By Emilia Jaeger-Rodriguez
Most of the clothes we wear nowadays come from stores like Zara, H&M, Shein or other stores that seem great because they always have a brand-new collection and keep up with the latest trends, but we never stop to think about the consequences of these fast-fashion companies.
Fast fashion stores are brands or companies that mass-produce new products constantly and then sell them for a low price in order to keep up with constantly changing trends in the fashion industry. The issue is that producing massive amounts of clothing for cheap creates a lot of environmental and social issues.
As fast-fashion brands have become more popular and successful in recent years, we have seen the devastating effects of the industry on our planet. Recent studies have shown that the fashion industry is responsible for at least 10% of our carbon dioxide emissions and it uses up 1.5 trillion litres of water each year! In addition to this, most fast fashion companies use non-biodegradable fabrics (such as polyester, nylon, spandex and rayon) since they are cheaper to make but their clothing is not made to last and when it is eventually thrown away due to damage or because it was not sold quickly enough, the clothes are left in a landfill for millions of years until it eventually breaks down into microscopic particles- even then it isn’t truly gone. Additionally, producing these plastic fibres requires petroleum which is a fossil fuel, so once we have used all of it up we cannot make more. Another issue is that the process of making and dyeing fabric is highly wasteful and inefficient. The chemicals and dyes used to make our clothing are extremely harmful to the environment. Oftentimes, the polluted water that is leftover after the fabrication process is dumped into the surrounding lakes and oceans since most of our clothing is made in countries where there are not as many policies in place to protect the environment. Even when the leftover chemicals are not dumped directly into a body of water, they often run off into the nearest river anyway and damage soil and plants nearby. If we do not put a stop to the unsafe manufacturing practices of these companies, they will continue to damage important ecosystems until the effects are irreversible.
Another concern with the production of clothing in fast fashion companies is that the workers in their factories are often treated unethically. The fact that these companies are able to sell their clothing for low prices, means that very little money goes towards paying workers fairly and making sure they have a safe working environment. For this reason, most of the clothing we wear is made in developing countries where there are little to no rules about who can work, how much they must be paid and the conditions of the factories they work in. This means that oftentimes, workers are paid as little as 20 cents an hour, many of the people making our clothes are children who need to support their families and hundreds of these workers sustain serious injuries while on the job but cannot afford proper healthcare and have no sick leave, so they must continue to work despite their injuries.
Although many of the things that need to happen for us to create positive changes for the fashion industry to improve are on a large scale and include implementing new laws and regulations, there are still many things that we can change about our shopping habits and daily lives that will make an impact.
How you can help:
Shopping for quality over quantity: Clothing made by fast-fashion brands is not made to last multiple years. Although you may be able to buy more clothing for a lower price at a store that uses fast fashion, it won’t last and you will soon have to throw it out.
Donate and recycle your clothes: Sometimes we buy clothing that we quickly realize we don’t need or we simply grow out of. If you have clothes that you no longer wear but are still usable, consider donating them to a local thrift store. Some clothing companies will also take old and damaged clothing that you bought from them and recycle the fabric for future products.
Advocate for the rights of workers: Although we can’t change the laws of another country, by protesting and spreading awareness about the unsafe conditions of the factories our clothing is often made in, it pressures our government to implement laws about what clothing can be sold in our country.
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