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“When you buy into fast fashion, no matter how many times you wash your clothes they will never be truly clean. They’re stained by the sweat of those who made them, and the footprint it leaves on this planet.”

-Laura Francois

“Wow, a cute shirt for only $7? It’s too good to be true!” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it is. While you may be able to buy a shirt for $7, someone, somewhere is suffering for your convenience. I first found out about companies like Shein, Romwe, and Forever 21 a few years ago. I really started to gain an interest in the truth of fast fashion when I heard a speech about the conditions of sweatshops and treatment of fast fashion workers. After that, I began to see more and more posts on social media regarding the effects of fast fashion. Now I hope that with the eye opening research that can be found today, more people will realize the harmful and damaging effects that fast fashion has on its workers and the environment. To me, the quote I chose from Laura Francois is a way of reminding yourself that even though you are getting cheap clothing, the damage it takes to produce them is far more expensive. It’s important to think about where your clothes are coming from and what happens to them after you throw them out.

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With the rise of social media apps like TikTok, fashion trends are becoming more and more short-lived as new ideas are created. People are also watching influencers and celebrities come up with or try out the latest trends, making them want to do the same. The more people post and share on social media, the more consumers see and want to follow. As mentioned in this video, some people see an influencer buying a product, and immediately purchase the same product even though they do not need it. Fast fashion brands are trying to keep up with these rapidly changing trends and are creating more pollution and harm then ever in attempts to feed the consumers.

A Little Background

“Wow, a cute shirt for only seven dollars? It’s too good to be true!” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it is. While shoppers may be able to buy a shirt for seven dollars, someone, somewhere is suffering for the convenience. Between the environmental harm, and the horrendous mistreatment of workers, fast fashion is only causing issues, not solutions. It originated in the 90’s, but has recently spiked in popularity with the rise of social media. Now, fast fashion numbers are through the roof. As the industry grows, the damage different production stages and overall waste cause to the environment, continues to grow as well. Consequently, more workers are needed to keep up with the rapid pace of production, and so harsh treatment towards them intensifies. Although fast fashion is not a new concept and may allow people to obtain trendy clothes for cheap, the exploitation of the workers who produce them and the environmental complications this fashion causes are anything but acceptable, and will continue to worsen if action is not taken.

What is fast fashion? The term 'fast fashion' refers to cheaply produced and priced garments that copy the latest catwalk styles and are pumped quickly through stores in order to maximize current trends. Consumers can buy more fashion and product differentiation for cheap prices (Maiti). Since not everyone can afford to buy more sustainable clothing, as it is often more expensive, the fast fashion trend is soaring as the world of social media grows. With the popularity of TikTok, where trends last about a week, fashion fads are lasting just as long. Shein, a popular name in fast fashion companies, is the most mentioned brand on TikTok. Brands like these release fifty to one hundred micro seasons a year, where traditional brands only produce around four seasons (Bernard 543). So where did fast fashion all begin?

The term fast fashion was first used in the 1990s when Zara came about in New York. The New York Times coined "fast fashion" to describe Zara's goal to only take fifteen days for clothing to go through all the stages of production and into stores (Maiti). Now, clothing production has doubled since the 2000s manufacturing 100 billion pieces per year and producing a new collection every week. Brands have started to compete to be the company with the cheapest clothing meaning cheaper sources of labor and materials (Baruta).

Energy and Pollution

An enormous amount of energy and resources is required to produce clothing like fast fashion companies do. Yarn preparation and fiber production stages have the largest impact on resource depletion because of the high energy processes that use fossil fuel energy (Maiti). The entire fashion industry is responsible for 92 million tons of solid waste each year. Each person in the US has about seventy-five pounds of clothing waste. That number has increased 750 percent in the past sixty years and so much fabric is already wasted at the design and production stage (Bernard 544). According to Humanium, "The fashion industry is one of the most polluting, second only to the oil sector. With the production of 800 billion new pieces of clothing per year, it accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions and generates externalities at each step of its supply chain.” Instead of reusing and recycling products, it is usually a "make, use, dispose," type of idea. Fast fashion harms more than just the land. Rivers and streams are also damaged as 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year, and the pollution dries up water sources (Maiti). Not only does fashion production harm water sources and create pollution, but the distribution of products creates enormous greenhouse emissions as well.

Data has warned that if the practices do not improve, greenhouse gas emissions due to the fashion industry will rise by 50% in 2030. Also, due to fast fashion, 21 billion tons of garments are tossed into landfills every year and only 12% are recycled (Baruta). Loads of clothing are burned or buried in landfills every single second. Additionally, around 80 - 100 billion articles of clothing are produced while this is happening, causing a never-ending cycle. The number of times an article of clothing is worn before being tossed out has reduced by over a third in the past fifteen years (Nguyen). Realistically, a switch to a slow fashion industry would require a change in cultural mindset. According to a McKinsey Company report, "one in three young women in the UK consider garments to be old after just one or two wears" (Stenton et al. 10). Annually, 80 billion pieces of clothing are consumed, and as mass consumption rates rise, a 400% increase has occured in the last twenty years. Research has found that the average person bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, but kept the items half as long. This is largely a consequence of the rise of fast fashion, micro trends, and cheap labor (Ross).

