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Fast Fashion: Is It Worth The Cost?

If you have not noticed, plenty of people at Northgate wear similar clothing and

outfits. This is expected of us as humans, it is our nature to want to fit in and do what our

peers are doing. Though if you were to gather a handful of students and ask them where the

clothing they are wearing is from, most of them would likely say the same brands. Ranging

from Zara, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Brandy Melville, Shein, etc. these are all companies

we are familiar with, but how many of them actually source and produce their items ethically?

It is shockingly less than you may think.

I believe that at a certain point in our adolescence we discover what becomes one of

the most defining parts of our identity. Early on, I knew mine would be fashion. As far back

as I can remember I have spent hours rummaging through my closet to find the perfect outfit.

Or I could be found parading around my house in my mother’s clothing. I have always

idolized her sense of style and she has been nothing but supportive of mine, though she has

not been the only influence on my fashion choices over the years. Social media and the

internet as a whole have played a big role in the development of my style as well.

Furthermore, as social media has continued to have an increase in popularity over the past few

years, so has the development of trends at an exponential rate. Especially due to the

pandemic, everyone and everything is online now. Before this boom of cyber-trendsetting, the

latest fads were often set by fashion magazines, models, celebrities, etcetera. But now this

spotlight on who sets trends has shifted onto social media fashion influencers. This career

choice has given essentially anybody the power to influence the masses. Though with so

many people having that ability, a multitude of trends are going viral at once at such a high

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volume that they are not given the chance to cycle through the public eye at a controlled rate.

This creates micro-trends that only last for months, even weeks at a time before they are

forgotten. Popular low-end clothing companies quickly produce fashionable clothing in hopes

of keeping up with micro-trends. And while people proceed to purchase these clothes, they

usually dispose of them after being worn only a few times or once they are deemed not in

style anymore. This process leads to many of these clothing items ending up in landfills if

they are not donated or repurposed.

But how do these companies manufacture their on-trend clothing so fast? Why do

these companies sell their clothing for so cheap? Where are their materials sourced? Who is

making this clothing? The world of fashion is vast, with many layers and secrets left unknown

to the public. I want to discover what place fast fashion has in that world, which has led me to

propose my question for the senior project: How does fast fashion negatively impact the

environment?

Fast fashion has a strong connection to micro-trends. The two are essentially

symbiotic, one cannot thrive without the other. Though this relationship has its issues. As

micro-trends continue to rise in popularity, so does the amount of clothing fast-fashion

companies produce. But how is this an issue? In the article, “Micro-Trends: The acceleration

of fashion cycles and rise in waste”, Mariel Nelson explains the possible problem with this

process:

The faster the fashion cycle, the greater amount of waste is produced. Consumers will

likely buy more pieces to keep up with the higher volume of overlapping trends and

wear them for shorter amounts of time as the pieces go quickly in and out of style.

Unfortunately, this movement is increasing. The volume of clothing Americans throw

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away each year has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons in under 20 years.

(Nelson)

Not only is there a cycle in which fashion trends are produced, popularized, and capitalized

upon, but there is a cycle in which they are disposed of. People naturally gravitate toward

what is popular at any given moment. Though in the instance of clothing, once an item loses

popularity, it often loses its value as well. Clothing with no value serves no purpose to those

who strive to stay on-trend. Creative Director and CEO of J.D. Fine & Company and the

Visionary behind Tart Collections, Jamie Finegold touched on this topic and said, “People

want to wear what everyone else is wearing. So for some it is not about purchasing an item of

clothing because you truly love it but because it looks trendy and you see people you know

wearing it and they look good in in it”. Though if someone buys clothing with this mindset, it

only makes the clothing that much easier to be disposed of if it is suddenly deemed

“unfashionable” by the public.

With such high amounts of clothing being produced to keep up with public demand,

there is an even higher amount of it that ends up in landfills. In the 2019 press release of the

UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, they address the impact fast fashion has on the

environment where they mention this monumental fact, “The industry is the second-biggest

consumer of water, generating around 20 percent of the world’s wastewater and releasing half

a million tons of synthetic microfibers into the ocean annually. The average consumer buys 60

percent more pieces of clothing than 15 years ago. Each item is only kept for half as long”

(Nijman). The vastness of fashion trends and endless amounts of clothing brands gives people

the power of choice. Though with the ability to have these many choices, it is hard to always

make a conscious decision to consume less for the sake of the environment. Realistically,

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there is not a constant thought of practicing sustainability in one’s head when first discovering

an item they have a strong desire to buy. The mind’s ability to gauge a situation as such can

be clouded with the excitement of finding a piece of clothing they love. Though this a highly

risky way to go about shopping for clothing if the result is can be as severe as generating

twenty percent of the world’s wastewater or releasing millions of synthetic microfibers into

the ocean annually as the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion stated.

