With fast fashion giants being placed under the limelight, is this really enough? Or is it too little, too late?
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion is the design, manufacture and selling of clothing, cheaply and quickly, despite the ethical and environmental impact of these processes.
- Overexertion of cotton cultivation: 10,000-20,000 litres of water is needed to cultivate just one kilo of cotton. By making clothing not meant to last, more and more replacement items are needed. This means that more cotton needs to be grown, and more trees need to be cut to expand the cotton plantations.
- Carbon emissions: With an increased demand for more, cheaper clothing, more carbon is released into the atmosphere from the increasing demand on cargo transportation via plane/boat.
- Synthetic fibres: In using cost-cutting synthetic fibres, companies are responsible for the microplastics that get released into the water through washing machines. Eventually, these microplastics work their way up the food chain and have actually been found in humans.
- Fossil fuel usage: Most fast fashion companies rely on offshore fossil fuels to power the manufacturing process. The fast fashion industry is responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions.
Perpetrators
Although you might not want to hear it, a lot of your favourite brands are MAJOR contributors to fast fashion.
Online fast fashion giant Shein have just pledged $15m for textile waste workers in Ghana. Many are claiming that this is the bare minimum for the ethical and environmental damage that they continue to cause.
A recent post on slow fashion advocate’s Instagram (@rubbishlondonbrand) said ‘We will not solve the problem if we only talk about the problem.’ So, let’s have a look at what we can do.
Between targeted social media ads and the cost of living crisis, it isn’t easy to be as eco-conscious as we’d like to be. However, it is time to make the most of the clothes that you already have:
- A quick TikTok scroll will give you countless ideas on how to re-style an item to create a whole new outfit. This is cost-cutting and eco-friendly!
- Don’t be afraid to have a go at sewing up that ripped seam, YouTube offers plenty of super short, super easy tutorials
- Challenge yourself to have a ‘no new clothes’ month, and you will quickly realise (like I did!) how easy it is.
If you really do need new clothes, keep an eye out for some slow-fashion brands such as @lucyandyak and @thisisunfolded.
And for a cost-friendly alternative, Depop and Vinted are so popular with students. You can get some amazing, new branded clothing for a fraction of the price.