THE DANGERS OF FAST FASHION

In the UK today, it is estimated that over 2 tonnes of clothing are bought every minute: more than anywhere else in Europe. Every year, over 300,000 tonnes of these garments are burned or buried in landfill following use, which is around £140 million worth of clothing. Although fast fashion is meant to be ‘disposable’, so many people do not take into account the detrimental impacts it has on the environment and our health. There are countless ways in which fashion can be designed and we must make every effort to change its means of production and consumption.

Landfills and Clothing Waste

Being the world’s second most polluting industry after the oil and gas sector, fashion contributes over £32 billion to the British economy each year, with clothing production having doubled since 2000. Despite this, consumers now buy 60% more clothing than twenty years ago and only keep garments for half as long before the majority goes to landfill. The waste we produce by consuming and discarding clothing contributes to mass waste in our own landfills as well as in developing countries. People in these countries are some of the poorest in the world and have contributed the least to the climate crisis but suffer the full force of its effects - increased flooding, droughts and storms destroying lives, homes, jobs, livestock and crops. If we changed the way we supply, utilise and dispose of clothing, the UK could save £3 billion every year from the cost of resources used to make and clean clothes. By doing this, the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing consumption would be reduced by 10-20% each.

Water Consumption

Fast fashion is the second largest consumer of water; for example, around 2 billion pairs of jeans are produced globally and each pair takes up to 7000 litres litres of water to produce. This is only one of the huge environmental impacts of fast fashion, in addition to emission of greenhouse gases, use of immense amounts of energy and lack of non-renewable sources. Even to manufacture one cotton shirt, it takes approximately 2500 litres of water. According to Business Insider, textile dyeing is one of the world’s largest polluters of water, since the leftover water is discarded in ditches, streams and rivers. The chemicals used to produce clothing are harmful as they have the potential to cause cancer in both humans and animals. Overall, up to 20% of all global water pollution is caused by the clothing industry.

Unfair Exploitation of Workers

As a method of maximising profits and keeping production costs low, the fast fashion industry exploits their workers, 80% of which are young and sometimes underage women worldwide. These workers are expected to work many hours overtime are paid up to 5 times less than what a person actually needs to live with dignity. Over half of those who labor in the global fashion industry are children under the age of 18 years making child labor a major problem within fast fashion. Not only this, but they are also subjected to dangerous working conditions without regulation or protection. There have been a number of instances of this, including the collapse of the Rana Plaza building which killed at least 1132 people and injured many more. The combination of all of these issues are just a few ways in which fast fashion companies exploit their workers.

Health Hazards

For most people, fast fashion is unavoidable. Yet so many are unaware of not only the environmental and ethical consequences of this, but also the effects this clothing can have on our own health. The health implications of fast fashion may not be critical, however the long term impact of wearing fast fashion is something that cannot just be overlooked. During the manufacturing, shipping and consumption of clothing, we are exposed to dyes and toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde in order to reduce wrinkling. This is not including the harmful emissions released by the production of synthetic materials like polyester, including crude oil and greenhouse gases. Over time, the toxins found in clothing build up and can potentially lead to serious health conditions such as cancer, liver, kidney and lung disorders in addition to more.