Climate Change & Human Effects 

Workout, water-resistant, wrinkle-free, and stain-resistant clothing can contain chemicals such as PFAS (Henrique, 2023b). When a human is exposed to PFAS, it can cause long-term health effects such as certain types of cancer, liver damage, and development issues (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), n.d.).

Another chemical common in fast fashion items is Azo dyes, which are cheaply made to apply strong colors to clothing Henrique (2023c). Azo dyes are known to cause a carcinogenic effect because they are easily absorbed by our skin, causing skin and eye irritation when worn.

Phthalates are also a common chemical in some fast fashion products, especially jeans, leather, and raincoats. Although the United States government imposed a ban on the chemicals being used in kids' toys, they are still used (Phthalates Business Guidance & Small Entity Compliance Guide, n.d.). The health effects of phthalates include ADHD, diabetes, breast cancer, and reproductive issues.

Formaldehyde is another common chemical in cheap fast-fashion clothes. Formaldehyde is used as a wrinkle-free agent on clothing, meaning that it prevents the item from getting wrinkled or shrinking (Henrique, 2023d). The "new" smell of clothes is often caused by using formaldehyde. This chemical is linked to respiratory and breathing issues and skin irritation. (Henrique, 2023) 

Trends are also what get people to purchase more clothes and get addicted, as we talk about in the Economy page. Fast fashion brands produce so many clothes that trends last very few days. When trends change very fast, more people want more things, which causes a fast fashion addiction.

When a consumer is addicted, they buy so much clothing that it can get them into extreme debt. Extreme debt causes anxiety, and it will all lead you into a spiral of negative mental health effects. (Henrique, 2023)

According to EPA Coral Biologist, Cheryl Hankins  “Ingested microplastics could block the corals’ digestive tracts, which would either leave them feeling satiated, like they have a full stomach, or prevent digestion of their natural diet.” (Tiny Plastics, Big Threat: How Are Microplastics Impacting Our Coral Reefs? | US EPA, 2023, para. 6). Fast fashion puts additional pressure onto marine environment's and others than what just the fashion industry puts.

The fashion industry is quite a significant contributor to climate change, it is responsible for about 10% of greenhouse gasses (UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon, 2020) . The fashion industry alone produces 1.2 billion tones of CO2 every year (Filho et al., 2022) .