The Issue With Fast Fashion

Fashion moves at incredible speeds; what was popular last month is outdated this month, and people cycle through clothes without giving them much thought. While there is nothing wrong with trying out new styles, the way we treat clothes is extremely unsustainable, and we rarely think about the consequences.

With the push for ever-changing fashion on social media, Gen Z is the main target for cheap clothes and new styles, which is where giant companies like SHEIN shine. Your average fast-fashion retailer like ZARA uploads an average of 12,000 styles annually; SHEIN uploaded over 2 MILLION styles in 2021.

Now, not all of these styles are bought, and many of these clothes end up in landfills. Many of these companies illegally dump clothes en masse in the global south, creating mountains of unused clothing. The Atacama Desert in Chile has clothing dumping grounds so high that they are literally visible from space. Many of those pieces of clothing will end up there with tags still attached, and while people do try to scavenge some of it and sell it on, the amount is so high that the majority of these clothes are simply left to rot.

The fashion industry alone is estimated to be responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually. If we piled all the clothing waste together, it would create a mountain taller than Mount Blanc.

Not only that, the fashion industry is responsible for a large amount of emissions and wasted resources, creating 20% of water waste and 10% of carbon emissions yearly. SHEIN’s emissions have risen by 170% in two years, despite pledging to be net-zero by 2050, as well as being flagged for containing hazardous chemicals, which has prompted an investigation by the European Union.

Many of these fast fashion retailers also use cheap labour where people are exploited and work in sub-optimal conditions, specifically looking for warehouses in countries with loose labour laws.

Fast fashion, however, is hard to avoid. For many people, sites like SHEIN may seem appealing due to their size and inclusivity. Most high street fashion stores will carry standard sizing only, while SHEIN carries sizes that run a lot smaller/bigger, and it may seem like the only option.

Shopping from small or local shops can also be quite expensive. As the people working on them spend their own time creating these clothes, naturally the prices will match the effort, meaning fast fashion retailers tend to be the more common option, especially during a cost of living crisis.

Fashion is also used as a form of self-expression, so we shouldn’t have to pick 3 or 4 outfits to stick to in the name of preserving the planet.

So as shoppers, what can we do?

Taking care of clothes.

Ensuring we are washing clothes according to the label or even fixing up small holes instead of binning the piece can help make our clothes last longer.

Altering.

Our taste in clothes can change over time, but instead of immediately shopping for a new wardrobe, it’s worth checking if any of the clothes we already own can be altered to suit our style more.

Picking better materials.

Polyester clothing often isn’t recyclable, and the plastic fibres take thousands of years to fully decompose, so when buying clothes it’s better to pick materials like cotton which can be recycled and don’t take as long to decompose if the piece does need binning. Plus they’re more breathable and better for our bodies.

Second-hand shopping.

Charity shops or even sites like Depop or Vinted are great alternatives to fast fashion. Vinted often has lightly used or even brand new clothes listed that would normally end up in landfills, and helps us save a bit of money. Plus, if the piece ends up just sitting in our wardrobe, it can be sold on, so by ‘girl maths’ it was free.

Fast fashion can’t always be avoided, but as long as we take care of our clothes and try to avoid the worst companies where we can, we can do our part in protecting the environment and reducing the demand for clothes to be mass-produced.

Written by, Nat Synak