Waste Series: Part 4: Fast Fashion

by Mia de Castro

July 31, 2020

Now that I have covered two main methods of reducing our environmental impact by properly sorting our trash, I want to divulge information about one of the largest industry pollutants in regards to landfills.

The fashion industry, or more specifically, the fast fashion industry is the second largest polluting industry in the world. Fast fashion is “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends” (Oxford Dictionary). Some fast fashion brands are Zara, H&M, Missguided, Forever 21, Zaful, SHEIN, Boohoo, FashionNova, GAP, Primark, Topshop, and UNIQLO. Fast fashion has many sustainability issues, environmental and ethical alike, due to the price competitiveness within the industry.

Fast fashion brands produce several collections each year in hope of keeping up with the latest fashion trends that mimic the runway or styles of celebrities. These brands became popular due to their affordability and style, not due to the quality or other long-term benefits, and thus fast fashion apparel is easily thrown away, causing much of the textile waste in landfills.

In 2017, the EPA classified that 6.3 percent of MSW was textiles, and that clothing was the main source. Even though 6.3 percent seems relatively small, this percentage makes up almost 17 million tons of clothing, 11 million of which (85%) ended up in landfills.

Evidently, these figures demonstrate clearly wasteful habits in today’s society. But we should be looking at why we are so wasteful in the first place.

Why are we producing over 5 times as much waste as we were 50 years ago? Moreover, why are we generating over 8 times as many textiles as we did 50 years ago?

This drastic increase in clothing production and waste can be linked to the rise of fast fashion, which reached its height (that still continues today) in the 1990s and 2000s. We have been seduced by affordable prices for the newest, trendiest styles, and have been taught by these same companies to pay close attention to the fashion cycle and maintain these trends for our status, image, pleasure, etc. However, it is important to note that these concepts are advertised in order for these companies to continue to gain a profit.

It is evident that the affordability and disposability of fast fashion is not sustainable, so large companies often exploit natural resources to increase their profits. They use harmful dyes/chemicals, implement unsustainable methods for producing natural materials, and develop cheaper synthetic materials that pollute the environment. Moreover, the large, and often international, scale in which these textiles are produced often creates a challenge when attempting to regulate the overall process. (Read more about the specifics of fast fashion here or visit my sources for this piece for a more in depth look)

The rise of fast fashion, along with its disposability and environmental harm, needs to be addressed with solutions from the beginning of the process, rather than at the end. Although donating and reselling clothes are a great option for reducing textile waste, these efforts have not been enough to combat textile waste as it has only increased in the past decades. We, as consumers, need to play our part by refusing to support fast fashion companies, or at least, by not prioritizing them when we shop.

Although we are surrounded by advertisements and social media that promote fast fashion, quick trends, and overflowing closets, it is important to remember our environmental impact. A difficult, but very effective solution, is addressing the issue of overconsumption by limiting how much clothing we consume. This transition may be unrealistic and/or abrupt for many, but there are other simpler options as well. Thrifting clothing or buying secondhand from websites/apps such as Depop and Mercari are amazing and affordable options for refreshing your closet. Because the items are previously owned, they are usually guaranteed to be better quality, especially older vintage items. Another, but often more expensive, option is to support sustainable brands such as Reformation or Mate the Label.

As thrifting becomes increasingly popular, I hope that regulated consumption also becomes popularized and that overwhelming closets are denormalized for the average person.

Ultimately, the fast fashion industry should no longer be supported because its temporary affordability will have and is currently having costly, long-term effects on our environment.