Fast Fashion: In the Race of Chasing Trends, Nobody Wins
THE FASHION INDUSTRY is constantly evolving. Today, “fast fashion” has become the newest business model implemented by several huge corporations including Forever 21, Zara, and H&M. This term characterizes the attitudes of companies to prioritize the constant manufacturing of inexpensive, disposable clothing that quickly fades from new to irrelevant in the eye of the consumer. These stores focus on bringing trending styles to the masses at low prices, which ultimately encourages more frequent purchasing and thus higher profits. However, this new culture yields implications that span across various areas. Not only is the quality sacrificed, but an overabundance of “disposable” clothing has led to environmental problems including pollution and a lack of landfill space. Many of the factories used to manufacture this clothing are located in developing countries where employees face unsafe working conditions and low wages. As the most labor dependent and heavily resource depleting industry, it is imperative that more awareness is created regarding the damaging implications of the fashion industry so that communities can work to adapt more sustainable and socially responsible practices.
Our current consumer mindset that has been developed only over the last decade or so has enabled fast fashion to become the new industry model. Purchasing from stores like Forever 21 is convenient and makes “trendy” styles accessible at a time when there is significant emphasis on having to have the latest look, but this comes at a high cost. In comparison to the ready to wear era, there has been a spike in the number of garments purchased by Americans each year. From 2000 to 2014, the amount of clothing we own has increased by 60% (Teen Vogue). The surplus of inexpensive product has become a catalyst for this shift in behavior and people are increasingly purchasing products with very short lifetimes. Fast fashion brands themselves have created a model that perpetuates this problem by essentially putting out 52 clothing seasons a year rather than the traditional two. The nearly instant trend turnover proves profitable because customers return feeling pressured to snag the newest looks (and also because last week’s purchases fell apart after one wash). This creates a sense of urgency to purchase quickly as “the supply side of fast fashion ensures scarcity which in turn drives demand” (Joy). Another appeal of fast fashion is that because it is inexpensive, we return from the store feeling fulfilled because we were able to purchase several items. In reality, we are cheating ourselves, the environment, and entire communities. By acknowledging the counterproductive effects of this mindset, we can work to modify the attitudes surrounding clothing by encouraging the purchase of longer lasting garments to help mitigate the negative effects of industry practices.
With the adoption of a new business structure that prioritizes the growth of profits over everything else, the working conditions and safety of employees have become severely neglected. This new industry model depends on inexpensive manufacturing; while in the 1960s 95% of our clothing was produced in the United States, now just 3% of it is (with the remaining 97% of manufacturing located in developing countries) (The True Cost). When production is outsourced to countries such as Bangladesh and China, all legal expectations are reverted to those of the manufacturing countries. While the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire led to the revision and creation of safe labor laws and occupational protections in the United States (Bick et al.), developing countries have significantly less regulations in place to ensure sufficient standards of living for employees. Additionally, companies no longer maintain ownership of factories and thus are not held responsible for poor working conditions or low wages for employees. However, the companies are responsible for the demand they place on factory managers to reach almost unattainable production goals.
Factory managers feel pressured to cut corners because fast fashion powerhouses often make ultimatums to meet production needs at low cost or risk losing their business. The consequences of this practice became very evident with the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh. Managers ignored reports from employees who noticed structural issues and cracks in the building and it ultimately fell, taking the lives of over 1000 garment workers. The effects of this disaster rippled through the entire world and shed light on the unethical practices of many companies. When fashion brands began outsourcing their production, they also began relying on third party audits. The Rana Plaza tragedy was further investigated and it was discovered that “cracks in factory foundations, bars on the windows, blocked fire exits and other unsafe conditions were left out of third-party [audit] reports” (Drennan). Had these reports been conducted with integrity, the lives of many would have been saved. With 90% of the world’s clothing being created in low and middle-class countries (Bick et al.), it is vital that more transparency of the production process is demanded of brands.
The industrial disaster in Bangladesh is not the only instance of unethical behavior occurring in the business of producing fast fashion; long hours, low wages, and child labor plague factories in many developing countries. The wages earned by employees in Bangladesh were barely enough to live off of, with a minimum wage of $38 a month. In 2013, the government agreed to raise this dismal salary to $68 a month. However, 40% of the factories have not yet implemented the new wage (Drennan), which is still significantly lower than the minimum wage required in the U.S. Not only are employees paid meager amounts for their work, they are also given very long shifts. They work seven days a week, averaging at about 10 to 12 hours a day and 16 to 18 hours a day during peak season (Labour Behind the Label). In addition to requiring intense hours, it is common in the garment industry for employees to begin working at young ages, “with many working long hours in unsafe factories. Child laborers in Pakistan, Egypt and Central Asia working in the cotton fields either during or following the spraying season are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning” (Drennan). Children in developing countries are exposed to the dangerous aspects of the fast fashion industry from a young age in both pesticide ridden fields and exploitative factories so that fast fashion companies can meet their production goals and continue feeding America’s excessive clothing consumption.
