Many mall brands we know and love for their cheap prices and trendy clothes, notably stores like Uniqlo, Forever 21, and H&M, are hiding dirty secrets. Fast Fashion, as defined by Investopedia, is a phenomenon in the fashion industry whereby “production processes are expedited to the market as quickly and as cheaply as possible.” Basically, quickly (and poorly) made clothes made to last about as long as the trend does. Then, when the clothes are worn out, they’re simply thrown in the trash bin. In an article by The Atlantic, they note that clothing waste makes up about 6.5% of America’s landfill trash– about 10.5 million tons per year! But the issue doesn’t just stop at used-up clothes.
Fast fashion clothing production wreaks havoc on our environment. An EcoWatch study found that dyes from fast fashion, primarily produced in Indonesia, turned the Citarum River into, more or less, a chemical waste dump, full of mercury, lead, and arsenic. Not only does fast fashion production taint water, it also uses a ton of it. According to Greenpeace, a pair of jeans takes 7000 liters of water to produce, or about 20 days worth of water (with an average of 90 gallons per day).
Beyond the environment, fast fashion is ethically unsound. GoodOnYou, a website devoted to ethical shopping, reports that these businesses have unsafe workplaces in production facilities where 600 people died due to fires over the span of 8 years. Similarly, a Free2Work report found several reports of forced child labor in fields in China, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Benin, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.
So what can you do to fight fast fashion?
Well, it starts with your consumption– take small steps. No one is perfect and no one can change their habits instantly. Start by researching brands that take measures towards being more ethically sound. Some popular, but also somewhat expensive brands include American Apparel, Levi’s, Patagonia, and ASOS (specifically, green room). One of the key things to consider is quality over quality: would you rather have 3 pairs of thin, faded jeggings or one pair of Levi’s that will last you at least 5 years? If you find that trying to buy new, ethically made clothes is too expensive, try second-hand and thrift stores! By buying second-hand, you’re helping reduce clothing waste and, if you’re shopping at a place like Goodwill, helping local charities. Additionally, the digital age offers TONS of resources to learn to make your own clothes if you’re a DIYer!
