Let’s unravel the mysteries of fast fashion.
Fast fashion has become popular in the fashion industry over the past few decades for its low prices and trending styles. But do you know how fast fashion impacts our environment? It’s essential to consider what happens to our clothes throughout their lives. Everything from how the material is made to how we get rid of them can affect the environment and the people who create them.
Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothing that is cheap, trendy, and made at a rapid pace to meet the demands of consumers. The main goal of fast fashion is to get the latest styles to people quickly before they become outdated. Unfortunately, fashion trends move quickly, and so these garments are often discarded soon after they are purchased. Additionally, the speed of production often results in poor-quality clothing, making them cheap and easily disposable.
Despite the increasing demand for fast fashion, people are buying more while wearing fewer items they own. To meet these high demands, offshore manufacturers popped up where labor is cheap and working conditions are poor. Many fast-fashion clothes are made of polyester, a cheap material that degrades after a few wears and washes. Not only is it cheap and not durable, but it’s a synthetic material obtained from oil. This material alone consumed 70 million barrels of oil in 2015. This contributes to the overwhelming landfill pollution of textiles and toxic textile dyes that contaminate waterways, not to mention the plastic microfibers that add to the pollution in our oceans.
Fast Fashion Impacts
Manufacturing processes for clothing materials significantly impact the environment due to the extensive use of energy and chemicals. According to a report by the Clean Clothes Campaign, the textile industry is responsible for 20% of global water pollution. This is because of the amount of water it takes to create one shirt and the textile dyes that get disposed of in our waterways. Once these chemicals accumulate in waterways, they produce a film on the surface, blocking sunlight and resulting in lower oxygen levels that impact the ecosystem’s survivability for aquatic plants and animals. Did you know it takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt? That’s enough for one person to drink for 900 days!
Fast Fashion leaves a large impact after the ‘trend’ is over. According to a report by the World Resources Institute, the amount of clothing sent to landfills has increased by 60% in the last 15 years. This is because many fast fashion clothes are made of synthetic materials that are not biodegradable and contain lesser-quality fabrics. These fabrics warp, rip, and wear out faster, leading to a buildup of textile waste in landfills. On average, each American generates 82 pounds of waste each year just from clothes they throw away!
Pollution Fast Facts (via earth.org)
- Clothing sales have doubled from 100 to 200 billion units a year, while the average number of times an item was worn decreased by 36%.
- Fast fashion accounts for 10% of global pollution.
- 20% of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing.
- 92 million tons of clothing get discarded each year.
- Half a million tons of microplastics are produced by fast fashion every year.
Poor Work Conditions
Many fast fashion brands use unethical labor practices, including exploitation of workers and child labor. This is because the brands need to produce mass quantities fast to stay on top of trends. Workers in developing countries are often paid low wages and work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. These practices perpetuate poverty and inequality in the global economy.
What Makes A Brand Fast Fashion?
Working Toward a Zero-Waste Lifestyle!
1.) Sustainable Fashion: Choose to buy from sustainable fashion brands that prioritize eco-friendly and ethical labor practices. Look for brands that use recycled or organic materials and have transparent supply chains.
2.) Environmentally Conscious Purchases: Instead of buying new clothes every season, try to buy less and wear your clothes more often. Buying durable clothing made of quality natural-fiber fabrics will prevent the need to buy clothes more often. You can also mix and match your outfits to create new looks. This reduces the demand for fast fashion and the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 30 uses.
3.) Eco-Friendly Care: Properly caring for them can extend their lifespan and reduce the need for new clothes. You can read more about how to care for specific fabrics by reading our other blog here.
4.) Circular Fashion: Instead of throwing away your clothes, consider donating them to thrift stores and charity organizations. You can also host a clothing swap with friends or sell your clothes online through various platforms such as eBay, Poshmark, or Depop.
5.) Upcycle Clothing: Get creative and repurpose your old clothes into something new. You can cut up old T-shirts to make rags or turn old jeans into shorts. If your clothes are no longer wearable, consider recycling them. Many cities offer textile recycling programs where you can drop off your old clothes at designated locations.
Fast fashion has a significant impact on the environment and society. However, individuals can make a difference by choosing to shop sustainably, buying less and wearing more, caring for their clothes, donating, and repurposing or recycling their clothes.
Goodwill Tag Your Bag Challenge
Accept the Tag Your Bag Textile Salvage Challenge today and help us reach our goal of collecting 10,000 pounds of worn-out clothing, rags, sheets, and towels for recycling this April!
