Say “Less” to Fast Fashion

Fast fashion (the opposite of sustainable fashion) is cheap, low-quality clothes produced at breakneck speeds, prioritizing instant gratification of trends over sustainability.

Washing clothes alone releases 500,000 tons of microfibers — and this is just a small part of the fashion problem.

It’s our approach to the creation of fast fashion that makes it so damaging. Here are three main problems:

1. We make WAY more than we need — and therefore, waste an egregious amount as well. 85% of textiles go in the dump every year, according to Business Insider.
2. In the capitalistic race to put the trendiest and lowest cost items on the market, working conditions are the first to be forgotten. In 2013, 1,134 garment workers died in a Bangladesh factory collapse, in the production of fast fashion.
3. Because of the emphasis on low cost and low quality, environmental implications are largely ignored. In 2015, the greenhouse gas footprint from textiles production was traced to 1.2 billion tons of CO2. 1.2 BILLION! And about 20% of industrial water pollution globally can be traced to the dyeing and treatment of textiles.

5 Resources to Read:

• This Business Insider article on how fast fashion emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined
• The Daily Good, a daily 30-second newsletter on conscious living for women’s fashion
• Conscious Consumerism Without the Pricetag by Aditi Mayer
• Nicole Garcia’s Ethical Clothing Guidebook — she’s an East Bay Area local and a mission-oriented designer. We ❤ our local artists
• Our Soapbox Project Changeletter for weekly breakdowns of a monthly topic within education, environment, and gender