Fashion Police!: Fast Fashion and Its Inevitable Environmental Demise
Picture this: you head out for a simple day at the library, and you head to your favorite spot, latte in hand. You decide it’s time to start studying, so you open your Quizlet set. Suddenly, you have been bombarded: a Lululemon ad on one side, an Adidas ad on the other. A Shein ad cycles through the top layer of your notecards. Before you know it, you find yourself surfing the web, scrolling through pages and pages of clothing. Innocent enough, right? Not exactly. I’m not saying indulging in online shopping is wrong, because if so, take me away Officer! I’m saying that buying without knowing what you’re buying can be damaging to your style, the economy, and, perhaps most dire, the environment. Fashion production makes up over 10% of global carbon emissions. Not to mention that over 50% of materials used by the fashion industry are made of microplastics. These microplastics eventually are released into the ocean, damaging natural ecosystems and harming the habitats of many animals.
This is a direct result of the rise of fast fashion. Fast fashion is a manufacturing method used to produce high volumes of clothing cheaply and quickly. Its harmful effects have only been realized very recently, as it was initially thought of as an equalizer for consumers, allowing them to afford the newest clothes for the lowest prices, across all social classes. In today’s society, most young people have heard the term fast fashion in some context. But what has failed to be understood is its environmental damage and limited economic benefit.
Our current economic system of capitalism has proven intrinsic to fast fashion. According to an April 2020 report entitled “The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion”, the average American consumer now purchases one item of clothing every 5.5 days. With pressure now more than ever to stay up to date on trends, and to replace your wardrobe for every season, Americans are more likely to do what they know best: consume. Fast fashion has created a culture of clothing consumption in which clothes are worn out easily and bought more frequently. Fashion brands now produce twice the amount of clothing than they did in the year 2000, and clothes are far more likely to be bought and wasted.
According to a 2017 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report, if fast fashion continues to function the way it currently does, then the rate of carbon emissions from the industry could reach up to 26% in 2050. The rise of carbon emissions leads to a rise in greenhouse gasses which could lead to extreme weather events, food supply shortages, and no more dinner parties to wear your clothes!
So what does this mean for us? How are we going to continue in a fast fashion economy with a deteriorating environment?
The short answer is: we’re not. This April 2020 report calls for a systemic adoption of slow fashion: a transition that would include manufacturing innovation, reworking the consumer’s understanding of fashion, and introducing textile recycling to the process. All of this sounds incredibly complicated and unattainable for just one person. So when it comes to buying clothes, how can we be more conscious consumers, aware of the fast fashion industry functioning around us?
Though it should not be up to individual consumers to challenge the fast fashion industry, companies and corporations will likely prove to be ineffective in enacting change. Shein is a perfect example of this, as they are labeled an “Ultra Fast Fashion” company, a company that uses fast fashion at an even higher rate than most business models. Though Shein is typically considered affordable and trendy, thrifting has risen in popularity because of practices of upcycling and environmental consciousness.
In order to maintain its Ultra Fast Fashion business model, Shein has become the hub for promoting ultra-consumption. With the rise of 600-dollar “haul” Tik Toks and influencer partnerships, Shein has maintained its success as a brand despite having allegations of unfair child labor and loading thousands of unnecessary styles on their website each week.
Here comes the hard truth of slow fashion: the idea of fashion must be completely reworked. Fashion, as we understand it today, is an expression of oneself through clothing. It can be artistic, risky, jarring, pleasing, trendy, and so much more. Fast fashion calls for the rapid examination and updating of one’s style, whereas slow fashion calls for the understanding of fashion as functional. This is not to say abandon all fashion creativity, but that our clothes should last longer, be “trendy” for longer, and provide the same satisfaction for longer. It’s either this realization or facing the dreary reality of climate change which, to me, is worse than one bad outfit.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thrifting has recently replaced Shein hauls and Tiktok buys as a means of acquiring trendy styles. Gen Z would rather find something individual, unique, and never before seen, than go to the mall to get the same outfit as their peers. For younger generations, secondhand fashion has become perceivably better than brand new styles. According to the 2019 State of Fashion Report, “Environmental sustainability has become a significant priority influencing the shopping choices of young consumers”.
I am no saint. I have surely purchased something that is a product of fast fashion. I have certainly hurt the environment with a purchase. But I’m working now on shopping sustainably, whether it be at my local Goodwill, online on Depop or Poshmark, or from local consignment stores. What’s important now is that we learn about the effects of our clothing choices, the sources of our clothing, and what we as consumers must know to purchase consciously and sustainably.