Consequences about fast fashion

According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total

global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and
pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing
clothes releases 500 000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50
billion plastic bottles.
The Quantis International 2018 report found that the three main drivers of the industry’s global
pollution impacts are dyeing and finishing (36%), yarn preparation (28%) and fibre production
(15%). The report also established that fibre production has the largest impact on freshwater
withdrawal (water diverted or withdrawn from a surface water or groundwater source) and
ecosystem quality due to cotton cultivation, while the dyeing and finishing, yarn preparation
and fibre production stages have the highest impacts on resource depletion, due to the
energy-intensive processes based on fossil fuel energy.
According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile
manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030.
The time it takes for a product to go through the supply chain, from design to purchase, is
called a ‘lead time’. In 2012, Zara was able to design, produce and deliver a new garment in
two weeks; Forever 21 in six weeks and H&M in eight weeks. This results in the fashion
industry producing obscene amounts of waste.

Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact

1. Water
The environmental impact of fast fashion comprises the depletion of non-renewable sources,
emission of greenhouse gases and the use of massive amounts of water and energy. The
fashion industry is the second largest consumer industry of water, requiring about 700 gallons
to produce one cotton shirt and 2 000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Business
Insider also cautions that textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water, since
the water leftover from the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams or rivers.
2. Microplastics
Furthermore, brands use synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon and acrylic which take hundreds
of years to biodegrade. A 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics – tiny pieces of non-biodegradable plastic – in
the ocean come from the laundering of synthetic textiles like polyester.
According to the documentary released in 2015, The True Cost, the world consumes around
80 billion new pieces of clothing every year, 400% more than the consumption twenty years
ago. The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year. The
production of leather requires large amounts of feed, land, water and fossil fuels to raise
livestock, while the tanning process is among the most toxic in all of the fashion supply chain
because the chemicals used to tan leather- including mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar
derivatives and various oils and dyes- is not biodegradable and contaminates water sources.
3. Energy
The production of making plastic fibres into textiles is an energy-intensive process that
requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids like
hydrogen chloride. Additionally, cotton, which is in a large amount of fast fashion products, is
also not environmentally friendly to manufacture. Pesticides deemed necessary for the growth
of cotton presents health risks to farmers.
To counter this waste caused by fast fashion, more sustainable fabrics that can be used in
clothing include wild silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp and lyocell.

The Social Impacts of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion does not only have a huge environmental impact. In fact, the industry also poses
societal problems, especially in developing economies. According to non-profit Remake, 80%
of apparel is made by young women between the ages of 18 and 24. A 2018 US Department
of Labor report found evidence of forced and child labour in the fashion industry in Argentina,
Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam and others. Rapid
production means that sales and profits supersede human welfare.
In 2013, an eight-floor factory building that housed several garment factories collapsed in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1 134 workers and injuring more than 2 500. In her project, An
Analysis of the Fast Fashion Industry, Annie Radner Linden suggests that ‘the garment
industry has always been a low-capital and labour intensive industry’.
In her book, No Logo, Naomi Klein argues that developing nations are viable for garment
industries due to ‘cheap labour, vast tax breaks, and lenient laws and regulations’. According
to The True Cost, one in six people work in some part of the global fashion industry, making it
the most labour-dependent industry. These developing nations also rarely follow
environmental regulations; China, for example, is a major producer of fast fashion but is
notorious for land degradation and air and water pollution.

Bibliography
 Maiti, R. (2022, 1 diciembre). Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact. Earth.Org.
https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/