Fast Fashion: Even Worse than You Feared…
I have always struggled with impulse shopping, but after researching how much the current Fast Fashion industry pollutes the earth and puts its workers at risk, I think I may finally have found motivation to really curb my impulse buying.,
Fast Fashion began about 30 years ago when Zara (clothing store) opened in New York City. They were able to design cheap knock offs of haute couture, mass produce them and have them in stores in only 2 weeks! Forever 21, UNIQLOW, H & M, and others soon followed suit.
This “speedy delivery” causes a whopping 10% of total global carbon emissions. Globally, people buy 400% more clothing than they did twenty years ago and they don’t keep it nearly as long. Fast fashion encourages more buying, but also more trashing, of usable clothes. Americans get rid of 85% of their textiles annually which translates to 82 pounds of clothing per person. By 2030, emissions from the fashion industry are projected to increase 60%.
Fast fashion industry practices use up our water resources, fossil fuels, electricity, and natural resources like wood. It also pollutes streams, rivers and oceans which poison the seafood we eat. Enormous amounts of fossil fuel and electricity are used to produce, ship and deliver the items. Dyeing, finishing, yarn preparation, and fiber production cause the most fashion industry pollution and resource depletion.
Fast fashion, a low-capital and labor-intensive industry, adversely effects the neediest people. About 17% of the global population find work in the fashion industry. Developing countries take advantage of cheap labor by creating lax labor laws, and big corporate tax breaks in pursuit of profits. Environmental regulations are often ignored. One recent US government report found evidence of forced and child labor in the fashion industry in over 9 countries in South America, Asia, Southeast Asia, and Mediterranean regions.
Here’s what we can do to help:
- Contact your government representatives and tell them you are very concerned about the climate crisis and specifically the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and on social justice issues.
- Join organizations dedicated to fighting climate change such as org, and others such as those listed below:
https://foodtank.com/news/2020/10/36-organizations-helping-solve-the-climate-crisis/
- Seriously consider your own shopping habits to see if you could buy fewer things less often.
- Buy items you need at second hand stores. Many folks also use item redistribution websites such as “Buy Nothing Framingham” to find “pre-owned” items in good condition. It is even possible to rent clothes now at places like Rent the Runwayand Gwynnie Bee,
- If you buy something new, consider what it is made of and how that impacts the environment. Think about how long it will last, and if you can recycle it, or otherwise discard it in a helpful way when you are done with it.
- When you no longer want a still usable item, sell it on a resale website such as eBay, comor Poshmark.com. If you don’t want the hassle of mailing it away, offer it up for free on websites such as “Freecycle.”
Working to end fast fashion and climate change takes time and effort, but when we slow down and become more thoughtful about our choices, we can make a difference. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your efforts!
References: https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/10203637 Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, by Susan Freinkel, 2011, Mariner Books,