Fast Fashion: The Way of the Greedy

In recent years, consumers have started demanding discounted clothes, often in bulk, to keep up with the latest trends. This has led to exponential growth in the fashion industry, and the number of clothes sitting in the back of our closets waiting to be brought out. We have become trapped in an endless cycle of buying disposable garments that we only wear a couple of times before we move on and go out of our way to find “trendier” clothes. While the consumer loses hundreds, if not thousands each year, brands like Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 are profiting immensely from producing millions of garments to sell to their customers. APICS, or the American Production and Inventory and Control Society, found that, “Zara grew sales by 240 percent and H&M sales jumped 180% from 2004 and 2015.” To keep up with this significant increase in demand over the years and to maximize their profit, these brands have begun producing clothing at a fraction of their usual production prices and quicker than ever before. This mode of production is called fast fashion. The disastrous consequences of fast fashion are already becoming apparent, as our environment is at risk, as well as the mental and physical health of factory workers, and a plethora of other aspects of the fashion industry.

The manufacturing of most clothing items starts with cotton production on farms in countries like Guatemala, India, and parts of western Africa. Many of these farms have resorted to dowsing their crops with agrochemicals, like pesticides and herbicides, both of which are toxic to both humans and plants (U.S National Library of Medicine). The utilization of these chemicals is to help the crop grow faster and last longer to keep up with the increased demand for cotton. Farmers have not been given the proper gear or adequate training to deal with these toxic chemicals (The Alternative Journal-Canada’s Environmental Voice). The usage of these chemicals leads to severe health issues like “cancer, respiratory illnesses, and intellectual disabilities.” They also affect plants, leading to loss of genetic diversity, reduced oxygen in water, and so much more. The cotton is then processed in factories and made into undyed fabric. When cotton is handled, it often releases dust that is harmful upon inhalation. The British Medical Journal found that there was a surge in “byssinosis and chest tightness” along with a variety of lung issues among cotton workers.

The textile industry takes over from there and manipulates the products even further. Textile production, especially in regards to garments, are some of the world’s leading polluters where “17-20% of the total industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing.”(The Alternative Journal-Canada’s Environmental Voice) To put this into perspective, the equivalent of “5,640,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water pollution” is coming directly from the textile industry each year. Along with that, as little as a singular cotton shirt takes “2,700 liters of water to make.” That is enough water for one person for 900 days (The Alternative Journal-Canada’s Environmental Voice). The dye that they use to make these clothing items is then released into the world’s rivers, lakes, and oceans, causing them to become contaminated.

The last step in this process is the assembling of clothes by garment workers, where tragic, yet preventable scenarios have occurred. On April 24th, 2013, The Rana Plaza factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was “the deadliest disaster in the history of garment creation,” claiming the lives of over one thousand women and children, with an additional two thousand injuries. (New York Times). This occurred because of the blatant disregard of the building codes in order to maximize their profits. Bangladesh is one of the leading producers of clothing for companies that engage in fast fashion production. The workers are subjected to “long working hours, physical exhaustion, intense work rhythms, harassment, and an absence of representation.” (Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology). There have also been reports of severe physical, mental, and sexual abuse by superiors. (Refinery29). Factory owners are also known for displacing thousands of women and children each year to work in their factories, or other industries, like agriculture or the sex industry. Their working conditions are a form of modern-day slavery, where the workers are unsafe, underpaid, and working 10-12 hours a day. This is a complete disregard for basic human rights and there is no consideration of the workers’ physical and mental health (Deli Capital Region).

The wages that factory workers get are disgraceful when compared to the prices of

The product they are making. It is estimated that they make around $38 a month, which is absurd considering the working conditions and ultimately the sale prices of the manufactured goods (Alternative Journal-Canada’s Environmental). Some workers even go without pay as they are brought to the country as undocumented citizens.

Finally, the finished clothes are shipped overseas to stores, purchased, worn, and swiftly

disposed of. To make a few extra dollars, many of these buyers have resorted to selling their garments on apps like Depop and stores like Plato’s Closet. The issue with this is that the clothes made through fast fashion are often poor-quality as the consumers are not buying quality items and are, therefore, willing to sacrifice and buy substandard garments for a lower price. Clothes from fast fashion companies quickly go out of style, have a low resale value, and demand is shorthanded (Newsweek). Stores like Goodwill, therefore, have a hard time selling these clothes.

Attire not sold in thrift stores often ends up as donations to third-world countries, while the rest ends up in the landfill. Since such a large amount of clothes are being donated to third-world countries, some leaders have started banning the importation of them, stating that “exporting low-quality clothing that has no value in our society forges a relationship of dependency''(King’s College London). This also negatively affects their markets because citizens tend to purchase these cheap clothes, rather than from local vendors.

The biggest takeaway from this is that we, as consumers, need to reevaluate the

companies we choose to give our money to. Start transitioning into buying clothes from ethically sourced companies. It is worth the investment to buy items that are a bit more costly, but in return, we know our money benefits everyone involved. Buying clothes, simply out of compulsion, is destroying our planet and while it might seem gratifying for a couple of minutes, the damage it does is extensive.

Ending fast fashion starts with us, the consumers, and we must start to make educated, well-informed choices about clothing. Try to purchase more timely pieces of clothing that will last you a long time and help you build a capsule wardrobe. As consumers, we are encouraged to reject the practices of fast fashion, as it endangers the environment, as well as human life, and is causing irreversible damage to our home.

image source:

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/6-ways-fast-fashion-brands-can-fight-for-consumer-attention/