The environment, the health of others, no one, and nothing is safe not even your own closet. Read and learn about the actual cost of what it can do to you, the environment, and others involved in making it. 

Fast fashion is defined by the quick production of clothing cheaply. Over the years, companies have shifted to fast fashion because of its appeal and benefits. Companies can produce large quantities of clothing at a cheap cost for the customer it is a win-win situation except for the terrible cost and impact it can have on the environment. For example, fast fashion causes 10% of total carbon emissions and dries up water sources. (Maiti)

Fashion trash

The resources that we need to survive are constantly being used up to present poorly created clothes. This website has more on the destruction and environmental impact it has. 

Waste like used clothing ends up in so many places. For example “85% of all textiles end up in the dump (and) even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year. That's the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles that would end up in the dump” (Maiti). Even the dying, yarn preparation, and fiber production are costly for the materials they need. Reports also show that it affects freshwater withdrawal. The emissions released from it are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030. (Maiti) The production of clothes and even the cloth used to make clothes can have an impact on the environment. The clothing press requires the mass usage of fossil fuels and causes resource depletion. 

The environment has been abandoned by humanity and left as new dumps and trash piles form. “Latin America creates half a million tons of solid waste. Of this 35 000 tons of waste go completely unmanaged” (Komazova). This means the environment is untreated and left unprotected against these great quantities of waste. This increases the vulnerability of people who live in poor conditions, like people who already don't have access to clean water, and people without health coverage. (Komazova)

More on the world clean up on this website.

USAGE OF RESOURCES

Fast fashion takes many non-renewable sources, emission of a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide, and surprisingly, a vast amount of water. The fast fashion industry is one of the leading consumer industries of water. For example, “it can take about 700 gallons of water to create one cotton t-shirt, and closer to 2 thousand gallons of water to create one pair of jeans. Other resources like microplastics are also used frequently” (Miller). When industries use things like polyester, nylon, and acrylic these materials can take hundreds of years to biodegrade. The average American now creates 82 pounds of textile waste which gets disposed of improperly and can end up in landfills, oceans (as broken microplastics or whole/torn pieces), dumps, etc. (Miller) Even the making process of these environment-killing clothes takes a mass amount of energy like petroleum and can release things like hydrogen chloride which is volatile particulate matter. 

Not only are planet resources like water being used but other human beings are suffering as well. More about this topic in this article. We are given clothes cheaply in stores but at what cost? People work long hours with low wages, forced labor, and poor working conditions, sometimes even child labor. (Miller) Sound familiar? That’s what happened during the start of the Industrial Revolution which started during the 1760s. Knowing how far we have come in our day-to-day things and yet we still use illegal practices used over 200 years ago. Companies choose to cut costs whenever they can, so employees get paid minimum wage which can be two to five times lower than the living wage. Child labor is employed to make textile things and clothing to drive down costs further. Children are paid even less than their colleagues (if they get paid at all). Forced labor is also common in the human mistreatment cycle in the fast fashion industry. This is when someone is forced to do work against their will, often in fear for their life.  (Miller) Poor working conditions are most commonly seen in industries that invest in fast fashion. It has been much over a century since the Triangle Shirtwaist tragedy. Which involved a factory burning to the ground from an easily preventable fire. As a result of the poor conditions, hundreds of  workers were killed. Poor conditions still continue today and take the lives of many workers. Long hours are also a tragedy faced in the industry. Garment workers usually work 96-hour work weeks, often with no extra pay. Looking back, has the fashion industry really changed or just the look of it? Long hours, child labor, poor conditions, and low wages, are all adversities faced around 200 years ago. 

Animals are even harmed in this process. For example, wild and toxic dyes are released into waterways and consumed/ poisoning marine wildlife. When things like leather, wool, and fur are used in fashion directly an animal's health is at risk. Cat and dog fur are also often passed off as fake fur to unknowing customers. (Rauturier) The truth is that there is so much fur taken from animals while putting their health at risk and many customers don’t even know about it. This link has more information on the dangers of fast fashion and how to spot a fast fashion market.

WHAT CAN I DO?

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Knowing about all these tragedies explained is gut-wrenching but there are things you can do to help. If you can afford it, buy from clean brands like Eileen Fisher and People Tree that work to make clothes at a sustainable and ethical rate. (Reid) Products like these are more expensive than what the fast fashion industry may put out there, but the quality of the clothes is excellent. If you need more affordable options then try to get clothes second hand like at a swap meet or thrift stores. Some people sell things at half the price they buy them and with tags still on because they don’t wear them. Other alternatives are apps like Poshmark so you can sell your clothes directly instead of throwing themy away or you can buy them directly from another individual. Please realize that we can stop these terrible things from happening even if you let people know of the tragedies described. Help make a better closet for you, and a better earth for everyone.