Fast Fashion — the silent monster
At this point, many aspects of modern life are commonly known to cause environmental damage, such as traveling abroad, using disposable plastic goods and even driving to and from work for example. Although the consequences are less apparent when it comes to our clothes. So, let’s dive into it and see what harm can be caused by one of the largest industries in the world — fashion industry.
To begin with, fashion — a $2.5 trillion sector — is the second most polluting industry on Earth, right behind oil. Of course, not all the fashion is extremely polluting and damaging our environment, at this point, we are talking about so called “Fast Fashion”. The phrase “fast fashion” has become a buzz phrase recently, but what does it really mean?
“Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed”
The idea of fast fashion is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the top of their popularity, and then, sadly, discard them after a couple of wears. Although consumers might enjoy having inexpensive and stylish clothes, fast fashion has been criticised for its environmental and ethical impact.
HOW CAN CLOTHES BE SO ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE?
Well, all of the elements of fast fashion — trend replication, rapid production, low quality, competitive pricing — add up to having a large impact on the environment and the people involved in its production. The pressure to reduce costs and speed up production time means that environmental corners are cut in the name of profit. Also, when you combine the fashion industry’s CO2 emissions, and the mass of clothes waste that is dumped around the world, it is a no-brainer. In fact, keeping up on fashion trends means that 85% of textiles go to the dump each year. Also, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 16.91 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2017, of which only 2.6 million tons were recycled. And talking about CO2 emissions, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions each year, which is more emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combine. Also, according to Levi Strauss & Co, producing a pair of jeans emits as much carbon as driving a car 130 kilometers. Researchers project that if things do not change, by 2050 the fashion industry will use up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget.
FOSSIL FUEL FABRICS AND MICROFIBERS
Fossil fuel fabric is one of the reasons causing CO2 emissions. Synthetic materials like polyester, acrylic and nylon are made from crude oil, a fossil fuel that pollutes the oceans and releases toxic greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Greenpeace reported that about 60% of all garments contain polyester and emissions of CO2 for polyester in clothing are nearly 3 times higher than those for cotton. Also, according to James Conca from FORBES, cheap synthetic fibers also emit gases like N2O, which is 300 times more damaging than CO2.
In addition to CO2 pollution, these clothing items are contributing to marine pollution. When repeatedly washed, synthetic garments shed microfibers (microplastics) that eventually end up polluting waterways and never biodegrade. According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation, washing clothes, meanwhile, releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. Also, a 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics in the ocean came from synthetic fabrics like polyester. Microfibers are easily ingested by marine life, working its way into the human food system and human bodies, and can carry harmful bacteria.
WATER: POLLUTION&CONSUMPTION
As you already know, microfibers from synthetic garments can cause irreparable damage to our marine life. Another thing that can harm the waterway are chemicals which are used in every part of the textile production. Dyeing clothes to get vivid colors and finishes require large amounts of water and chemicals, which end up being dumped in nearby rivers and lakes. The World Bank has identified 72 toxic chemicals that end up in waterways from textile dyeing. Chemical-laden water kills plants and animals in or near the waterways, destroying ecosystem biodiversity in these areas. The dyeing chemicals also have significant human health impacts and have been linked to forms of cancer, gastrointestinal problems, and skin irritation. The harmful chemicals get into the food system when polluted water is used to irrigate crops and contaminates vegetables and fruit. Wastewater disposal is rarely regulated or monitored, meaning fashion brands and factory owners are left unaccountable. All in all, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution worldwide, the second most polluting industry for water.
Also, fashion industry is not only one of the biggest polluters but also one of the biggest consumers of water. For example, it takes about 2700 liters of water just to grow enough cotton for a regular T-shirt and that is enough water for one person to drink at least eight cups per day for three-and-a-half years. And it takes about 7600 liters of water to produce a pair of jeans and that is more than enough for one person to drink eight cups per day for 10 years.
HUMAN RIGHTS
As well as the environmental cost of fast fashion, there’s a human cost. While the most fashion is consumed in the U.S., 90% of the world’s clothing is produced in low- and middle-income countries. Each day,40 million workers endure poor working conditions and earn unfair less than minimum wages to assemble garments without basic human rights. Beyond compensation, life-threatening health standards and workplace accidents remain major concerns for garment industry workers. Employees usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings. This causes garment industry workers to suffer from lung disease, cancer and reproductive issues. On top of that, clothing workers regularly face verbal and physical abuse. In some cases, when they fail to meet their (unreachable) daily target, they are insulted, denied breaks, or not allowed to drink water. Even the European Parliament is using the term “slave labor” to describe the current working conditions of garment workers in Asia.
