The Fast, the Fierce, and the Possibly Fatal Fashion Industry

How textiles impact the environment

The textile industry causes immense amounts of environmental damage that effects our water, land, and air all across the globe through the constant production of clothes and shoes.

Over the past three decades, our world has witnessed the take-off of a phenomenon known as ‘fast fashion’. This is the rapid and financially inexpensive production of clothing by mass-market retailers based on the latest fashion trends.

While keeping up with the latest style may sound enticing, these trends are always fleeting. Some brands will release around 52 micro-collections a year instead of collections based on the season. As a result, each garment is now worn an average of seven times before it is disposed of. These trends have made our clothes increasingly disposable, with only 15% being recycled or donated, and the rest ending up in landfills or incinerated.

To make these trendy pieces appealing, retailers sell them at an accessible price. However, in order for them to do this, they have found ways to also decrease the cost of production to ensure their quick profit. This not only results in poor quality of the shoes or garment, but an increase in the environmental damage created through the process of production.

Trees line the beginning of the Lake Loop Trail on Saturday, October 10, 2020, at the Sam Houston National Forest in New Wavery, Texas. Every year, an average of 70 million trees are cut down to make our clothes (left). People enjoy a Friday afternoon at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center on November 20, 2020. Around 200 tons of fresh water — like the water pictured here — is used to dye one ton of fabric (center). A group gathers to watch the goats at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center on November 20, 2020. While these goats are used to maintain the native landscape of the nature center, overgrazing of pastures by goats and sheep raised for wool is one of the leading causes for soil degradation (right).

Texas wildflowers, pictured on Saturday, October 10, 2020, grow along the Lake Loop Trail at the Sam Houston National Forest. As more and more forests are cleared and replaced by plantations, more ecosystems and communities are threatened (left). Michaela Buck cups the ocean water in her hands on a Wednesday afternoon at the beach in Galveston, Texas on October 21, 2020. Around 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile treatment and dyes (right).

A couple walks along Galveston Beach on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. Microfibers — small particles of plastic that come from synthetic material — release into the water, and then to the ocean, with every wash (left). Men sit and fish on a jetty at Galveston Beach off the strand on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. Small aquatic organisms eat microfibers that end up in the ocean, that are then eaten by fish, which introduces plastic to our diet (center). A cloudy sunset at the Galveston Island National Park on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. The textile industry is responsible for 10% of carob emissions worldwide (left).

The average lifespan of an article of clothing is three years. If it ends up in a landfill, it can take up to 200 years to completely decompose, especially if it is made from synthetic fibers. These fibers — such as polyester and nylon which are made from plastic — are utilized in 72% of clothing.

The textile industry creates greenhouse gases — such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide — through production, manufacturing, and transportation of clothing. In addition to that, the synthetic fibers that are in a majority of our clothing, are created from fossil fuels. In other words, manufacturers are using a nonrenewable resource to produce fabric. Most of this is made in countries such as China, Bangladesh, or India, and powered by burning coal, which only adds to global carbon emissions.

In addition to waste accumulation and gas emissions, the textile industry uses around 1.5 trillion litters of water each year. Currently, 750 million people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. The use of water in the production and manufacturing of garments has put pressure on yet another declining resource we depend upon.

Alongside consumption of water, is contamination. In most developing countries, there is no process to properly clean or discard of toxic wastewater. The water is directly dumped into the rivers, eventually making its way to the ocean, and spreading globally.

Looking at the perspective of the manufacturer with Julie Collado, a buyer for Academy Sports and Outdoors, it becomes clear exactly how much of a business the industry has become, as well as how much of a hand the consumer has in the decisions being made.

“We determine our buys based on a lot of historical info,” said Collado. “The historical info tells us how much we can expect to sell and that drives how much we buy, effectively.”

She described her job as “a good blend of art and science”. To determine how much of a product will be needed, buyers and manufacturers look at consumer trends from previous years to predict future sales. The data they use specifies size, color, and other design particulars of each retailer store.

As this data is based on consumer trends, it is our demand that dictates the supply. However, when the assumed direction of the buying trend is incorrect, the manufacturers are faced with a choice. More often than not, the extra product is either sold for “pennies on the dollar” or destroyed. According to Collado, as of right now, it is more cost effective for manufacturers to destroy a product than it is to recycle it into something new.

While many brands still follow the wavering trends and the pace of “fast fashion”, there are notable brands that do not. Pategonia creates and sells windbreakers by using recycled plastic to create material. Both Addidas and Nike have made steps to utilize more recycled materials when making their shoes.

There are also companies such as the activewear brand, Girlfriend Collective, and the shoe brand known for their colorful flats, Rothy’s, that make all of their products from recycled plastic. Girlfriend Collective even sells a special filter that can be attached to your home washing machine to eliminate microfiber pollution from washing these synthetic materials.

However, there are many people who still remain unaware of the impact the textile industry has on the environment.

After learning about the environmental damage caused by the textile industry during an interview, Lynn Robins said, “That is pretty wild. I never thought about all of that.”

In a separate interview, Shannon Cunningham said, “I don’t really know much about where clothes really come from.”

Environmentally sustainable textile production is more expensive for the manufacturer, and therefore more expensive for the buyer. Without education, and then the demand and push for more sustainable practices and higher quality product, fast fashion will continue to prevail.