Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is a contemporary fashion trend that appears in the stores at a point and changes within a short period of time. Do we ever ask ourselves is it beneficial? Is it good quality? What happens after it is not a trend anymore? Fast fashion clothing has a short life cycle, meaning that factory workers in economically disadvantaged situations work in poor conditions to create a product that is considered disposable. The quality of fast fashion clothing isn't comparable to designer clothes or quality clothes that are priced slightly higher than fast fashion. Something Forever 21 consumers should be familiar with is when washing their favorite F21 top, it ends up coming apart just a month or two after purchasing it. Although places like Forever 21, H&M and Zara used to be my go-to stores, where $50 could go a long way, now I'm looking for more ways to enjoy fashion and slowly expand my wardrobe without breaking try bank account or contributing to fast fashion. I've made an effort to be conscious and thoughtful in my purchases. For example, I've been shopping at vintage stores and thrift stores to give clothing and accessories a shot at a second life, so it doesn't end up in a landfill before its time.
This issue affects people all around the world. Fast fashion focuses on speed and low cost in order to deliver frequent new collections inspired by catwalk looks or celebrity styles. But it is bad for the environment, as pressure to reduce cost and the time it takes to get a product from design to the store floor, means that environmental concerns are more likely to be disregarded. Fast fashion has a negative environmental impact, it creates water pollution, it uses toxic chemicals and it increases levels of textile waste. Vibrant colors, prints and fabrics are appealing features of fashion, but many of these are achieved with toxic chemicals. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally, after agriculture. Greenpeace’s recent Detox campaign has been instrumental in pressuring fashion brands to take action to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains, after it tested a number of brands’ products and confirmed the presence of hazardous chemicals. Many of these are banned or strictly regulated in many countries because they are toxic, the substance builds up in an organism faster than the organism could digest it, disruptive to hormones and carcinogenic.
Polyester is the most popular fibre used for fashion. But when polyester garments are washed in domestic washing machines they shed microfibers that add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans. These microfibers are tiny and can easily pass through sewage and wastewater treatment plants into our waterways, but because they do not biodegrade, they represent a serious threat to ocean life. Small creatures such as plankton eat the microfibres, which then make their way up the food chain to fish and shellfish eaten by humans. Humans eat that plastic which could cause cancer. The huge impact of toxic chemical use in agriculture for growing cotton was shown in a documentary called The True Cost, including the death of a US cotton farmer from a brain tumour and serious birth defects in Indian cotton farmers’ children. Cotton growing requires high levels of water and pesticides to prevent crop failure, which can be problematic in developing countries. Most cotton grown worldwide is genetically modified to be resistant, reducing pesticide use. But this can also lead to problems further down the line, like the need to be treated with more toxic pesticides that are harmful to humans.
Textile waste is the consequence of fast fashion, as more people buy more clothes and don’t keep them as long as they used to. This is a major issue because of the inhumane conditions that the workers are in, in order to make your clothes. In the movie the true cost, one can see that they get paid few cents a day. Many times they get locked up and don't get restroom breaks so they make the clothes faster. Fashion retailers don't care because they just want to make money. People have died for our fashion trends. This a global issue with the expansion of fast fashion retailers. Wardrobes in developed nations are saturated, so in order to sell more products, retailers must tempt shoppers with constant newness and convince them the items they already have are no longer fashionable. It is often cheaper and more convenient to buy new than have an item repaired. Busy lifestyles make people have no extra time to fix the clothes they already have. The stores are always open making it easy for the consumer to quickly buy the products rather than to wait to get them fixed. Seasonal sales make clothing seem “disposable.”
This issue affects me directly, and also the community. Because of all the carbon dioxide that is in the air, it becomes toxic for us. Wasting money on clothes every month because the fashion is constantly changing is something that as a consumer I need to change. We are running out of water due to the amount of water that is needed to create the material for a piece of clothing. The entire process requires water, and soon we will not have anymore if we do not do something about it. As a responsible consumer, I think that it is important and crucial to educate yourself and know the details of what you are consuming, and then decide if it falls in line with your moral beliefs. Personally, I don't believe others should be put at a disadvantage just so that I can buy cute clothes for a very cheap price. I would recommend you watch the documentary, The TrueCost. I assure you that you'll learn about the impact the clothing industry has on our world, and how it is killing us and our planet.
References
Ruth Castellanos:
I already had some knowledge as to where most of our "affordable" clothes comes from and how it is made. I also
watched the documentary The True Cost and it changed my view on buying clothes from stores that are at the
mall. These stores are constantly bringing new clothes and putting the previous season items on sale for super
low prices. I'm a college student so I'm always looking for the cheapest thing. But after doing more research, I
realized that my need to have the new trends was not worth people loosing their lives. It is unfair that people get
sick and die for a few cents, and we the consumers pay many times more than what they were paid. I agree
completely with that fact that as fast-fashion consumers, we need to be aware of how our products are made and how it is not only affecting peoples lives but also our environment. If we don't take care of our planet, we won't
Rosa Castellanos:
I had no idea that this was happening. To be honest it scares me because I'm using clothes that is affecting and
killing people. I think that this is very sad. It seems that people that don't have money and live in very poor areas of the world, their lives don't matter. The manufacturing of the clothes is inhumane. This has to change and the
only way it will change is by making the public aware of this situation.
Angelica Benedic:
So as a shopaholic that buys her fair share of disposable clothing I was shocked to read about the negative facts surrounding this issue. It made me feel very guilty and selfish. I am guilty of having a Forever 21 credit
card and using it vigorously. I had no clue that the bright colors that I love so much were causing such harm to our environment. A feeling of sadness overwhelmed me as I look upon a closet stuffed to the max with clothes hung with tags still on. I clearly do not need anymore clothes and I realized that my addiction was so much more expensive to our earth than I could ever imagine. This article has made me realize that a conscious effort has to be made to stop the pressure of keeping up with fashion because it's killing our water sources.
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