Our series EcoHomeLife Explains aims at bringing you short but complete explanations of terms and concepts around sustainability. In this edition we will look at fast fashion’s environmental impact.
The way we consume fashion has changed a lot since the 1980s and the early 90s. Back then, there would be a new range out for each season: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Although compared to how people purchased clothes in the 1950s and before, even this could be called fast fashion. In those times, most people made their own clothes, an ideal that I aspire to achieve.
So while the early beginning of this trend started and gained momentum from the 1960s onwards, it was in the late 1990s/early 2000s that what we call fast fashion today took off.
And as so often, this new fashion trend had a fundamental impact on our environment. Let’s find out more.
The Phenomenon Of Fast Fashion
Before we have a closer look at fast fashion’s environmental impact, let’s look at what this term actually describes.
Fast fashion is a product-driven business concept that aims at bringing out cheap fashion items at a high frequency. Garments are designed, produced and put in stores in a matter of two weeks.
And it’s an endless circle, with companies and customers constantly chasing the newest fashion trends. Of course, this concept wouldn’t work without demand. And there is a lot of demand.
Created by a consumerist society where more is better and new and trendy is desirable. People are driven by imitating the image the fashion industry dangles in front of them: trendy, young, happy.
Retail giants like Boohoo, Zara, H&M, Primark and many others feed this demand by constantly putting new, trendy garments on their shelves that are cheap. Allowing people to buy new clothes frequently, like every few days.
But of course, all this comes at a cost to our environment.
Fast Fashion’s Environmental Impact Is Huge
So what is the impact of fast fashion on our planet? Well, actually, if we are looking at the whole picture, there are several. Because fashion’s environmental impact starts at the manufacturing stage all through to the disposal of the garments.
Let’s look at each stage in more detail…
Manufacturing Fast Fashion
The fashion industry uses a lot of resources, including water. According to a study, the industry uses 79 trillion litres of water every year to produce clothes. As a result, the production of clothing is responsible for 20% of global wastewater every year.
A big part of this will be used by fast fashion manufacturers, because they produce so many garments per year.
But it’s not just huge amounts of water the industry uses. It is estimated that over 1,900 chemicals are used to produce clothes and many of these are petrochemicals, which means they are made from fossil fuels.
This includes chemicals that are used to make the various fabrics, most of which include plastic fibres, such as nylon.
The use of all these chemicals leads to water pollution, releasing harmful chemicals and microfibres into our waterways. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry.
The various manufacturing processes also use a lot of energy and produce huge amounts of carbon emissions, accounting for 8% of global emissions.
Most fast fashion garments are produced in countries where labour is cheap, such as China, Bangladesh and India. Regularly transporting huge amounts of clothes produces a lot of carbon emissions too.
And that’s only the start…
After Purchase
Once the clothes have been bought by keen consumers, they are worn and washed a few times. And washing fabrics that contain plastic fibres releases microfibres into the water.
A study from 2019 has shown that such garments release around 1,900 microfibres per wash. And that’s just one piece of clothing.
If you wash a whole load, for example 6 kg, of laundry made from synthetic fibres, the research has shown that between 140,000 and 700,000 microfibres were released per wash.
These are huge amounts of tiny plastic strands that get into our waterways where they cause great harm to plants and wildlife.
Disposal
One hallmark of fast fashion is that consumers only wear these trendy garments a few times before disposing of them. A study from 2022 has found out that on average fast fashion consumers wear a piece of clothing 30 times and wash it 10 times.
Then the clothes are disposed of. And most of it ends up in landfill. To make cheap clothes quickly, poor materials are used. This means the resulting garments are also of poor quality and won’t last long.
But that’s OK because they aren’t meant to be worn for longer than a few weeks, until they are no longer trendy. However, this also means that charity and second-hand shops won’t want them as they can’t resell them.
Hence, why they end up in landfill. But it’s not just consumers. For retailers, it’s cheaper to throw clothes they can’t sell away than do anything else with them. And they need space for the new garments.
Globally, only 15% to 20% of clothes are recycled annually and 75% to 80% are sent to landfill. This is such a waste of resources and is one of the biggest of fast fashion’s environmental impacts.
And because most of the clothes contain at least some plastic fibres, the clothes will remain in landfill for a long time. As they break down slowly they release toxic chemicals and microfibres, causing harm to our planet.
Is There A Solution?
As we have seen, fast fashion has an immense impact on our planet. So how can we stop that? Well, the industry is fuelled by demand. According to some figures, the global consumption of fashion has gone up by a staggering 400% in the past two decades.
We, as consumers, have the power to stop that, by changing our behaviour and embrace slow fashion. If we don’t buy all these low-quality, cheap clothes any more, then they won’t make them. We also have to stop buying so much.
Our consumerist society has to change fundamentally. We have to start buying only what we need. And if something breaks, repair it, don’t replace it.
I have not bought any clothes for about four years now unless I needed them. If a top or socks gets a hole or a seam becomes undone, I repair it.
Having been part of this consumerist society for so long, I have decided to break with it. I don’t need to have new clothes every few weeks. I wear what I have.
Repurposing clothes is another great way to prevent waste. If an old pair of jeans can’t be worn any more, I make a skirt out of it. Or a bag, maybe as a present for a friend.
When I do need clothes, I look for second-hand garments. Charity shops or dedicated second-hand clothing shops are a great place. Vinted is also a great place if you prefer to shop online.
Buying second-hand is so much better for our environment. So if you don’t want to add to fast-fashion’s environmental impact, then break the cycle.
Buy less, wear for longer and consider pre-loved items.
