Our Landfills are Growing; Can We Stop It?
What causes hazardous waste, pollutes our environment, and aids in the destruction of ecosystems? The fast fashion industry is partly to blame for these environmental distressors, where companies create popular fashion items out of cheaply sourced materials. Ranging from popular in-store manufacturers like H&M and Adidas who claim sustainability, to online producers like Boohoo, Zara, and Asos who do little to cover their tracks. Fast fashion is detrimental to the well-being of our society due its exploitation of oversea workers, and immense contribution to our carbon-footprint.
Thousands of new garments are produced every week based on our world’s population, and its ever-growing trends. Most of these garments are crafted in developing countries, like Somalia, India, Bolivia, North Korea, China, Argentina, etc., where at least “80%” of its workers are women. Large companies take advantage of their workers, abusing them physically, mentally, and emotionally. According to Green America’s article on worker imposition, “exploitation and mistreatment of Asian female garment workers in H&M and Gap supplier factories — including (but not limited to) physical abuse, sexual harassment, poor work conditions, and forced overtime.”. Additionally, the Global Labor Justice team (GLJ) reported “existing legal definitions of gender-based violence as set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2016.”. This abuse is not limited to gender, and is mapped in over 10 countries. These workers are forced into overtime, unable to appeal against abuse due to their poor financial income, and or immigrant status. With little to no pay, over “152 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 work as child laborers, as defined by the International Labor Organization”. H&M’s supposed economic remuneration has raised to $0.49 an hour, which is comparably “high” to some of its rivaling companies paying as little as $0.20 an hour, or even less. Corporations thrive, making billions of dollars as their employees slave away, some barely able to afford basic necessities. Despite our youth’s strive to end gender and income disparity in sweatshops, companies continue to implement these unethical principles through the manufacturing of their products, and towards their employees. So next time there’s a sale, don’t blindly purchase the next trendiest thing on the rack.
Vituperative treatment in textile facilities now exhibit a slight decline as a result of its reformed guidelines and petitions; however, our Earth’s rising climate is also a side-effect, and simply cannot be ignored. According to Plot11’s documentary on waste, “The average american throws away 82 pounds of textile waste each year”. This adds up to approximately, “11 million tons of textile waste from the U.S. alone…”. Most of this waste is non-biodegradable and will take over 200 years to properly decompose. Manufacturers use cheap materials to assemble these pieces making the cost of clothing more affordable for the public and virtually nothing to mass-produce. In result of this, customers purchase these items in bulk, trying to save money; through this, you are supporting companies that consume indescribable amounts of water, pollute the air, and contribute to landfills that affect poorer income communities. Imagine, “between 17 and 20 percent of industrial water pollution is due to the dyeing and treatment of garments…’’. That is over “2,000 gallons of water to make a typical pair of jeans…”. Not only does it emit toxic chemicals in our water, but it releases toxic gases into our atmosphere and into our landfills. According to Gale Power Source’s article on Fast Fashion, “China dumped over 200 million cubic meters of trash into its coastal waters in 2018.”. The same goes for their overproduction of clothing, where over “26 million tons of clothing” being thrown into landfills each year. These clothing trends have gone in every direction leading corporations to continue circulating new styles in order to maintain public interest and remain relevant. Huffington post reported that “Topshop features 400 new styles every week, while Zara releases 20,000 designs annually.”. Moreover, climate change is affecting our ecosystems making it difficult for species to survive. It is estimated that “the West Antarctic ice sheet” is at great risk of collapsing due to the Earth’s constant climate increase. Not only that, but studies show that by 2050, most if not all species of fish in our oceans will collapse. Think about that.
Fast fashion’s affordable clothing is a catalyst for its incline of popular demand. The point of fast fashion is to encourage consumers to continue purchasing new items. Although these garments may cost less, their quality is being sacrificed for the quantity of products being distributed to the masses. This is beneficial to large companies because they avoid markdowns and store-closings by selling more products. For the consumer, this is not the case because they will most likely end up spending more money on repurchasing items due to their poor shelf life and slinky material. If you purchase more expensive items, they are typically made of higher quality materials and are more durable.
Through purchasing more sustainable clothing and houseware items, supporting local companies, and limiting purchases from fast fashion companies like H&M, Zara, Boohoo, etc., our society can begin its journey on a greener life. Although these items may be trendy and affordable, they support global climate change through polluting the environment with its toxic chemicals and textile waste. Moreover, it supports the income inequality, physical, sexual, and metal abuse of many of its young sweatshop employees. Fast fashion continues to be one of the major factors contributing to pollution and destruction of ecosystems in our environment, so shop wisely. The more you know.
Documentaries on Fashion
Tips on living sustainably
Want to contribute, but don’t know how? Here are a few sources!
