Clothing retailers such as Boohoo, Shein, and H&M produce fashionable clothing at low prices to meet the needs of young consumers. But fast fashion has a huge impact on the environment.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the fast fashion industry is the second largest user of water in the world and is estimated to be responsible for around 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions – more than international air and maritime shipping combined – yet consumers often overlook the problems associated with fast fashion.
What is fast fashion?
The term “fast fashion” has become common in conversations about fashion, sustainability, and environmental awareness. The fast fashion model gets its name from the rapid design, production, distribution, and marketing of clothing, which allows retailers to offer a wide variety of products and allows consumers to experience more fashion and product differentiation at lower prices.
For individual consumers, it is easier and more economical to buy cheap clothing that has a short lifespan than to spend a lot of money on high-quality, long-lasting goods.
What’s the problem? The fast fashion model encourages consumers to continually buy cheap clothes, which they then quickly throw away due to their poor quality. This cycle of buying and discarding creates a huge environmental problem, with mountains of textile and clothing waste accumulating every day around the world, most of which is not biodegradable.
Murray State University graduate Caitlin Dukes said she used to shop at SHEIN often for its trendy styles and low prices, but has since stopped buying from the company.
“I learned the value of good quality clothes that last longer than poor quality clothes that you only wear a few times,” Dukes says, “I also learned about the working conditions in the countries where these clothes are made. I want to shop more sustainably.”
Quinn Brewer, a sophomore veterinary technology major, shops at Shein for swimsuits for the summer.
“I wanted a specific style bikini, so I searched there and found thousands of exactly what I was looking for,” Brewer said. “The most important thing is price. I think the bikini I bought this summer, along with five swimsuits and a cover-up, was about $35.”
Environmental impact
Globally, it’s estimated that 92 million tons of textile waste are produced annually, a figure that’s expected to rise to 134 million tons per year by 2030. According to a Business Insider analysis, fashion production accounts for 10% of the world’s total carbon emissions. It depletes water sources, pollutes rivers and streams, and 85% of textile products are discarded each year. Washing clothes alone releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
Global clothing consumption has grown exponentially. Since 2000, clothing sales have doubled from 100 billion to 200 billion yen per year. At the same time, the average number of times an item of clothing is worn has decreased by 36% overall.
The time it takes for a product to move through the supply chain from design to purchase is called the “lead time.” In 2012, Zara could design, manufacture, and deliver a new garment in two weeks; Forever 21 in six weeks, and H&M in eight weeks. As a result, the fashion industry produces a lot of waste.
solution
Slow fashion is a broader response to fast fashion and its environmental impact, putting the brakes on overproduction, overly complicated supply chains and mindless consumption, and advocating manufacturing that respects people, the environment and animals.
To address the damage caused by fast fashion, the United Nations has launched the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, which aims to “stop environmentally and socially destructive fashion practices.”
What you can do
One way consumers can reduce their fast fashion consumption is by buying from second-hand sellers such as ThredUp Inc. and Poshmark. Consumers send unwanted clothes to these websites to purchase them at a discount. Bombas also offers consumers a “Take Back Bag.” The bag is delivered to their home, where they can send up to eight pounds of unwanted clothes to a Bombas facility. All clothes are then donated to people at risk of homelessness. Those who want to make a change can do so in a variety of ways, including buying consciously and looking for ethical brands, buying second-hand or repairing what they already own, and buying less clothes.
