16/08/2024
Fast fashion: the world's biggest valley killer?
In today's fast fashion world, stores release new clothing lines often. People buy more clothes than they need to keep up with trends.
The documentary Fashion's Dirty Secret shows that the fashion industry is one of the top five most polluting. Fast fashion also causes social issues, especially in developing countries. Most garment workers are young women aged 18 to 24. A 2018 U.S. Department of Labor report found evidence of forced and child labor in many countries, including Bangladesh, China, and India. The drive for quick production often puts profits before people.
As we hear more about environmental problems, we buy more. We buy 80 billion pieces of clothing a year, 400% more than 20 years ago. Making these clothes uses a lot of water. It would fill 32 million Olympic swimming pools. We need to think about how we shop.
Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, with consumers buying 60% more clothes and wearing them half as long. 60% of clothes end up in landfills or are burned within a year. Many waste sites are in South Asia and Africa, where local infrastructure is weak. A landfill near Accra, Ghana, which is 60% clothes and 65 feet high, symbolises this crisis.
To solve this, we need to understand fast fashion: cheap, quickly produced clothing that follows the latest trends.
One potential solution, as suggested by fashion influencer Niomi Smart, could be to consider changing consumer attitudes. After learning about the environmental impact of fashion, she now encourages her followers to consider buying less fast fashion and to think about switching to a capsule wardrobe as an alternative that is more timeless and can be worn for a long time without following trends.
It would be great if we could all work together to address this issue: consumers, brands, and authorities. You don't have to boycott your favourite brands, but perhaps you could shop more consciously. Do you really need that new outfit, or are you just following trends?
Source :
https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-human-rights-journal/article/fast-fashion-for-2030-using-the-pattern-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-to-cut-a-more-genderjust-fashion-sector/326A2604C7FB89EAAC2B931B98F4C6A0
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/chile-fashion-pollution
http://theindependentcollective.net/lifestyle/style-fashion/dangers-fast-fashion-unrested-epidemic/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/5a1a43b5-cbae-4a42-8271-48f53b63bd07
Picture source :
https://id.pinterest.com
