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Fast Fashion can be defined as the rate in which it is produced and consumed. Fast fashion continues to grow as an environmental issue due to the rate in which fabrics and textiles are being created and discarded, which inevitably has a negative impact on the environment.

Process Fast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing process where companies produce high volumes of clothing and then continue to sell these items for a competitive price compared to high-end luxury brands. These items are made with low quality material and recreate popular styles. This has become overwhelming due to the high consumption which leads to harmful impacts on the environment and individuals who work creating these items in other countries. The goal of these companies is to create cost-efficient clothing in response to what the public is asking for/investing in. Most times, these companies will figure trends and assume that most people want luxury-like clothes at an affordable price. Due to the industry being fast paced, there is usually a strong relationship or collaboration between the manufacturer and consumer.

History The history of fast fashion started in the Industrial Revolution where new machines were introduced as well as factories. Clothes were made in bulk rather than made to order and were made in a variety of sizes. By the 1870s, the first patented sewing machine in 1846 led to the rapid price drops of clothing and grew to the size of commercial clothes manufacturing. Clothing was in constant production due to the introduction of these new textile machines. During the 1900s, fabric restrictions were made because of World War II and a new way of production was used that we use to this day. Mass produced clothing became the norm and how people became used to the production of clothes. Since then, issues of the environmental impact first made headlines in the 1990s about sourcing practices and have continued to gain attention in the 21st century. The market’s response to this is through the use of more sustainable and eco-friendly materials.

Examples A few companies that participate in fast fashion are Zara, H&M, Shein, Forever 21, etc. Most of these companies and so many others all participate in fast fashion. Zara is known to be one of the biggest contributors to fast fashion. For example, they release an estimated 12,000 pieces of clothing each year. While they are working to work with only sustainable materials by 2025, they are still contributing to the issues of fast fashion. Their working conditions in Brazil have been explained to be slave like. If we take a look at H&M, they are considered to be one of the biggest polluters in the industry. They have also been accused of greenwashing, where they advertise “climate crusader” and “eco-warrior”, when in reality they are using unsustainable materials. Shein doesn’t shy away from being a huge contributor to fast fashion by uploading thousands of new styles every day to their website. One way they get to have so much traffic on their website, they use luxury brand advertisements and use it as their own, catfishing their clothing and quality of materials. Shein does not disclose their factory conditions despite being accused of child labor. These are only a few examples of what thousands of corporations do and how they continue to contribute to this ongoing environmental issue.

Environmental Impacts The upbringing of fast fashion due to mass production and demand has brought about many environmental concerns. These environmental impacts seen include the excessive usage of water and consumption of clothing, the use of plastic microfibers and viscose, and alternatives to viscose. The fashion industry alone uses one tenth of water used industrially, and disperse toxic chemicals through textile dyeing that find their way into our ocean and contaminate water to a point of no safe return. The excessive amounts of microfibers due to the poor quality of fabric made through these fast fashion productions, this contaminates the water which later gets into the ocean and contaminates the sea itself. Also, with the vast amounts of clothing made with subpar quality, lead to clothes being just thrown away which causes the landfills to fill up much quicker. Viscose is the material used that makes the clothes subpar in quality, Viscose is bad for the environment itself through the harsh chemicals in it. In the present day there are alternatives to this with recycled material that can be reproduced to help the environment. Fast fashion and its industry has a lot of negative effects on the environment and even more than day to day actions that we assume would be worse for the environment like the carbon emissions from planes. To really emphasize on how much carbon emission the fast fashion industry comprises as much as the European Union does. To conclude the environmental impacts of fast fashion, it is clear that there is an excessive and unnecessary amount of waste and there needs to be alternatives to for this the fashion industry to be more sustainable.

Ethical Labor Problems Beyond the environmental implications that “fast fashion” has on the world, it also brings into question the grueling work schedule with minimum pay. Often outsourced to foreign countries in hopes of cutting down on provisional cost. March 1911’s Shirtwaist Factory fire heralded a shift in how we regarded work standards of many factories and their workers. We have overtime seen a shift of work being done within major cities, to rural towns, and now completely outsourced to other countries for cheaper labor and less ethical scrutiny. It is noted that the ethical fight against “fast fashion”, is not a simple one due to protest normally hurting the low waged laborers opposed to the major companies that profit off of them. However it goes without saying that continued global awareness is paramount in heralding a new age of sustainable clothing and equitable wages. Clean Clothing campaign is a coalition created with the mission of getting global labor rights standardized and enforced. They currently have a network that spans over 45 different countries world wide. Important principles behind their work: “All workers—regardless of gender, age, country of origin, legal status, employment status, location, or any other basis—have a right to decent work including good, safe, healthy working conditions and social protection, to exercise their fundamental rights to associate freely and bargain collectively, and to earn a living wage which allows them and their families to live in dignity.”. This is a global principle that requires governments where the labor goes on; to scrutinize the dealings done in their respective countries.

References

Eric. “A List of 41 Fast Fashion Brands To Avoid (2022).” The Sustainable Living Guide, 20 Dec. 2021, thesustainablelivingguide.com/fast-fashion-brands/. Hayes, Adam. “How Fast Fashion Works.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 30 Dec. 2021, www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp.

Idacavage, Sara. The Development of Fast Fashion. Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Global Perspectives. Ed. Joanne B. Eicher and Phyllis G. Tortora . Oxford: Berg, 2010. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 17 Jan. 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781847888594.EDch101421.

Le, Ngan. “The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment - PSCI.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/7/20/the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-the-environment

Maiti, Rashmila. “Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment.” Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future, 13 Apr. 2021, earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment.

Stanton, Audrey. “What Does Fast Fashion Mean, Anyway?” The Good Trade, The Good Trade, 14 Oct. 2021, www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion.

“What Is Fast Fashion and Why Is It a Problem?” Ethical Consumer, 7 Jan. 2022, https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem. Maria, M. (2017). Not So Fast Fashion: The New Perseverance. In Fashioning Identity Status Ambivalence in Contemporary Fashion (pp. 80–94). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474249133.ch-006