Self-quarantine has led me to do many projects while stuck inside. From teaching myself how to play the guitar, perfecting the home-made chocolate chip cookie, drawing, to even dying my hair, I finally reached the project I had been dreading…cleaning out my closet. As I sifted through the countless hoodies from my various sports teams in high school to the random shirts I have never worn, it had me thinking about a problem that is rarely discussed, the issue of fast fashion and how the fashion industry affects the environment.
Along with the various projects, I have also found time to watch too many movies, but one in particular caught my attention. I stumbled across the True Cost on Amazon Prime and I love documentaries, so I gave it a shot. Let me tell you, this documentary was heavy and very real. It uncovered the horrible truths behind the fashion industry, and particularly fast fashion. Fast fashion is defined as “An approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers” however it is causing more harm than good. Don’t get me wrong, I am a part of the problem because I contribute by purchasing items from fast fashion brands, however it is important to acknowledge the problem in order to make a change.
“Fast fashion utilizes trend replication, rapid production, and low-quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public. Unfortunately, this results in harmful impacts to the environment, human well-being, and ultimately our wallets.”
This idea that we constantly need to be purchasing new clothing is extremely harmful and we need to be aware of its consequences.
“The world now consumes about 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. This is 400% more than the amount we consumed just two decades ago. As new clothing comes into our lives, we also discard it at a shocking pace. The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year. That adds up to more than 11 million tons of textile waste from the U.S. alone. Historically, clothing has been something we have held onto for a long time, but with cheap clothing now abundantly available we are beginning to see the things we wear as disposable.”
Although it seems appealing to purchase a garment because of its inexpensive price, it is selfish because it is harming not only our environment, but also the humans who are working awful conditions with barely any pay to make the garments. Let us take this time to educate ourselves on the issues involving the fashion industry and reflect on our own closets and shopping habits.
my thoughts & some mumbo jumbo 
4 replies on “Fast Fashion and the Environment”
Molly,
Great post! I think more people need to be aware of the effects of fashion fashion. Surprisingly, not a lot of people know about fast fashion and that the clothes they purchase often (because of how inexpensive they are) actually hurt the environment. I’ve even found that a lot of my eco-friendly and environmentally aware friends shop from non-sustainable companies, just because they are really uneducated about the subject.
I think it’s important to talk about this way more often & spread the word about the impacts of fast fashion on our environment.
good job!
Katie
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This is a topic that definitely needs more awareness. It seems like there are a lot of people that get so offended by clothing that is priced high because they are used to purchasing their clothes from cheap places like forever21. People need to start understanding that an item is “cheap” for a reason. Those reasons being that the clothing is being made in sweatshops and that the brand is using the cheapest possible materials which are harming our environment. A lot of people still don’t know this, I remember the first time I even found out about something like this was when I started purchasing from a brand called Reformation when I was 16. They are ethically made and use recyclable material and make it very known to their buyers. After finding out about this brand years ago it has made me more aware of what fast fashion is and has made me try and buy as sustainably as I can.
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As someone who loves fashion and has a pretty packed closet, I know how large of an issue this is. I actually watched this documentary, which really shed light on the topic. It is easy to clean out our closets and feel content by “donating” our clothes, because we are giving them to a new home. But this documentary shared the harsh reality of this–areas in developing countries of mountains and mountains of our clothes. These clothes aren’t being worn or given a new owner, but just dumped and filling our earth with more trash. It is easy to purchase from fast fashion brands because of their appealing prices and trends, but it really is so important to buy quality pieces that we know will last us more than one season, and have a positive impact on our planet.
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Likewise, I have also cleaned my closet during my self-quarantine and found clothes that I have never worn once. What’s worse is that I found clothes that still had tags in shopping bags because I completely forgot about them after buying them. I have never really made the connection to how fast fashion can affect the environment so this was really interesting for me to read. Next time I go shopping I will definitely remember and keep it in mind to keep myself from buying unnecessary items!
The horrible truth behind fast fashion is very real and something that is often overlooked by society. I have done some research on how these fashion industries can keep prices at such a low; The price of these items are often possible due to the terrible workplaces from third world countries that produce these items. This is the sad truth behind fast fashion.
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