One of the main reasons fast fashion is widely popular is its costliness. Purchasing

higher quality clothing often has a higher price tag, which is not a plausible option for many

consumers. So fast fashion is often the first choice for those who want to dress more

fashionably while trying to be more frugal. In the article, “Tearing at the Seams: How Fast

Fashion is Destroying Our Planet”, author Nathalie Clement briefly touches on this, “…

especially with fast fashion’s affordability, making it one of few options available to many

customers shopping for clothing. Yet, as a result of this increase in production and

consumption, textile waste is expected to climb from 92 million tonnes to 136 million tonnes

annually by 2030”. Clement understands the appeal of fast fashion that draws in its massive

amount of customers but also understands that as the appeal continues to increase alongside

its popularity, so does its waste. Textiles are one of the leading sources of waste in the world

next to paper and plastic, but when regarding environmental impact, there is more than what

meets the eye, “...the textile industry creates 1.2bn tonnes of CO 2 a year, consumes lake-

sized volumes of water, and creates chemical and plastic pollution – as much as 35% of

microplastics found in the ocean come from synthetic clothing” (Nijman). It is not common

knowledge for most people that the fashion and textile industry uses massive amounts of

water to produce materials, especially with cotton being the main sourced material. It is

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estimated to take roughly 20,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cotton. Though

the process of producing an item of clothing is even more strenuous than just using tons of

water to help grow a crop, “..."Natural fibers go through a lot of unnatural processes on their

way to becoming clothing," says Jason Kibbey, CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

“‘They have been bleached, dyed, printed on, scoured in chemical baths." Those chemicals

can leach from the textiles and--in improperly sealed landfills--into groundwater. Burning the

items in incinerators can release those toxins into the air’” (Wicker). While the industry has

found a way to develop clothing in a manner that works in their favor, it does not benefit the

well being of the environment. The process of production has gotten to the point where people

“can't compost old clothes, even if they are made of natural materials” (Wicker).

While the procedure in which clothing is manufactured and sold does not keep the

health of the environment in mind, the health of the workers who sew said clothing are often

disregarded even more, “Over 50 percent of clothing manufacturers are not paid minimum

wage…work conditions in sweatshops are destitute, and workers are exposed to high chances

of injury and mistreatment” (Burdsall). The majority of brands that use textiles and fabrics

purchase materials from companies in other countries, such as China, Bangladesh, or India.

This is due to relaxed labor laws exhibited in most of these countries where their employees

work long, arduous hours for well under the living wage. This is what allows these materials

to be sold for so cheap. Along with these relaxed laws are even more relaxed regulations of

safety and health for the factory workers and even the factories themselves. This is a large

issue that in the past has put many innocent lives at risk and even death. One of the largest

accidents in the textile industry history took place in one of these rundown factories. “The

2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh was a tragic incident that helped bring attention to

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the dark secrets of the fast fashion industry. More than a thousand people died and thousands

more were injured after an 8-story building known as Rana Plaza collapsed” (Kelly). This

accident was a tragedy and a wake-up call for many people inside and outside of Bangladesh.

It looked at the conditions that the people who make the majority of the world's clothing

supply live in. After this event, there was a string of protests workers and supporters held in

numerous countries in support of better work conditions. Though this did not last long as

eventually, the employees needed to work to provide for themselves and their families. To

only make this matter worse, adults are not the only ones who are working in these clothing

manufacturing factories. A large portion of the employees at these factories happen to be

children. They are often hired because they move quickly and are easily manipulated by their

bosses. As an undercover Toronto news reporter discovered,“...child workers were shadowed

at a Bangladesh factory in 2013. The children, mostly girls ages 5 to 14, worked 12 hours a

day, 6.5 days a week with no holidays. They were paid around $30 a month, and most of the

money went to their family living expenses” (Lancianese). To understand that the chances of

a young child having made clothes sold in the majority of stores across the world are

extremely high is devastating. No child should ever have to work and no adult should ever

have to work in conditions as poor as such.

After consuming all this information it is hard to fathom a way to make a change. The

fashion industry has not made it easy to shop sustainably, as most companies take part in fast

fashion. In a personal interview with Fashion Merchandiser and Buyer for Land’s End Men,

Lauren Hensen spoke on this as she stated, “The clothing industry has been searching for

ways to reduce consumption, especially as younger generations continue to put more

expectations on companies to do the right thing”. Not only are everyday people trying to

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make a change in ways to shop sustainably but now the fashion industry is potentially

catching on as well, “Certain brands such as H&M and Zara who are considered some of the

pioneers of fast fashion have developed sustainability lines. They are creating clothes that are

made with sustainable materials and practices that have less of an impact on the environment”

Hensen says. These sustainability lines often reuse recycled or organic materials such as

cotton, polyester, velvet, leather, etc. in hopes of consuming less water, energy, and natural

resources in the process. This is a great option for those who want to shop more sustainably

from brands they know and love. Though the most common and most affordable way to shop

more sustainably is through thrift shopping. People donate their clothes year-round and often

end up at thrift stores such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other small locally-owned

businesses. There are also now apps and websites online where people can sell their used

clothing as well such as Depop, Poshmark, Mercari, etc. It gives clothes that are projected to

end up in a landfill a second chance at having a new purpose. Writer Brianna LaSita of The

