How you can help reduce the dependency on the fast fashion industry

Fast fashion is the rapid production of inexpensive clothing by large retailers to satisfy customer demands of the latest fashion trends. The term was first coined by the New York Times in the early 1990s, when the Spanish brand Zara first expanded to New York. Zara boasted a fifteen-day timeline for a piece of clothing to go from designing, to being available in stores. The New York Times used the term “fast fashion” to describe this process. At first this idea was considered strange, but it quickly became the norm as other brands caught on to this trend. Millions of clothes were manufactured daily which increased the production rate by 50% in less than a decade. These low cost, popular clothes resulted in a mass movement towards increasingly overwhelming amounts of customer consumption. In turn, this led to harmful impacts on the environment, workers in the apparel industry and eventually, consumers as well.

Until the mid-twentieth century, designers would work months ahead of release dates to plan for the four seasonal collections per year: fall, winter, spring and summer. However, after Zara’s game-changing fast fashion boom, it became customary for stores to always have surplus stock, ensuring that brands never run out of clothes. The speedy production technique from runway to roadside saw brands supplying new trends to customers weekly, if not at times daily. According to Fast Company, “Apparel companies make 53 million tons of clothes into the world annually. If the industry keeps up its exponential pace of growth, it is expected to reach 160 million tons by 2050.”

To keep up with this breakneck speed of production, quality and wages suffered greatly. Brands began selling extremely low-quality garments, sometimes even defective, as there was not enough time to check the quality of the products before it reached the demanding customers. Though, some argue whether the quality of the clothes really matters, if the user is eventually going to discard the garment as soon as the next trend comes along. Other, more practical perspectives suggest that not everyone has the financial means to buy new trends as soon as they are released and often need to use the same garment over years, which results in issues in wear and tear due to the low quality. The short lifespan of the hastily produced garments forces customers to run themselves ragged trying to buy new clothes to replace their worn out garments due to bad quality. As author and journalist Lucy Siegle rightly says in the documentary ‘The True Cost’ - “Fast fashion isn’t free. Someone, somewhere is paying.” Companies are earning great profits as the garments are made and sold cheaply but in large volumes. Unfortunately, this means that factory workers are paid below the minimum wage, raising ethical questions about the production of fast fashion. Activists all around the world ask the pressing question – At what cost are the customer’s demands to be met?

Fast fashion also has a major environmental impact. Each year, 11 million tons of clothing are discarded in the States alone. These garments, made with dangerous dyes, toxic chemicals and synthetic fabrics, are dumped into landfills and release toxins and chemicals such as lead, pesticides. Harmful dyes seep into the nearby water supplies, negatively impacting animals and humans residing in the area. One such chemical, benzothiazole, has been traced to several types of respiratory illnesses and cancers, putting factory workers who come in contact with this chemical at high risk for these diseases. Wearing these garments every day could also potentially be harmful for consumers, putting them at risk as well. Combined with physical abuse, below minimum wages and poor working conditions, fast fashion brands are violating the human rights of their workers.

The synthetic materials in the discarded garments, such as polyester, also contain harmful chemicals that are released when dried, and have been linked to lung disease and cancer. Not only has polyester been linked to these diseases but it also takes years to decompose, at times over 200 years for a single garment! The harmful blend can mix with water supplies and affect marine life as well as animals who drink from these water resources. These chemicals can also affect the soil quality, leading to infertility in crop production. It takes 22500 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cotton, and 2700 litres of water to make one cotton shirt. This can lead to massive water shortages, and when put in perspective with the amount of cotton clothes produced to keep up with the fast fashion demand, it is a staggering amount of water wastage, water that could be used to save people’s lives. The carbon footprint that fast fashion produces could rival the footprint of the oil industry.

So, how can you help combat the negative effects of the fast fashion industry? For starters, you can wear the clothes you currently own more and buy less into the harmful and toxic industry. Mixing and matching pieces of clothing to create new combinations is always a good idea and a fun way to spruce up your daily look rather than throwing them away to buy new ones. Experiment with your current wardrobe and you may be surprised with the potential you never thought you had before. It is also imperative to check the label of the clothing before you buy it to check for petroleum based synthetic fabrics such as polyester and more bio-based synthetic polymers which have harmful and almost irreversible effects on the environment. You can also try thrifting clothes from vintage stores which often resell good quality clothes that can be reworked. Try to upcycle your old clothes which can be a creative activity as well. You could take an old pair of jeans and transform it by painting them or embroidering designs onto them to make them trendier.

Fast fashion has created a giant impact on the environment and people all over the world, but it is up to you to help out and make a change!