Fast fashion is a phrase that came from the Sustainability world. Consumerism has become ingrained in our society and the fast fashion industry has benefitted from it. The fast fashion industry makes shopping for clothes more affordable and desirable. Consumers are buying more and it creates the opportunity to mass-produce new styles for cheap. Consumerism is on the rise, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 they did in 2000, and the number continues to grow.
The fast-fashion model is a system that involves rapid design production, distribution, and marketing. The reason this concept became so popular was that it promoted cheap clothing that was fashionable at the same time This may sound convenient and ideal, but it is posing a major threat to the environment. The fashion industry impacts the environment by producing over 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions. The industry is also the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply, as well as polluting our oceans with all of the microplastics they produce. In the early 2000s, fashion companies were releasing a maximum of two collections a year. That number has skyrocketed to now where some companies, such as Zara, are releasing more than 20 collections a year.
To put things in perspective, it takes about 700 gallons of water to produce one single cotton shirt. The amount of water it takes to make a single shirt is enough water for one person to drink eight cups per day for three and a half years. If you were producing jeans, it takes about 2,000 gallons for one pair of jeans, that’s enough water for one person to drink eight cups a day for 10 years. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution around the globe, and the industry continues to expand.
Another reason why fast fashion is toxic to the environment is that making fabrics, an energy-intensive process that requires large quantities of petroleum and also releases volatile particulate matter and acid. Another fabric, such as leather, requires large amounts of feed, land, water, and fossil fuels to raise the livestock needed. The tanning process of the leather is the most toxic because the chemicals used to tan leather, such as, mineral salts, formaldehyde, tar derivatives that are not biodegradable and they contaminate the water sources.
Due to the widespread concern of the negative environmental impacts from the fashion industry, companies like Zara have pledged to change. In 2021, they pledge to eliminate the hazardous chemical from their supply chain and require no plant-based sources from ancient forests or forests at risk for extinction. By 2025, they pledge for all linen and cotton that they use is sustainable, no single-use plastic in consumer packaging, and 80% of the energy consumed by their facilities would be renewable. While these changes won’t undo the past, it encourages others to follow this trend and to care about the environment. Hopefully, we begin to see more companies becoming environmentally aware and can make changes to support the planet that supports us.
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