Threadbare Truths: Fast Fashion's Environmental Impact
Consumerism comes naturally to the human person; in reality, resources on our planet are finite, and this insatiable need to purchase more and more products has its consequences. We constantly want more and rarely think about the conditions of how our precious belongings are sourced, along with the resources they deplete and their environmental impact. Fast fashion is the perfect example of the cost of human overconsumption.
The term “fast fashion” was first coined by the New York Times in the 1990s in an article regarding the fashion giant ZARA, and their mission to sell cheap designer clothes as knock offs, completing production within 15 days. We understand that ZARA had the budget for designers and stylists to do everything in their power to make a quick sale, showing no regard for the consequences to come. The fast fashion phenomenon has now snowballed into the larger problem of “ultra fast fashion” which include brands such as SHEIN, Fashion Nova and Forever 21. Even with the younger generation being more aware about the issue of fast fashion and shopping more consciously with their wardrobe purchases, this action is still not enough to make a change.
Fast fashion has a significant impact towards the environment, recognized by the UN Environment Programme as the world's second largest consumer of water and emitting 10% of all global carbon emissions. An unfathomable figure is the requirement of up to 2000 gallons of water for a pair of jeans: equivalent to the daily water needs of nearly 100 people.
As a society, we are now well aware that our oceans contain plastic within them due to general human waste, however, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) a whopping 35% of microplastics are a result of the fast fashion industry and their use of synthetic textiles. The world’s consumption of clothes has risen 400% in the last 20 years, and we are now consuming a staggering 80 billion new pieces of garments each year.
Furthermore, the amount of energy that is required to keep the fast fashion industry running is astounding . These big fashion brands require factories to produce plastics into textiles, requiring a great amount of petroleum – the same petroleum that releases toxic pollutants and acids such as hydrogen chloride into our atmosphere. The consequences of fast fashion are a clear problem in this day and age, yet the status quo will not change until these industry leaders and governments take action.
The real question to ask is: what can individuals do and how, even in the smallest way, help to fight against the impacts of the fast fashion industry? We believe it starts with having a more creative view of our own wardrobe if we can experiment and try out different combinations of outfits to wear, we can reduce our consumption and reliance on new garments. Moving forward, we suggest trying and buying less – when you do decide to shop, do your research thoroughly, and really give some thought about that garment, considering if you will still wear it a few months down the line. These examples may seem like small acts, but collectively, with enough awareness and initiative, we can really start to make localized impacts across the globe. We’ve only got one planet, let’s look after it.
Work cited:
Boucher, J., & Friot, D. (2017). Primary microplastics in the oceans: a global evaluation of sources. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46622
Chapagain, A. K., Hoekstra, A. Y., Savenije, H. H., & Gautam, R. (2006). The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries. Ecological Economics, 60(1), 186-203.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800906003471