Fast fashion, the newest, cheapest, and most convenient way to shop in the 21st century. Now you can buy clothes under 20 dollars and have them delivered in 1-2 weeks. So easy, fast, and simple that anyone and everyone can do it. However, no matter how cheap, convenient, or rapid fast fashion can be, it all comes at a price.
As technology became more advanced and more relied upon, more retail corporations took their business to the internet. Through the Internet, business conglomerates can reach a wider consumer base and make greater profits. With easier access to shopping came the overconsumption of fast fashion culture. Stores like Shein, Romwe, Temu, Wish, etc. have become all the rage. For their fashionable couture and their low prices, consumers worldwide have bought into this fashionable form of wastage.
Despite the amazing products marketed online, the products sold through fast fashion aren’t often long-lived. According to Audrey Stantion, author of The Good Trade, a sustainable fashion and lifestyle magazine, you can spot fast fashion clothing if you “Look for low-quality materials, synthetic fabrics and garments poorly constructed, made only to last a few wears.” The most commonly used material for fast fashion products consists of polyester which is a non-biodegradable synthetic material. Not only does it last you only a few wears, but after you are done with it and you toss it out it will contribute to the mass pollution already caused by fast fashion.
The process that follows fast fashion is, that a consumer buys their cheap products and wears them a few times before they wear out, then they toss it where it gets thrown into the environment, the sea, the landfills, etc. Due to the synthetic material, which contains a high concentration of microplastics, the products take years to biodegrade, which contributes to the increase in microplastics in our waters and environment. Rashmila Maiti, an author for an environmentalist magazine known as “Earth.Org” explains that “According to the documentary released in 2015, The True Cost, the world consumes around 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year, 400% more than the consumption twenty years ago. The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year.”
The culture of overconsumption has become increasingly more destructive as more and more consumers buy into the manufacturing and marketing method that is fast fashion. As a consumer myself, it is very easy with the current state of inflation to go on my phone to my apps and buy a bunch of clothes that are less than 20 or even 10 dollars. These clothes do not last forever, but I usually send them to family members rather than throw them away.
This industry is considered the second biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 10% of pollution and global carbon emissions. However, due to the popularity of fast fashion by consumers, the problems brought about by this industry are often overlooked.
As previously mentioned, the over reliance on technology and media has only contributed to the popularity of fast fashion. Apps such as TikTok with TikTok shop, Instagram and YouTube with their internet influencers all promote the overconsumption of wasteful clothing materials. The media promotes the industry because they are marketed as something affordable and easily accessible for those of low income. This makes the industry more desirable for those who are not able to afford the current inflated prices. The positive correlation between fast fashion and pollution is because of the desirability of the industry promoted by the media. Increasing buyers lead to an increase in microplastics in our oceans and clothes stacking up landfills.
The environmental impact is not the only issue resulting from fast fashion. There have been many concerns and evidence tying fast fashion to unlawful forced labor. This forced labor sadly includes the use of child labor. According to Society Magazine’s author, Carmen Blanco Grigelmo, 10-year-old Nasreen Sheikh was forced to work for the textile industry after leaving Rajura, a Nepalese village on the border with India. The textile Industry is the same industry that mass produced the synthetic materials used by corporations in the fast fashion industry. She had to work for “12-15 hours a day with no labor rights.” According to the child, even when she was bleeding and tired she was forced to continue working until she had finished. The state that she was living in was absolutely horrid to say the least. Nasreen explains that “They played loud music to keep workers from falling asleep and splashed cold water on their faces to wake them up.”
The sad truth is that the cheap materials that consumers rave about, was built off the unpaid, unlawful, unjust labor forced onto children and adults. Nasreen is not the only victim of this industry as well. As the fast fashion industry has grown globally, cases like Nasreen’s have been popping off all over the world in multiple countries. For instance, Sustainably Chic’s author, Roberta Fabbracino, provides the following startling statistics, “By the end of July 2023, there have been 314 documented cases of alleged labor and human rights violations against garment workers in Myanmar.” These workers work to supply chains of major international fashion brands like H&M and Primark.
As a fellow shopper, it is disappointing to know that stores that I loved to shop at were actually contributing to global harm. A friend of mine had her own share of words in regard to fast fashion and its harmful impacts. I asked her how she felt about the fast fashion industry. She responded: “umm child labor factories? They are wasteful towards the environment, and we should use more resourceful options.” From carbon emissions, microplastic filled oceans, and overflowing landfills, to the illegally forced unpaid and abusive labor of children and workers. The desirable frugality of fast fashion isn’t worth the price, especially since we are not the ones who will pay for it in the end. Oftentimes it is worth it to spend a little more for better quality and more sustainable, and less illegally supplied, products. Hopefully the fast fashion industry can fix their mistakes and their actions and work towards a more sustainable and legal form of production.
