The Real Cost Of Fast-Fashion
Fast-fashion is a huge problem in our world. From two-week clothing trends to microplastics destroying our ocean, fast-fashion really isn’t helping anyone. But before we get there, you might be wondering, what exactly is fast-fashion?
According to Vox, fast-fashion is a term used to describe high-income business models based on replicating the latest trends and high-fashion designs, and mass producing them at a low cost. Stores like H&M, Zara, and many more clothing stores, are entirely fast-fashion businesses.
Now that we know what fast-fashion is, how does it affect our climate?
The global fashion industry is generating a lot more greenhouse gases due to the energy it uses during its production, manufacturing, and transportation by the tons of garments purchased each year.
Cheap synthetic fibers (like polyester, nylon, and acrylic, are used to make most fast-fashion store clothing) emit gases like N20 (Nitrous Oxide), which damages the ozone layer, and reduces the protection offered from harmful UV sun rays. Synthetic fabrics are made from fossil fuel, which makes production much more energy-intensive than with natural fibers.
Materials like polyester are often chosen in fast-fashion production, but when this material is washed in a machine, it sheds microfibers containing plastics, which contributes to the increasing amount of plastic in our ocean. Since the microfibers are so tiny, they are easily ingested by marine life such as fish, turtles, and whales.
Most clothes in fast-fashion stores are produced in China, Bangladesh, or India, which are countries essentially powered by coal. This is the dirtiest type of energy in terms of carbon emissions.
According to PayScale, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for the 168 companies that were included in this report stands at about 70-to-1, with some CEOs making more than 300 times the median salary of their employees. This shows that factory workers, and people who make the fabrics of some of our favorite shirts, are definitely not paid their fair amount.
These are some of the biggest issues fast-fashion does to our world, and that’s not the end...but we’ll be stopping for now.
To learn more about this at ZIS, I conducted a survey. Only 50% of the 24 students surveyed know what fast-fashion is. The majority of teachers, however, did know and gave an accurate explanation. This shows that fast-fashion is not a subject talked about enough in class.
Are H&M and Zara doing anything to become more sustainable? Recently, H&M has started a clothing line called: “Conscious”. This line is supposedly greener, and doesn’t emit as much greenhouse gases. Most companies' primary goal is to maximise profit. Including, of course, H&M. That’s why when you take a bag of old clothes to H&M, you get a $7 voucher for your next purchase there. As for Zara, they claim to be 100% sustainable by 2025.
What can we do to avoid fast-fashion? You may be thinking, “Oh my gosh, so now I can’t shop at my favourite clothing stores to avoid ruining our planet?!” The answer is: no..ehhh..yeah. To avoid damaging our planet and being a part of the solution, shopping at sustainable stores and thrift/second hand-shops are two very good substitutes. Sustainable stores may be more expensive, but it’s almost an 100% guarantee that it’ll be higher quality. Shopping at fast-fashion stores is still fine as long as what you buy does not immediately go to waste. Decreasing your amount of shopping on a yearly basis definitely would help too.
Here are some alternatives:
Patagonia (they have a WornWear Campaign and free clothing repair in stores) Patagonia
LoopSwim (they make swimsuits out of 100% recycled plastic.) LoopSwim
People Tree (they make womens clothes) People Tree
Fundsachenverkauf.ch (thrift/second-hand store) Fundsachenverkauf.ch
By reducing your time in fast-fashion stores, you help out our marine life, poorly paid workers, our climate, and all-in-all, just make the world a little bit better.