The unhealthy implications of each step of the fast fashion production cycle reach near and far. With 1/6 of the world’s population working in the fashion industry (Teen Vogue), the well-being of farmers, factory workers, and everyone in between becomes a global issue. The harvesting of plants used in creating textiles has led to various health complications in farmers. New GMO cotton plants have been designed to release toxins to kill off pests, but they don’t do so successfully. Thus, farmers continue to spray pesticides over hundreds of acres of land, which has resulted in the diagnoses of several farmers with cancer as a result of their exposure to the chemicals (The True Cost). In India, chromium tainted water from leather factories is poured into the nation’s rivers. Consumption of this contaminated water has caused physical and mental deformities in many children and drastically lowers their life expectancies (The True Cost). When materials are assembled in sweatshops in developing countries, “reported health outcomes include debilitating and life-threatening conditions such as lung disease and cancer, damage to endocrine function, adverse reproductive and fetal outcomes, accidental injuries, overuse injuries and death” (Bick et al.). Nobody should have to work in an environment that puts their life and wellbeing at risk. This information should make us question how we can improve our practices to minimize the unsafe implications they yield.
Fast fashion practices are unhealthy for our people, as well as our world. The use of dyes, chemicals, and pesticides have led to the widespread contamination of water as well as other negative ecological impacts. Fashion is also a key player in the depletion of natural resources, as it takes “2700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt” (Drennan). Not only does the production process of clothing have destructive effects on the environment, so does the decomposition process. More than 11 million tons of textiles are disposed each year by the United States alone (Teen Vogue). However, many these garments are made of synthetic materials and thus are not biodegradable. As they break down over a span of a few hundred years, toxins are released into the air. Even worse, there is not landfill capacity to support the amount of clothing that is disposed of each year. China— the original destination for these garments— has now banned all recycled textile imports (Teen Vogue) and excessive amounts are ending up in third-world countries, far surpassing what’s needed by the communities (The True Cost). Through the entirety of its lifecycle, our clothing damages our environment and even the perceived “solution” of disposing it becomes a problem in itself.
There is not a prevalent argument denying that fast fashion is a destructive practice, but some people feel that the industry is receiving too much backlash. In the 2015 documentary “The True Cost”, former Sourcing Manager of Joe Fresh Kate Ball-Young explains that as Americans, we are viewing the issue from the perspective that lacks the context of what living in a developing country entails. She acknowledges that fashion is intrinsically a safe industry (as opposed to others such as coal mining) and that employees choose to work in garment factories over other worse alternatives (The True Cost). Though this discussion is valid, it doesn’t justify the exploitive practices of the industry and we should still work to actively diminish the most harmful aspects of it.
The problem of fast fashion feels overwhelming, but with increased awareness and modified behavior from consumers and brands, we can work to limit the damaging effects it has on our society and world. This issue has developed relatively recently, with the first fast fashion brands coming into the scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Within the last five or so years, many people have begun acknowledging the need for change and sustainable clothing initiatives have popped up. Fashion Revolution is an organization that provides accessible information about the impacts of fast fashion and works actively to increase awareness and demand transparency from brands. Originally based out of the United Kingdom, the movement has gained an increasingly global presence. The week of April 22nd (Earth Day) through April 28th is Fashion Revolution week, and Fashion Revolution Day is celebrated on April 24th, the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster. The campaign provides a platform for consumers to reach out directly to brands through social media and email by snapping a photo with the clothing label of their favorite brand and using the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes to hold companies accountable (Fashion Revolution). Other efforts such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition have provided factories around the world with “the Higg Facility Social & Labor Module to measure social impacts of the value chain” and “the Higg Facility Environmental Module to assess environmental impacts” (Sustainable Apparel Coalition). Additionally, the website www.goodonyou.eco has rated hundreds of clothing brands on their environmental impact, labor conditions, and animal welfare and provides users with a brand directory to learn about the clothing they own.
In addition to these initiatives, sustainable fashion brands have become much more prevalent in recent years. A pioneer of free-trade fashion is People Tree, which is clothing brand that creates its products from the bottom up by considering the capabilities of its creators first, and then designs garments that meet aesthetic needs without over-exerting the manufacturers. Additionally, they “provide technical assistance for producers, so they can improve their skills, strengthen their businesses and have a positive social impact” and use natural materials when possible (People Tree Co.). This company provides a great model of an ethical and successful fashion brand. As consumers, we can help improve the issues associated with fast fashion one purchase at a time.
We still have a long way to go, but by raising awareness, supporting sustainable brands, and purchasing clothing with a longer lifespan, the destructive effects of the industry can be minimized. Learning more about the implications of fast fashion practices enables communities to become more aware of how adjusting their behavior can aid in reducing the negative impacts of the industry. As consumers, we should do our best to educate ourselves and each other on the importance of ethical fashion and be more thoughtful about our shopping habits. We should also place more value on the rather than quantity of our purchases rather than quantity. Though buying garments frequently may feel gratifying in the moment, investing in higher quality garments will ultimately be much more fulfilling. If we can think about our clothing purchases in the same way we think about recycling or eating organic, the small adjustments we make in our personal lives can lead to widespread change.
Works Cited
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Contra Agency, Fashion Revolution. Fashion Revolution. Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
Drennan, Kelly. “Picking Up the Threads.” Alternatives Journal (AJ) - Canada’s Environmental Voice, vol. 41, no. 3, May 2015, pp. 20–23. EBSCOhost, Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
Joy, Annamma, John F. Sherry, Alladi Venkatesh, Jeff Wang, and Ricky Chan. “Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands.” Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, vol. 16, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 273–295. EBSCOhost, Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
People Tree Co. People Tree Co. Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
Ross, Michael. The True Cost. Life Is My Movie Entertainment, 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
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Teen Vogue. “The Problem With Fast Fashion.” Online video clip. YouTube, 21 Sept. 2018. Web. 29 Apr. 2019.
“Working Hours.” Labour Behind the Label, 16 Nov. 2017, Web. 29 Apr. 2019.