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Fast Fashion

Guest post by Ellen Cowley


Pale pink square with graphic of people grouped and 'Fast Fashion' text


Introduction


In this article I discuss fast fashion: what is it, why it is a problem and how can we help. Fast fashion is driven by economic factors. Unfortunately it can have negative consequences for the environment and for society.


Why is it a problem?


Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest tends. Mass-market retailers are popular cheap clothing brands in developed countries. They respond to the demand of the people or the trends. They produce clothing made of very poor materials, very quickly and cheaply to meet the demand of consumers.


To make this clothing cheap for the consumer, it needs to be cheap to make for retailers. This is not possible in developed countries where there are strict laws in place to protect worker’s rights, such as minimum wage, paid holidays and safety standards. Retailers go to developing countries, such as Vietnam, to make their clothing where there are no worker’s rights and where labour is cheap. Apart from the social problems with this, there are environmental problems including the fossil fuels burnt transporting clothes from developing countries to developed countries.


Fast fashion is cheap and readily available, so it becomes popular and people buy it. However, because its not made from durable materials it tears and falls apart easily. Most of it ends up being discarded in landfill. Of 100 billion garments produced every year, 60 billion go landfill. 60% of clothes are made from plastic it can take over 200 years for them decompose in landfill.


How can we help?


· Buy less clothing. Overconsumption is a huge problem. Ask yourself am I going to wear this item enough to justify buying it?


· Don’t give into fashion fads (trends that are extremely popular for a short time).


· If you must buy, invest in good quality clothes that will last.


· Recycle, swap and repair. Only 10% of all clothes are recycled yearly.


· Donate clothes you don’t wear anymore to charity shops and try to buy from charity shops.

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