Fast Fashion: How Much is Too Much?
What is fast fashion?
Individual retailers make clothes that imitate the trends created by high society brands. These clothes are quickly mass-produced, resulting in detrimental effects on both the environment and the workers producing the garments. This process is best known as fast fashion.
Why is the fast fashion problem only becoming apparent now?
Clothing utilization has increased in the last century. In her book Overdressed, author Elizabeth Cline stated that “In 1930, the average American woman owned an average of nine outfits. Today, we each buy more than 60 pieces of new clothing on average per year.” Rather than having four seasons per year, we now have 52 micro seasons of fashion (each week being its own microseason). Consequently, companies wouldn’t survive in today’s economy if they produced at the same level that they did in 1930. To meet demand, fast fashion companies have developed vertically integrated supply chains (when different stages of production are joined together so one company owns the whole supply chain) and sales-oriented pricing (When a company prioritizes making sales. It typically replies on the idea that if a company is selling a product at a lower price, more people will buy it and sales will increase.) This system aims to transport items from the factory to the store as quickly as possible. Since this clothing is so inexpensive, consumption is rapid. This purchasing mentality means that there is little personal value to what we own, resulting in people mistreating and discarding clothing with little reasoning.
What are the consequences of fast fashion?
Waste infrastructure, however, has not kept up with the increasingly common form of fast fashion, so extreme amounts of clothing ends up in landfills; The Atlantic stated that ‘Americans send 10.5 million tons of clothing to landfills every year.’ Furthermore, according to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry emits 10% of global carbon emissions (carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas meaning that it contributes to the greenhouse effect). However, fast fashion’s environmental footprint doesn’t stop here, as it also leads to pollution from things such as dyes and chemicals which are used for synthetic fabric. Moreover, the fast fashion industry uses a lot of water, especially when the clothing is made of cotton. According to ecowatch.com, over 5,000 gallons of water are used to manufacture just a T-shirt and jeans.
How successful can a fast fashion company really be?
Fast fashion companies have been extremely successful and profitable over the last few decades. Take one of the largest fast-fashion companies, Zara, for example. According to Forbes, the founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega, is currently the #6 wealthiest person and the #1 wealthiest clothing retailer globally, with his estimated net worth being $55.1B. Zara’s success results from the fast fashion model they use, which consists of low production costs.
We know fast fashion is bad for the planet, but how does it harm the people?
Low production costs are the result of overworked and underpaid workers who are subject to unsafe conditions. These inhumane conditions were illuminated in the world in 2013 when the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Bangladesh. This incident caused 1,129 workers’ deaths, becoming the deadliest accident in history in the garment industry. Not only were these workers working in horrid conditions, but they were also getting paid below a living wage. The minimum wage in Bangladesh is only $68 monthly, which is not enough to cover basic human necessities. These low wages are common in much of the fast fashion industry, preventing workers from living healthily and happily. Despite this, raising the minimum wage to meet/exceed a living wage isn’t as simple as it seems. Increased wages may result in local service providers increasing the prices of items such as rent and groceries. This means that unless the living wage is implemented correctly, an increase in wages may not fully translate into an improved quality of life. Furthermore, if the wage increase doesn’t happen to everyone, then increases at one factory may mean a loss of work if the companies who source their product from the factories switch to other factories without the increased labor costs.
How can I help?
The fast-fashion industry’s economy is linear, the most common type of industry. Linearity means that material is used to make an article of clothing, but it’s never used again, which is wildly unsustainable. To combat this linearity, the goal of many sustainable brands and activists is to make the economy circular. In terms of fast fashion, this would mean reusing a garment to extend its life as much as possible and then turn it into something else. However, it shouldn’t just be activists and sustainable designers fighting to fix fast fashion. As consumers, it is essential that we take responsibility for what we purchase and understand that supply is only created when there is demand. Furthermore, once we buy a garment, we must care for it well and use it for as long as possible. Once the garment reaches the end of its life, we should consider the options of upcycling or downcycling it ourselves before making it the responsibility of someone else.
When we purchase from fast fashion brands, we are supporting a system that exploits people and harms the planet. We can all make small changes in our everyday lives to help change the textile industry; whether we choose to thrift or put public pressure on companies through social media, every action has an impact. Overall, when we support fast fashion retailers, we must ask ourselves two questions: 1) how far are we willing to go to profit? and 2) how many livelihoods are we willing to hurt before we realize that our actions are simply unethical?
Written By Chloe Young
Sources:
https://www.attiremedia.com/discover-all/economic-drivers-of-fast-fashion
https://smartasset.com/credit-cards/the-economics-of-fast-fashion
https://fee.org/articles/fast-fashion-has-changed-the-industry-and-the-economy/
https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion
