What Is Fast Fashion And Why You Should Steer Clear Of It
If you aren't aware of what fast fashion is, you should be. You should be equally of aware of why to steer clear of it.
This article is more than 2 years old
Many of us regularly purchase our clothing at major retailers, such as Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s, and H&M. They all offer a wide variety of choices and at rock-bottom prices. And who doesn’t love a bargain? The problem is that the clothing they sell is what is known as fast fashion. While you may not yet be familiar with “fast fashion,” the phrase is increasingly making its way into our news.
At the most basic level, fast fashion is cheap and mass-produced clothing. It is that $5 bargain shirt you found on the clearance rack. Or the pants that ripped quickly, so you just tossed them without a second thought.
Fast fashion features rapid shifts in fashion trends, which is why you see styles shifting every year (and every season). There are even ultra-fast fashion companies out there that release clothing lines even more rapidly. One such company releases new products daily.
The fast fashion industry produces enormous clothing waste before even reaching the consumer. An estimated 25% of clothing goes to waste before it even hits store shelves. And after it gets to the store level, consumers may purchase something on a whim and leave it in their closet untouched for years.
Piles of clothing are thrown out annually, and much of it hits landfills without ever having been worn. Data gathered by Wrap show roughly 921,000 tons of annual textile waste. A large portion of this comes from the fast fashion industry.
While we don’t often think of what goes into the production of the clothing we wear every day….an entire industry is working in the background. And the textile industry as a whole puts a tremendous strain on the environment. Producing clothing requires a lot of raw materials and water. Textile plants that fuel the fast fashion industry also generate a significant level of pollution.
Beyond the environmental impact, there are ongoing reports of exploitation in the garment industry. These reports don’t often reach mainstream news. Many plants that manufacture clothing for the fast fashion world are in developing countries. Companies often choose to produce their clothing in these areas due to loose (or non-existent) restrictions and taxes. But it also means they can get away with treating their workers poorly.
Often employees at these fast fashion textile plants only make a few dollars a day. They have to work long hours without the employment oversight we value. And you will also see young children working in the plants to help provide their families with enough money to buy food.
Thankfully, some in the industry have started taking steps over the past few years to turn things around. News of fresh, new companies offering tailoring or upcycling services comes out regularly. They represent a more eco-conscious shift in the clothing industry that may help move us away from fast fashion, at least a little.
This shift is called the global ethical fashion market. It encourages the purchase of hand-made products, fair wages, and repurposing existing clothing. It is a stark contrast to the ready-made, easily disposable clothing that fuels the fast fashion market.
