Erin Elgersma
published 13 November 2020
The modern day fashion industry is largely motivated by fast fashion. Fast fashion is characterized by cheap and trendy clothing, produced at high speed in order to meet consumer needs and the constantly changing style season. This speed has detrimental effects on people and on the planet. Over the last two years, I have been personally invested in learning about this industry and its ethical and environmental impacts.
There are two main areas of the fast fashion industry that consumers should be aware of; this industry creates concerns regarding both ethics and sustainability. In order to ensure the lowest possible price for consumers and the largest profit margins, fast fashion companies find all the possible ways to cut production costs. A common business strategy in the fast fashion industry is outsourcing to Global South countries like Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Companies choose to outsource to countries like these because of the fewer enforced labour laws like minimum wage, government regulation, and human rights codes. Unfortunately, many garment workers in these sweatshops work long and strenuous hours without receiving a living wage. Because of the lack of regulation in these countries, dangerous and violent working conditions accompany the unfair wages. In 2013 the Rana Plaza, an eight-story garment factory in Bangladesh, collapsed and killed over 1000 individuals. This particular story is only one of many and daily horror stories of violence are not uncommon. Shockingly, these stories are not isolated to Global South countries; the New York Times has reported on Fashion Nova and their unethical business practices that are taking place in Los Angeles, California. This American based fashion company reportedly pays $4.66 US an hour.
In addition to the unethical characteristics of fast fashion, environmental concerns also arise all throughout the industry. Scholarly research has found that the fast fashion industry negatively impacts the environment from a textile’s beginning to its end. The production of both natural and synthetic materials like cotton and polyester use large amounts of water and produce harmful toxins, heavy metals, and dyes into the surrounding environment. But the negative environmental effects do not stop at production; because of the consumerism that both encourages and enables the fast fashion industry, consumers purchase excessive amounts of clothes that are low quality and that are regularly replaced with “more trendy and fashionable” pieces. This excess results in textile waste that ends up in landfills.
I remember the first time I was significantly impacted by the idea that my consumer habits were negatively impacting the environment and people across the globe. I had heard about horror stories of sweatshops and rumors of landfills filled with textiles, but never thought about my personal connection to the issue. During December 2018, I participated in an anti-human trafficking fundraiser campaign called “Dressemeber,” which required me to wear dresses the entire month. Naively, I thought that my actions were making such a significant difference because I fundraised money and engaged in conversation with people concerning this worldwide issue. My ignorance was suddenly exposed when I found myself shopping for dresses that entire month from stores like Walmart, Old Navy, and other fast fashion retailers. Realizing that my excessive consumption habits were part of the problem sent me on a mission to research more about the industry and ultimately changed my consumption habits.
This change is what brings me to the big question of this discussion: what can we do? Over the last two years, I have started with small, seemingly insignificant changes. First, I stopped shopping at fast fashion stores; many of my favourite clothing stores like American Eagle, H&M, and Zara are part of the problem and I did not want to continue supporting companies that were perpetuating unethical and unsustainable practices. Instead of stores like these, I began shopping solely at thrift stores. Additionally, I am trying to take better care of the clothes I already have and mending the clothes I can when they are damaged. But if I do need to buy something new, I make sure that it is something I actually need and that I buy from businesses that are slow fashion instead. These are small changes that individuals can make to reduce their impact on the environment and individuals, but the ultimate changes need to occur in our society. We need to reduce our excessive consumption.
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