Forced Labor

Unfortunately, cheap labor is what keeps this fashion cycle going. Research has found that 80% of clothing is made by women between the ages of 18 and 24 (Maiti). These women are often working in developing or small countries like Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh because they do not have strict labor laws. Companies contract with unregistered vendors, without requirements to ensure safe working conditions in the factories (Nguyen). A prime example of ignoring safety conditions occurred when the Rana Plaza Factory collapsed in 2013 because building safeguards had expired, even though it was recommended that the building be condemned. In the negligence for safety, 1,100 people were killed and 2,500 were injured in this accident. Even though officials knew that the building was unsafe, workers were ordered to work anyway, which they did in fear of losing pay. After this incident, 1,106 factories were inspected, and 80,000 safety related issues were revealed (Ross).

Adults are not the only workers in these factories. There are also many situations where children are forced to work. Extreme poverty causes child labor, and families that live majorly below the poverty line, have to put their children to work in order to survive. This poverty trap causes lack of education and proper care, creating an inescapable cycle (Baruta). Even though child labor declined between 2000 and 2012, a rise has occurred in the last four years. In the words of Chiara Baruta, “As of 2021, 160 million children are still engaged in activities that deprive them of their right to education, proper care and nutrition, and overall, of their right to be children.” The children that are illegally forced to work are largely employed by fashion businesses. In fact, the industry wants them because of their small hands for precision.

It is awful enough that children and adults are forced to work in these factories, but they are treated atrociously as well. Around 75 million factory workers are employed in the fast fashion industry, and of those workers, it is estimated that less than 2% of them earn a livable wage. The European Parliament has even used the term "slave labor" to describe the conditions of factory workers in Asia. Not only are these workers paid next to nothing, but they also work up to sixteen hours a day, seven days a week (Ross). In India, workers are paid barely 58 cents per hour, while the average wage in sweatshops in Bangladesh is even less, at 33 cents. In addition to horrible pay, accidents and injuries are common occurrences. According to Lei Nguyen, “These workers also endure verbal and sometimes even physical abuse from managers. Oftentimes, workers are exposed to harmful substances while working without enough ventilation.” These factory conditions are unsanitary, unhygienic, and beyond unsafe for these poor workers. However, since the exploitation of those workers is what allows companies to increase profit margins, forcing companies to take responsibility for the tragic wages and the safety of their workers is not likely to happen. Unfortunately, that means this treacherous cycle of exploitation and harm to the environment is extremely difficult to end.

Works Cited

Baruta, Chiara. "The Detrimental Effects of Fast-Fashion on Children's Rights." Humanium, 21 Sept. 2021, www.humanium.org/en/the-detrimental-effects-of-fast-fashion-on-childrens-rights/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

Bernard, Alexandra. "The Hidden Costs behind Cheap Clothing: Addressing Fast Fashion's Environmental and Humanitarian Impact." VanderbiltJournalofEntertainment&TechnologyLaw, vol. 25, no. 3, 2023, pp. 2-4. Academic Search Premier, research.ebsco.com/c/u7bjjp/viewer/pdf/e3dq5yvm2z. Accessed 2 Feb. 2024.

Buchholz, Lucy. "Top 10: Sustainable Clothing Companies." Sustainablility, no. 186, 28 June 2023, pp. start-end. BizClik, sustainabilitymag.com/articles/top-10-sustainable-clothing-companies. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Commons Team. "11 Fast Fashion and Ultra Fast Fashion Brands to Avoid." Commons, 20 Oct. 2023, www.thecommons.earth/blog/11-fast-fashion-and-ultra-fast-fashion-brands-to-avoid. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Good On You. "How We Rate Fashion Brands." Good on You, Good On You, goodonyou.eco/how-we-rate/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.

Hudson, Cleo. "5 Alternatives to Fast Fashion." The Borgen Project, Borgen Project, 19 Nov. 2021, borgenproject.org/alternatives-to-fast-fashion/#:~:text=Support%20local%20thrift%20stores.,stores%20thrive%20by%20donating%20clothes. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Maiti, Rashmila. "Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact." Earth.Org, 5 Jan. 2024, earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/#:~:text=The%20Dark%20Side%20of%20Fast,go%20to%20dumps%20each%20year. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Nguyen, Lei. "Fast Fashion: The Danger of Sweatshops." Earth.Org, 10 Oct. 2022, earth.org/sweatshops/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Ross, Emma. "Fast Fashion Getting Faster: A Look at the Unethical Labor Practices Sustaining a Growing Industry." The George Washington University Law School, George Washington University Law School, 28 Oct. 2021, studentbriefs.law.gwu.edu/ilpb/2021/10/28/fast-fashion-getting-faster-a-look-at-the-unethical-labor-practices-sustaining-a-growing-industry/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.

Segundo, Irene San. "Do You Know How Much Garment Workers Really Make?" Fashion Revolution, 2020, www.fashionrevolution.org/usa-blog/how-much-garment-workers-really-make/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Stenton, Marie, et al. "From Clothing Rations to Fast Fashion: Utilising RegeneratedProtein Fibres to Alleviate Pressures on Mass Production." Energies, vol. 14, 2021, pp. 1-2. Academic Search Premier, research.ebsco.com/c/u7bjjp/viewer/pdf/w27krv2peb. Accessed 2 Feb. 2024.

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