Ithacan spoke on this in the article, “Commentary: Thrifting supports environmental

sustainability”, stating, “Thrifting helps reduce the amount of clothing produced through

manufacturing, a process that is very taxing on the environment. Synthetic fibers, which are

often used in modern clothing designs because they are cheap, require tons of energy as well

as crude oils like petroleum”. Buying clothing from thrift stores has more of an impact than

just being easy on the wallet. If fewer people are purchasing from and supporting large fast

fashion companies, the demand for these companies' products will lower along with the

manufacturing it takes to create said products. On top of that, as LaSita states, modern

clothing requires the use of crude oils and synthetic fibers, which pollute the environment.

Through the attempt to reduce the consumption of modern clothing there would also be a

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reduction in the use of those materials, a reduction of microfibers that end up in drinking

water, a reduction of factory workers forced to do labor in unsafe conditions, and a reduction

of clothing ending up in landfills. Though it is important to state that thrifting is often the only

choice for low-income families. There is always plenty of clothes to be resold but often not

enough stores to sell them in. Being conscious of those families when shopping at thrift stores

and leaving enough clothing for them to purchase is always good to keep in mind. For those

who have extra money to spare, there is the option to purchase from small businesses and

companies that manufacture their clothing sustainably. Usually, the process of making

sustainable clothing can be tedious and costly resulting in a higher price tag, but these

products are often built to last and made with love from someone who is passionate about

their craft. It is a great feeling to support those businesses while simultaneously making a

sustainable choice. Another option to consider is as simple as just consuming less. With social

media displaying a multitude of fashion brands, trends, and fashion influencers, it is easy to

access almost any item of clothing imaginable. And having a closet full of a variety of

clothing to choose from is desirable for many. For some, it may be worth looking into

investing in a capsule wardrobe, which is a limited selection of interchangable pieces of

clothing that complement each other well. Regardless of what people interchangeably choose

to do with their clothing and wardrobe, there are multiple options for anyone to shop and live

more sustainably.

The fashion industry has developed a system that works for them to create their

products efficiently to maximize profitability but puts the rest of the world in harm's way.

From the development of overconsuming micro-trends through social media, to textile

microfibers and plastics polluting the ocean, to overworking employees in foreign countries to

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manufacture clothing, a lot has been discovered. As someone who highly values the world of

fashion and what it has to offer, it was disheartening to discover in many instances these are

the conditions it takes to successfully make clothing. But more importantly than anything, this

discovery was eye-opening. Understanding this reality can help anybody have a more

conscious experience when shopping for clothing to make a choice that is sustainable not only

for them but for the environment.

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Works Cited

Burdsall, Lauren. "Fast Fashion Folly: The Problems with Influencer Culture and

Consumerism." University Wire, 24 Feb 2019. eLibrary,

https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2185448244?accountid=193803.

"Cheap Clothes Have a High Price Tag — and It’s Impacting Everyone." University

Wire, 28 Feb 2020. eLibrary,

https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2374211289?accountid=193803.

Clement, Nathalie. "Tearing at the Seams: How Fast Fashion is Destroying Our

Planet." McGill International Review, 21 Mar 2021. eLibrary,

https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2507568370?accountid=193803.

Finegold, Jamie. CEO and Creative Director of J.D. Fine & Company. Personal

Interview. 2 May 2022.

Hensen, Laura. Senior Merchant of Men’s Division at Land’s End. Personal Interview.

25 March 2022.

Kelly, Lauren. "Forever 21 and the Consequences of Fast Fashion." University Wire,

22 Sep 2019. eLibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2295296004?

accountid=193803.

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Lancianese, Adelina. "An Itch You Can't Scratch: Sweatshop Labor and Fast

Fashion." University Wire, 24 Nov 2015. eLibrary,

https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/1735811113?accountid=193803.

LaSita, Brianna. “Commentary: Thrifting supports environmental sustainability.” The

Ithacan, 18 September 2019, https://theithacan.org/opinion/commentary-thrifting-

supports-environmental-sustainability/. Accessed 22 March 2022.

Nelson, Mariel. “Micro-trends: The acceleration of fashion cycles and rise in waste.”

WRAP, 17 May 2021, https://wrapcompliance.org/blog/micro-trends-the-acceleration-

of-fashion-cycles-and-rise-in-waste/. Accessed 17 March 2022.

Nijman, Shari. “UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion addresses damage of 'fast

fashion.'” UNEP, 14 March 2019, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-

release/un-alliance-sustainable-fashion-addresses-damage-fast-fashion. Accessed 22

March 2022.

Wicker, Alden, and Alden Wicker. "Fast Fashion Is Creating an Environmental

Crisis." Newsweek, vol. 167, no. 9, 09 Sep 2016. eLibrary,

https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/1815946026?accountid=193803.

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