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Writer's pictureJoshua Clamp
4 min read

An industry stuck on fast forward – Part 1

Part 1: What’s the big deal?


Fast fashion is a system of rapid clothing production and consumption where items typically have a short lifespan.


This seemingly harmless culture of frequently buying new clothes and then getting rid of them is a commonly overlooked and underestimated problem, for both society and the sustainability of the planet.


We can all act to improve the world around us by taking these simple steps; increasing our awareness, changing our perspectives, and making smarter decisions.



The background…


It is not an accident that our ideas around clothing have changed in the last few decades. Industrialisation has driven item prices lower whilst mass producers have intentionally created a culture of constant consumption, which has blurred the lines between need and want – meaning global clothing production has doubled over the last 15 years, snowballing the value of the fashion industry to USD 1.3 trillion.


To say that this has had tragic consequences on our ethical, social, health, and environmental systems is an understatement.


"Across the EU and UK, clothing is the eighth largest sector in terms of household spending. However, it is ranked fourth in terms of its impact on the environment. Only housing, transport, and food have greater impacts." WRAP, 2017

When buying a new item of clothing, say a coloured t-shirt, we forget the enormous journey it has taken – from source to sale…


If a t-shirt is made of polyester, then it is made of plastic which means it comes from both a non-renewable and environmentally damaging source – petroleum. If it is made of cotton, then the fibres have been made from incredibly thirsty cotton plants (it takes 20,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of cotton which is equivalent to a single shirt and pair of jeans). The polyester/cotton fibres start their journey when they are treated with chemicals, dyed, and shipped. After this, the fibres are made into the textiles and shipped again where factory workers, in poor working conditions, make them into clothes. Finally, the new clothes complete their last shipment (often transported/packaged in more plastic) before reaching factories/stores in the UK.


We also overlook the journeys that our clothing takes after we use them. Increasingly, clothes are being both given or thrown away after just a few uses. Often these clothes are given to charity shops, cloth banks or are recycled, but the sheer overwhelming quantity of these materials results in a staggering amount ending up in landfills or being incinerated. Overall, the equivalent of one dump truck full of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second. The clothing that is recycled is typically used for lower value products, including cloths, mattress stuffing, and carpets, which in turn are rarely recycled. Less than one percent of clothing made is actually recycled into new clothing. One reason for this is that the overwhelming quantity of donated clothes has increased the amount of clothes being exported to other countries. In 2014, the UK exported nearly 352,000 tonnes of used textiles which were worth £342m. However, receiving countries often don’t have the collection infrastructure to handle it, which results in many of the materials ending up in landfills or being incinerated.


 


There are 3 main issues across the value chain:


Use of resources. The textiles industry relies on 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year, which includes oil to make synthetic fibres, fertilisers to grow cotton, and chemicals to produce and dye fibres and textiles. This problem is further exacerbated by the 93 billion cubic metres of water used annually by textiles production (including cotton farming).


Social injustice. Garment producers work in unsafe conditions and are exposed to hazardous substances used in production. High costs and time pressures result in long hours and low pay, with evidence of both modern slavery and child labour. The fast fashion industry undeniably exploits women (approximately 80% of garment workers are women), particularly women of colour. Clearly, basic human rights are frequently disregarded for profit. Furthermore, the communities surrounding factories suffer due to the many poor environmental practices used, for example, discharging untreated wastewater into local rivers used for fishing, drinking, and bathing.


Environmental pollution. Greenhouse gas emissions from textiles make up 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions (more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined). Plus, as mentioned above, the high volume of hazardous chemical-containing water also impacts local workers, and the local environment, and whilst it is difficult to quantify the impact of this chemical release, it is known that 20% of industrial water pollution globally is attributable to the dyeing and treatment of textiles. Another major issue that we are only beginning to understand is microplastics. It has been estimated that around half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres shed during the washing of plastic-based textiles such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic end up in the ocean annually – harming wildlife, and thus entering our food chains, and impacting our health.


BUT… you probably already know all of this, maybe not these exact statistics, but you’re aware of these ideas. Why then, is fast fashion growing exponentially?


Well for starters, as mentioned previously, industrialisation of the fashion industry has allowed garment price to plummet, in many cases to a mere few pounds per item. Simultaneously, drivers of fast fashion have intentionally created a culture of constant consumption, which with clever marketing, has normalised such buying habits. Cheap clothes are bought, whilst the negative consequences of their purchase are intentionally covered. This is a culture where fashion operates on an occasion-driven basis, where consumers buy new clothing for events, holidays, festivals, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and a range of other ‘occasions’ where they are only worn once and then are thrown away.


Slowly, the big Highstreet and online brands are beginning to take positive steps, but in too many cases these steps are too small, or the brand is just greenwashing.


So, how do we move forward?


Keep an eye out for part 2…




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