Fast fashion refers to the rapid production of inexpensive clothing designed to reflect the latest fashion trends. Clothes are designed, manufactured and brought to market at an incredibly fast pace.
Garments are typically made from cheaper materials and manufactured in countries where labor costs are low. This allows companies to offer trendy items at affordable prices.
Fast fashion brands like Zara, Shein or H&M release new collections frequently, multiple times a year, encouraging consumers to purchase regularly.
The focus is on trendy, short-lived items that often lose value and wear out quickly, contributing to the disposable nature of these garments.
Brands produce clothing in large quantities to meet the rapid demands of consumers. This leads to a high turnover of trends, with clothes often being discarded after a short period of use. As a result, huge amounts of clothing end up in landfills.
Fast fashion’s insatiable demand for raw materials, particularly cotton, places immense strain on water resources. Producing a single cotton t-shirt can consume up to 2,700 liters of water, enough for one person’s drinking water for three years. Furthermore, the dyeing and finishing processes release toxic chemicals into waterways, devastating aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics, shed from synthetic fabrics like polyester during washing, are now pervasive in oceans, entering the food chain and posing a threat to marine life.
These factors combined make fast fashion one of the most environmentally damaging industries in the world.
Fast fashion often relies on cheap labor in developing countries where workers face poor working conditions. While this is primarily a social issue, it can also indirectly harm the environment by incentivizing companies to prioritize profit over sustainable practices.
According to the UN Environment Programme, the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Unfortunately, the industry’s problems are often overlooked by consumers.
On March 30 was celebrated the International Day of Zero Waste, which highlights the importance of bolstering waste management globally (more here).
On that occasion the UN Secretary-General António Guterres called again for urgent action to curb the textile industry’s devastating impact on the planet (full article here).
“Dressing to kill could kill the planet,” he stressed.
The fashion industry is one of the world’s most polluting sectors, responsible for up to eight per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Experts estimate that doubling the lifespan of clothing could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44 per cent.
Despite these staggering figures, clothing is being produced and discarded at an unprecedented rate.
How to change people minds? That’s the challenge.
Potential alternatives include sustainable fashion brands, improving recycling programs and, of course, reducing consumption.
