5 Ways Fast Fashion Is Killing Our Environment
Fast fashion has made trends more important than the earth. Learn what the impact is on our environment.
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion is everywhere. The bad news about your clothing is that fashion has become one of the biggest polluters in the world, even becoming a competitor against the oil industry. The term “Fast Fashion” describes replicated designs from catwalks, high fashion, and internet trends. These clothes are made and distributed in mass amounts for low costs and are easily accessible to all buyers at different prices, from high to low.
The prerogative of companies that produce these fast fashion clothes is to bring them to stores as fast as possible. This mass production brings clothing to retail stores on demand, with no consideration for its effect on the ecosystem. The demand is constantly high as fashion moves quickly, making what was once cool at the moment out of style within a season or just one month. H&M created 52 “micro-seasons” a year; this comes down to one weekly trend, making the demand for clothing production skyrocket.
To see these trends, you can visit any store or social media account to see how they develop. In the month of November, long scarves and trenchcoats with a sprinkle of monochromatic tones may be what is trending. Just as fast, the December fashion trend could be an aesthetic of cottage core, featuring knitted pastels seemingly styled to make the wearer look like they are from the countryside. How does one keep up? Well, by purchasing and discarding clothes as they come in and out of style.
Unfortunately, it is the environment that cannot keep up with this modern trend. In Japan, an initiative to adopt a low-waste lifestyle within the Kamikatsu community created a fantastic way to solve the problem of excess clothing. At the Kuru Kuru zero waste shop, individuals can take the leftover items for free, giving them a new life. The weight of their donated items is then recorded so that the town can keep track of the volumes of recycled clothes.
Ways that Fast Fashion is Killing our Environment
Fast fashion does not account for the resources and labor it exploits. Read on to see the four ways fast fashion kills our environment.
Source: Sig Earth
Strain on Resources
The Columbia Climate School recorded that the attempt to upkeep the demand for clothing results in “10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas” emissions. 20% of global wastewater is attributed to fashion. To put it into perspective, the energy demand for this production amounts to more than what the aviation and shipping sectors use annually.
Pollution
Globally, fashion uses 93 billion metric tons of clean water per year. This statistic is comparable to only 50% of how much water Americans drink in one year. Clothes produced with cotton and dyed fabrics result in excess pollution due to their need for water and toxic chemicals, which contributes to 17 to 20 percent of global industrial water pollution.
Waste
Globally, there are approximately 80 billion pieces of clothing that are purchased per year. Our consumption increases for clothing are up 400% from the 2000s. 85% of those 80 billion clothing pieces end up in the trash yearly.
Unethical Labor
The fashion industry uses overseas labor because it is cheap and unregulated. Out of the 75 million workers it employs, less than 2% make a livable wage. The conditions of this work are described as slave labor. Child labor, excess hours, and poor working conditions that cause cancer result from the fashion industry's exploitation of human life.
Ways to Combat Fast Fashion
If this industry continues on the course it is currently on, an increase of 50% in greenhouse gas emissions is expected by 2030. As this is a robust industry that influences many factors of our society, one may feel as if there is no way to make a change. The fashion industry fails to remember that consumers can reject what they are selling at the end of the production line. See our tips below on how to combat the fast fashion industry.
Watch Your Influence(r)s
Fashion used to only be privy to events for prominent celebrities, movie stars, rock stars, and politicians. Yet, with the rise of social media, we begin to see influencers and even our friends rocking the looks that are in style. When we’re always seeing new trends come out on our suggested Instagram ads, various fashion trends can almost go out of style in the blink of an eye. The most effective way to refrain from purchasing new clothes is to stop looking at those who are. This can allow you to reflect on your current purchases or closet and repurpose them rather than buying new ones.
Avoid Trends by Setting your Own
Who is to say that items in your closet cannot be showstopping pieces? Fashion is about being courageous, expressing yourself, and being passionate about the looks you create. Setting trends, rather than following them, can bring excitement back into your own clothes. You can even embrace that you are contributing to lessening the worldwide impact of pollution, waste, and unethical labor through your actions.
Thrift Instead of Purchasing New
Thrift stores are often gold mines for fashion. If you have the desire to shop, visit your local thrift shop to buy instead of going to fast fashion ecological devastators such as Zara or Uniqlo. Click here to access a thrift store directory, which can help locate one near you. You also have the option to search for stores by the type of nonprofit or charity they support.
Buy Quality, not Quantity
Clothes currently being sold do not carry the same quality that was once expected by shoppers. As companies try to produce clothes as fast and cheaply as possible, the consumer is the one who ultimately pays the price.
You may notice that the clothing you’ve bought is thin, does not hold up in the wash, or becomes faded quickly. As natural textiles become more expensive in comparison to items such as viscose or polyester, the quality of clothes decreases.
If you are buying clothing, be sure to look out for clothing made of high-quality materials such as hemp, linen, cotton, or wool. These fabrics tend to last longer and will reduce the amount of waste caused by the need to repurchase to replace.
Opt for Timeless Pieces
Timeless pieces that don’t age or fall out of style are another way to help the environment and keep you from feeling outdated. These new trends are made to look out of place once they’re no longer needed. This shift in trendy fashion is what causes consumers never to be able to escape the need to purchase more clothes. To get out of this vicious cycle, opt for an eternally fashionable and unshakable wardrobe by the devastating fast fashion industry.
Key Takeaways
The bad news about your cute trendy clothes is that fashion has become one of the biggest polluters in the world, even competing with oil.
The most effective way to refrain from purchasing new clothes is to stop looking at those who are. This can allow you to reflect on your current purchases or closet and repurpose them rather than buying new ones.
The demand for clothing has created around 53 million tons of waste per year.
The attempt to upkeep the demand for clothing results in “10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas” emissions.
Globally, fashion uses 93 billion metric tons of clean water per year.
Globally, there are approximately 80 billion pieces of clothing that are purchased per year.
This industry uses oversea labor because it is cheap and unregulated. Out of the 75 million workers it employs, less than 2% make a livable wage.
If this industry continues on the course it is currently on, an increase of 50% in greenhouse gas emissions is expected by 2030.
The fashion industry fails to remember that at the end of the production line, consumers can reject what they are selling.
The most effective way to refrain from purchasing new clothes is to stop looking at those who are.
Setting trends, rather than following them, can bring excitement back into your own clothes.
Thrift stores are often gold mines for fashion. If you have the itch to scratch, visit your local thrift shop to buy instead of going to fast fashion ecological devastators such as Zara or Uniqlo.
If you are buying clothing, be sure to look out for clothing made of high-quality materials such as hemp, linen, cotton, or wool. These fabrics tend to last longer and will reduce the amount of waste or need to purchase to replace.
Timeless pieces that do not age or fall out of style are another way to help the environment and keep you from feeling out of style.
