet
According to the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry is now the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 8–10% of global carbon emissions. This is expected to rise by about 60% by 2030.
During the past two decades, the advent of consumerism has had a significant impact on the fashion industry. The consumer’s desire to buy a wide range of clothes coupled with the rise of online shopping resulted in the birth of Fast Fashion. But what exactly is Fast Fashion?
Simply put, fast fashion is the process by which brands briskly reproduce high-end designer clothing and sell it to consumers at a low price with a low lead time. For such brands, the concept of providing trending clothes is vital. Therefore, their supply chains are designed and optimized to offer novel designs at breath-taking speeds.
A typical example would be Zara. Their supply chain is designed to replicate the clothing worn at a Louis Vuitton Fashion week to all their retail and online stores globally at one-tenths the price within two weeks!
From a consumer point of view, this looks fantastic as you get to make your dressing closet look chic at such affordable rates. Increasing the accessibility of products to many consumers does look good on the outside. However, this is at the cost of sustainability and must be investigated further.
So why exactly is Fast Fashion bad for the Planet?
Environmental Impact
The most obvious impact would be environmental. Fast Fashion uses toxic textile dyes which are not recyclable. Consequently, the disposal of the stains pollutes clean water, resulting in the degradation of the surrounding environment. This waste contains harmful chemicals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, dangerous to aquatic and human life. A study said that over 22000 tons of toxic waste from clothing factories in Bangladesh flow into the water bodies every year.
Another problem is the amount of water required in making a polyester-based fashion product. Certain fabrics can take up to 200 tons of fresh water to dye and finish one fabric material. At a time when the UN estimates that about 3.6 billion are affected by water scarcity, this level of water consumption would further aid our troubles.
The process of manufacturing polyester contributes to global warming, and we expect an 0.3% percent increase in global temperature by 2070 purely from this industry. The rate at which people buy clothes is also increasing each year. Higher frequency purchases lead to higher quantity of disposal of clothes. In Australia alone, about 500 million Kilos of unwanted clothing ended up in landfills in 2021. At this consumption rate, the clothing industry alone could account for 26% of our carbon footprint by 2050.
Exploitation of Workers
The hyper-competitive landscape in the market has led to brands reducing their product prices. This has hit the low-wage blue-collar worker, with companies paying them bare minimum wages without any employee benefits. MNCs such as Zara and H&M produce most of their clothing in developing nations where the labor is cheap, and the worker unions are not strong. Documentaries such as ‘The True Cost’ highlight the gruesome plight of these workers.
Animal Testing
The toxic dyes released in the waterways impact the wildlife in the area. This impact is more common among aquatic animals naturally. The use of animal fur to produce leather and wool-based clothing directly affects animal welfare and the specific regions of the overall ecology due to the rapid fall in the animal population.
As you can see, the glossy world of Fast Fashion has many adverse outcomes and consequences arising from it. So, what part can we play in countering it? To start with, purchasing your clothing from sustainable and ethical brands would be a start. Here is a list organized by Pebble magazine on the top 25 ethical companies globally, including the likes of ‘Origin Africa’ and ‘The Natural Edition.’
Here’s a list of 10 ethical brands in India. In all honesty, I hadn’t heard of these brands before researching the topic. Most of these companies are small businesses and don’t spend too much budget on marketing; therefore, a significant proportion of the general public isn’t aware of these products. The best way to spread the adoption of sustainable clothing is to make purchases from these brands and spread the word.
Another way these brands could reach more people would be via ‘Fashion Week’ shows where they would be able to showcase their products and, more importantly, enthuse people to spread the word about sustainable Fashion. Green Fashion Week (GFW) was a non-profit event organized by GD major in Dec 2020 where fashion designers and firms could address the issues related to sustainability in the industry. Similar events must be organized in countries like US, China, and India, the top 3 consumers of fast fashion globally.
It is heart-warming to see higher adoption rates of sustainable products among the general public. A recent survey by Nielson on 30000 consumers in 60 countries around the world indicates that 75% percent of them were willing to pay higher prices for sustainable clothing brands. A 2018 study by Mckinsey put this number at 68%. It is clear that although consumers have the intent to make sustainable purchases, the current biggest challenge is in connecting them with the sustainable brands. We can all play a small yet significant part in closing this gap!
If you liked this read, please share your opinions and thoughts on the same below.
I write articles every week focussing on political, social, and cultural topics giving you an in-depth and decluttered view of each one.
Follow me on Twitter: @sach_speaks
