Looking at your closet, or spending habits, might seem like a personal moment, but how you participate in the fashion industry affects people, the economy and the planet.
Fast fashion reflects the fashion industry's method of producing clothes to keep up with fast-changing trends, and in mass amounts. It supports consumption, and even overconsumption, considering that trends turnover, the clothing do as well.
Fast fashion has many negative impacts, according to researchers around the globe. The fashion industry is the third-largest manufacturing industry, and it contributes more to climate change than the impact of aviation and shipping industries combined, found a study.
Other than the climate, research has found that garment workers do not receive a liveable salary, and face extreme work conditions, with 93 percent of surveyed brands perpetuating these aspects of exploitation.
To be a responsible consumer, and do your part to reduce the negative impacts of fast fashion, it is vital to understand the fast fashion economy.
What Is Fast Fashion
Take, make, disposal, is the model of fast fashion, and frankly the flow of production that represents the majority of the fashion industry. The direction of fast fashion is linear, meaning there is input and output.
When consumers create demand for trendy clothes, the fast-fashion giants such as Zara, H&M, SHEIN, TopShop, ASOS and more, create clothes that are made from inexpensive materials, and with labor costs as low as possible, for quick overturn of clothes and to maximize their profit.
The fast production and turnover are leaving a global impact and promoting overconsumption with consumers.
In 2019, half of the global CO2 emissions were a result of processed materials, including textiles, plastics and production waste for linear economies. Ecological economists are calling for the switch to a circular economy, in which products are reused, they re-enter the production side of the economy. The projected economical track would be $4.5 trillion by 2030 if circular economies were adapted, according to the World Economic Forum.
Unfortunately, the switch can't be so dramatic and will have a slower adaption rate. While the issue stands on the shoulders of industry leaders to commit to making a change, if the linear economy is going to fade away, consumers can decide to take things into their own hands.
The Impact Of Fast Fashion
The impact of fast fashion is leaving a footprint on the environment, and historically exploiting garment workers.
90 percent of garment workers are unable to negotiate their working conditions and salary, with only 2 percent actually making a liveable wage, according to industry research regarding human rights. As the majority of garment workers are women, the industry does not support the global gender balance initiatives.
Nor does fast fashion support the environment, with 8 percent of carbon emissions being attributed to the fashion industry, reported the UN Environment. The linear workflow also pollutes water and land, both of which are concerns among environmentalists.
The overproduction economy promotes a wasteful mindset among consumers, feeding into the loop of fast production, turnover, at low cost to the consumer and high profit to the textile industry. Recent traction has been gained through social media about the 39,000 pounds of clothing waste found in the Chilean desert as a result of the fast fashion industry.
The fashion industry targets young women as consumers, with 1 in 3 young women today having the mentality that something worn a few times is considered old, reported The Guardian.
Consumers can decide to make adaptations to their spending and consumption habits to decrease their footprint within fast fashion, here are some things you can do to slow down your fashion habits.
What Can You Do
The slow down of the fashion industry will take a lot of power from the fashion giants, companies like Inditex (Zara, Mango, Stradivarius), but also with responses from consumers.
Sustainability has been trending hard, there has never been a better time to make more sustainable choices with your consumption. Here are some easy ways to slow down your consumption and participation in fast fashion.
- Use your clothes for longer periods of time, you can't go backwards with your participation but you can change the way you feel about what you have.
- Shop second hand, to reduce waste and consume less newly made products.
- Use your voice, reach out to brands on social media to tell them you want to see a change.
- Curate your closet, such as a capsule closet, for a sustainable wardrobe.
- Organize clothing swaps with friends, or responsibly recycle your clothes instead of throwing them away.
- Change the way you think and interact with the fashion industry.
Fashion designer Stella McCartney is one of the big industry giants who want to see a change in textile waste, with her recent reveal of a collaboration with mushroom-based leather producers. McCartney, along with Adidas and LuLu Lemon is taking on the sustainable production agenda, but the industry must follow to slow down production and waste
For now, think about how you participate in fast fashion, but adapting more sustainable lifestyle and consumption practices. Think before you buy, and especially before you throw something gout!
