You've likely heard of the term 'fast fashion'. If not, this is the term used to describe most of the clothing and accessories you’ll find in today’s malls; pieces that have been mass-produced, likely at a cheap cost to fulfill the ‘demand’ of changing trends and today’s consumers.
The reason I put demand in quotations is that this ‘demand’ is dictated by the fashion industry and re-enforced by media like fashion magazines, entertainment ‘news’, online publications and social media ‘influencers’. These sources, whether consciously or not, have created the idea that in order to be considered ‘cool’, ‘fashionable’ or ‘on-trend’, you have to continuously buy new things.
The scary truth behind this constant consumption is that it comes at a cost. Most fast fashion is made overseas, generally in factories that don’t pay or treat their workers well. In some really bad cases, child labour is used and workers face unsafe working conditions, resulting in injury (or even death) or long term health conditions from the inhalation of chemicals used in garment processing.
Pumping out the latest designs also has a massive negative impact on the environment. As mentioned above, many garment making factory processes produce and expel harmful chemicals into the air and water. It is to the point where the fashion industry is now considered one of the top pollutants in the world, second to the oil industry. I’ll list some resources below where you can learn more - but this Wikipedia article has a great summary of the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
After reading more on the harsh environmental and negative ethical impacts of fast fashion, you may be interested in reducing or fully eliminating your consumption of it. Here are some tips on how to get started:
- Research ethically made fashion brands.
There are several blogs and sources online that have curated lists of ethical and sustainable fashion brands. When researching brands, look for About pages that clearly outline their practices and explain where and how their products are made. Also be mindful of the fabrics used - while some brands may employ fair labour, they may use fabrics that have been produced in an environmentally-harmful way or an unethical way (like fur or leather).
- Check where a garment is made
This one is a bit trickier as the industry has ways to get around being fully transparent and country of origin may not tell the whole story. For example, if a label says ‘designed’ or ‘produced’ in a certain country, it does not mean it was entirely made in that country. It is common practice to have fabrics woven in one country and then taking fixings (like buttons) from another country and then assemble all of those things in the ‘country of origin’. There are loopholes in other countries that allow clothing manufacturers to label something as made in one country, when only a percentage of it was. Additionally, if something is made in a country that we associate with unethical production, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the factory used falls into this category - it’s always worth doing the research!
The ‘Who Made My Clothes’ movement has been helpful in more easily identifying ethical production. For more info on labelling loopholes, check out this article: https://bkaccelerator.com/10-made-fashion-facts-might-surprise/.
- Buy Second Hand when possible
Cutting off purchases from fast fashion brands is great, but it still means buying items from ethical brands that have been newly produced and/or could be outside of your budget. Another great way to have an impact is to extend the life of older or gently worn garments by buying second-hand - either online (shameless plug for our second-hand closet), at your local thrift store or through reseller platforms. By buying second-hand, you’re extending the life of a garment - saving it from the landfill. The other big benefit here is that some thrift stores take earnings and invest it back into the community and by buying from a small business or independent person on an app, you’re supporting them!
Fast Fashion Impact Resources:
Fast Fashion Explained in Under 5 Minutes - Kristen Leo (YouTube video)
The Environmental Costs of Fast Fashion - Independent UK
Factory Exploitation and the Fast Fashion Machine - greenamerica.org
