The often-overlooked relationship between fast fashion and the environment

When it comes to the planet’s biggest polluters, the focus is often on the oil and aviation industries. Whilst it is important that due attention be given those areas, a sector that seems to be given less consideration is the impact of the fashion industry.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of worldwide CO2 emissions annually, making it the world’s second largest polluter. This adds up to more than international flights and maritime shipping put together. This is the result of a number of factors, including the energy used in production and transportation, and the use of synthetic fibres (which are made from fossil fuels).

However, the effect of fashion on the environment is not limited to emissions, and there are a host of other concerns. For example, chemicals play a huge role in textile production, with 23% of all chemicals produced worldwide used for the textile industry. Textile production also uses 1.5 trillion litres of water per year, mainly as part of the dyeing and finishing process, and chemical-ridden wastewaters are subsequently released from textile factories into waterways. The fact that fibres from synthetic garments (used in 72% of our wardrobes) are essentially plastic also poses problems. When washed, synthetic fibres make their way to the sea, and can take up to 200 years to biodegrade. This is a problem compounded annually; the average family in a western society produces 30kg of clothing waste per year. Finally, large chunks of the rainforest are demolished to create wood-based fabrics, and the industry contributes in several ways to soil degradation.

BEYOND THE ENVIRONMENT

Alongside its devastating environmental effects, the fashion industry has a large human impact. Garment workers are often paid far too little and employed in settings where minimal regard is taken to health and safety, to allow brands to keep their profits as high as possible. 

This is not an issue confined to certain parts of the globe. Whilst it is common for brands to take advantage of the more relaxed labour laws in developing countries, the treatment of garment workers is very much a global issue. This is demonstrated by the recent outrage over a factory in the English city of Leicester that made clothes linked to the brand Boohoo, when it was revealed that its workers were paid as little as £3.50 per hour. To put this in perspective, the UK National Living Wage is £8.72. 

THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM WITH FAST FASHION

The problem underpinning these issues is the very nature of ‘fast fashion’. To keep profits high, clothes are produced en masse using cheap labour and lesser quality materials. Because of this lower cost of production, clothes are sold cheaper, allowing customers to buy greater amounts in a shorter period of time. Because fashion trends change in quick succession, and because lesser quality garments do not last as long, these clothes are discarded faster. As synthetic materials are often the cheapest, but take the longest to naturally degrade, these used items will spend years and years in landfill sites. This cycle appears to be going into overdrive; while people on average bought 60% more clothes in 2014 than in 2000, they only tended to keep these garments for half the time.

THE SOLUTION

It is clear that it is necessary for the planet to move away from the concept of fast fashion, towards one of ‘slow fashion’. As a society we must distance ourselves from reckless consumerism and the idea that we constantly need to buy new things.  Instead, we should be looking to buy less and invest in better quality items that will last longer, preferably made from sustainable materials. The idea of clothing rental schemes has also been mooted, and there is always the possibility of buying second-hand.

The suggestion that fast fashion brands should be directly boycotted has been controversial, with some concerned that it may leave many garment workers out of work completely. Nevertheless, others submit that by financially supporting these brands, we are allowing them to continue exploiting workers and contributing to the steady increase in climate change. Furthermore, by boycotting these brands and instead investing strongly in sustainable, ethical ones, it will send a signal that this is what consumers want, encouraging many companies to change their practices.

Although legislative change and international agreements have a part to play in making the fashion industry more environmental, it is also in the hands of consumers to make decisions about what they buy and where they buy it from.

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Rhiannon is an LLB student at Swansea University, who intends to pursue a career at the Bar of England and Wales. She has particular interests in criminal and human rights law. She has sat on the committee of her university’s Bar Society and is incoming President of its Feminist Society.

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