Fast Fashion explained

Introduction

During this post I want to highlight the differences between sustainable fashion and unsustainable fashion. In this context, fashion is the way that clothing is produced. Clothing items can be made in different ways, some have more sustainable production methods then others which have more harmful practices. Sustainable action means doing something that benefits the economy, environment, and wider community. These are the pillars of sustainability. This is the same in any business industry, are their business practices causing a net positive or a net negative to the wider community?

Sustainability concept visualised

Goals from the UN for human sustainability goals.

Unsustainable and sustainable practices for making fashion

It is difficult to categorise what practices are completely 'bad' or 'good' in terms of those sustainable pillars. It is easier to see this issue of making fashion in a sustainable way as a 'grey' area.

Companies like to brand themselves as sustainable producers of trousers, shirts and jumpers for example. However, it is difficult to evaluate whether their production methods are actually 100% sustainable. To evaluate this claim a company could make of producing '100% sustainable' products, an agency would have to evaluate the social, economic and environmental factors of a clothing production supply chain. This would be time consuming and complex.

Unsustainable fashion gets more media attention compared to sustainable fashion.

The media usually call unsustainable fashion the same as 'fast fashion'.

Fast Fashion is defined as producing fashion in the cheapest, quickest way possible. Consumers of fast fashion are usually in France, Germany, United States, United Kingdom and other HDC Countries. Fashion products are usually made in countries such as China, India, Bangladesh, and other LDC countries This is because textiles companies have found highly effective ways to make these products and ship them over for a profit.

World map of EU clothes imports and exports in 2012

This map shows where the EU is selling its clothes to and where it is importing them from .

EU imports and exports clothing , biggest importers are from countries include China, Bangladesh, and Turkey. Biggest exporters are to Switzerland, the United States, China, the Russian Federation.

Fashion companies have increased their productivity to make sure that they are reaching the growing demand for both casual and higher-end items clothing . Fashion companies' decisions to reach their demand, often leads to them making unsustainable decisions within their supply chain.

Impacts of fast fashion

Unfortunately, the cheapest and most accessible clothes are usually fast fashion. These clothing production practices harm the environment, communities and economy sometimes. It is difficult to quantify whether someone's action are completely bad or good in some areas and not in another. It is usually the case where one sustainability factor is prioritised majorly, over other factors.

This is unbalanced.

Traditionally the business side of a company's clothing production are thriving, but the social and environmental considerations are usually being left behind. In this case the companies are making a good profit and margin on their clothing products, the people making the products may be happy to do so also. However because these people are vulnerable they are likely to be exploited, this is common not just in the fashion industry but in tech as well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30532463 -- Apple worker conditions article.

These workers in LDC countries usually have conditions of working long hours, limited breaks, unpaid hours and dangerous conditions.

The environment takes a hit also from the way companies grow, source, and manufacture their textiles/clothing at the beginning of the product life cycle.

Here is an example of the life cycle of traditional clothes. The 5 stages include: 1) Raw materials sourcing, 2) Make yarn and fabric, 3) Dye and finish, 4) Transport and sell, 5) Wear and wash, and

6) After use.

Example of product life cycle of clothing

Conclusion

The gathering of raw materials, often cause large implication stopping local communities accessibility water resources and arable land for crops. Heavy chemicals and pesticides are used to create the three main crops used in clothing these are cotton, hemp, flax plants. These chemicals can infect local water sources with pollution.

The water it takes to produce textiles for one shirt is roughly 2,700 litres of water, included the 3 stages of production before shipping and selling. Due to the heavy input of water producing clothing can it can take dyes and other cleaning chemicals into natural water supplies. It is estimated that textile production is responsible for 20% of all clean water pollution globally. For an average EU citizen clothing requirements it would take 9 cubic meters of water, 400 square meters of land and 391 square kilograms of raw materials to cloth them.

Cheap clothing has a cost. It can be convenient and easy to buy but there are many things companies have to consider before calling their clothing products 'Green'.

Sources:

(EU Commission https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics)