The fashion industry has a reputation for being wasteful, but some might argue that this is an unfair stereotype. That’s because it’s true: the fashion industry wastes resources and contributes to environmental degradation.
But what exactly does “waste” mean here? In fact, there are many ways in which the clothing production process creates waste products that aren’t biodegradable or reusable at all! Take a look at some of these shocking facts about fast fashion and its impact on our planet:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| The fast fashion industry has a significant negative impact on the environment through its use of non-renewable resources, water pollution, and textile waste. |
| Supporting sustainable fashion brands and shopping secondhand are simple ways to make a positive impact. |
| Eco-friendly fashion choices don’t have to be limited to casual wear, with many sustainable options available for professional attire. |
| Understanding the impact of fast fashion is key to making more sustainable fashion choices. |
| To reduce the impact of fast fashion, individuals can shop sustainably, buy secondhand, and donate or recycle old clothing. |
The Clothing-Manufacturing Process Consumes A Lot Of Energy
Textiles are the second largest consumer of water in the world, after agriculture.
The textile industry accounts for 5% of global energy consumption, which makes it one of the biggest consumers of non-renewable fossil fuels.
But it gets worse: 80% of these fossil fuels are used in cotton production and processing, meaning that companies like H&M are directly responsible for an enormous amount of pollution and resource depletion.
For example, when you throw away your clothing after a few months or years (or seconds), you’re also throwing away all the resources that went into making it—including water and minerals like copper, nickel and aluminum.
The fashion industry is changing rapidly, and eco-friendly options are becoming more accessible. Our article on The Future of Fashion Is Eco-Friendly explores how sustainable materials and ethical production are shaping the industry’s future.
Materials Used In Fast Fashion Are Toxic
- Polyester is made from petroleum, which is a nonrenewable resource that releases toxic chemicals when it is burned.
- Polyester is not biodegradable and ends up in landfills where it lasts for hundreds of years.
- Many other materials used in fast fashion are also toxic, including dyes and finishes used to color and waterproof clothing
Textile Dyeing Pollutes The Water
Dyeing fabric is a very toxic process, and dyeing fabrics for fast fashion is even more toxic than the usual textile dyeing process. The dyes are made from toxic chemicals that pollute both air and water. The water used in the dyeing process contains these chemicals, which then seep into groundwater supplies.
Groundwater provides irrigation for crops grown for animal feed, as well as crops grown for human consumption.
Pollution from textile dyeing has been shown to affect livestock health and the quality of meat products produced by animals who have been fed on those crops.
Sustainable fashion doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out our guide on How to Create a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget to learn tips and tricks for shopping sustainably without overspending.
Fast Fashion Causes Soil Pollution
Soil pollution is a major problem that is caused by the way we treat our land, air and water. Landfills are overflowing with waste and it takes around 450 years to decompose a single plastic bag.
The same amount of time it takes for a fast fashion garment to be produced, sold and discarded.
Fast fashion has become an industry where cheap clothes are constantly being produced at high speeds in order to meet demands for new trends every week.
Soil pollution is one of many environmental issues that can be attributed to this trend of overproduction and excessive consumption in general.
Cheap Clothing Is Treated As Disposable
The environmental impact of fast fashion is huge. First, we buy more than we need, which requires an enormous amount of resources to produce.
Second, the clothes that are produced often aren’t made with high quality materials or ethically in factories where workers aren’t paid a living wage.
Third, it’s hard to repair these cheap clothes if they do get damaged—and they will get damaged!
Fourth and finally: when you throw something out that can’t be repaired or recycled (or simply isn’t worth repairing), it all goes into landfills where it stays for thousands of years before decomposing into microplastics and other harmful chemicals (i.e., forever).
Supporting sustainable brands is a simple way to make a positive impact on the environment. Our article on 10 Sustainable Brands You Need to Know About highlights brands that prioritize eco-friendly materials and ethical practices.
Fast Fashion Creates An Immense Waste Problem
Here’s a scary fact: fast fashion is a major contributor to the waste problem.
Think about it this way: when you buy a T-shirt for $15, do you think about the environmental impact? Probably not.
You’re thinking about how cute it looks and how comfortable it feels, not how long before it will fall apart or end up in a landfill.
Because fast fashion clothing is cheap and designed to last only a few months before being tossed away, there’s no incentive to recycle these clothes or use more sustainable materials.
Even when these garments are thrown out by customers who plan on recycling them (which isn’t always), they can be difficult to recycle because of their synthetic fibers (polyester and nylon) or plastic buttons and zippers (most commonly made from PET).
| Waste |
|---|
| Textile waste produced annually by the fashion industry |
| Textiles that end up in landfills each year |
| Clothing waste produced every day in the United States alone |
| Average time a piece of clothing is worn before being discarded |
| Water required to produce one pair of jeans |
Landfills Receive More Than 13 Million Tons Of Textile Waste Every Year
Textile waste is the second largest category of waste in landfills. While textile waste accounts for only 10% of all municipal solid waste, it makes up a much higher percentage of organic material that ends up in landfills each year.
Because clothing and rags are so difficult to recycle, they mostly end up being sent to landfills instead. In fact, over 90% of textile waste ends up in landfills because there isn’t currently enough infrastructure in place to properly recycle these materials.
Eco-friendly fashion doesn’t have to be limited to casual wear. Our article on Eco-Friendly Fashion for the Office: Tips and Tricks explores sustainable options for professional attire.
Washing Clothes Releases Chemicals Into The Water We Drink
Unfortunately, the process of washing clothes releases chemicals into the water you drink. These chemicals are toxic to both humans and ecosystems.
In fact, they’re so bad that they’ve been linked to health problems like cancer and endocrine disruption (affecting hormone balance). They also make it difficult for fish to survive in polluted water, which means less fish for us to eat!
The Textile Industry Uses And Discards A Lot Of Water
The textile industry uses and discards a lot of water, which is not surprising considering how much textiles are produced and distributed every year.
The textile industry is the second largest consumer of water in the world (behind agriculture), consuming more than 2 trillion liters annually.
That’s enough to fill about 1,300 Olympic swimming pools! To put it another way: if our entire planet were covered with one foot deep in freshwater – as it may be someday soon – almost all of that would be used by the clothing industry.
To put this into perspective, the textile industry uses more than all homes in America combined!
| Water Use | Industry |
|---|---|
| 93 billion cubic meters | Total freshwater used by the textile industry annually |
| 20% | Water pollution globally attributed to textile dyeing and treatment |
| 5 trillion liters | Amount of water used by the textile industry for dyeing and finishing annually |
| 1,800 gallons | Water used to grow the cotton needed to produce a single pair of jeans |
| 2,700 liters | Amount of water used to produce one cotton t-shirt |
“Cheap” Clothing Isn’t Cheap At All
The average price of a piece of clothing has gone down over the past few decades, but this is not because the cost of manufacturing was reduced. In fact, labor and materials are relatively more expensive now than ever before.
The real reason prices have dropped? Fast fashion retailers employ an unsustainable business model that relies on cheap labor and materials to make its products cheaper for consumers. This practice lowers costs for stores and makes their products more desirable in the eyes of consumers looking for good value.
But what does this mean for you? Well, if you’re buying fast fashion from any brand—even one that claims to be ethical you’re supporting an industry that exploits workers who often work long hours under dangerous conditions for low wages or none at all (that’s right: In some cases workers don’t even get paid).
You’re also supporting a company whose business practices damage both people and planet in order to keep costs down…all while charging your favorite price tags!
Breaking the fast fashion cycle starts with understanding its impact on the environment. Check out our article on The Truth About Fast Fashion and How to Break the Cycle to learn more about the importance of sustainable fashion choices.
Textile Production Is Labor Intensive And The Fashion Industry Has Been Known To Use Forced Labor
You’ve probably heard that fast fashion is cheap, but the truth is it isn’t. The average person spends around $1,700 per year on clothes and accessories and this number has been steadily increasing for decades.
Fast fashion is also not sustainable; as I mentioned earlier, we have a very limited supply of fossil fuels left on this planet and these are used to make plastic clothing.
Fast fashion contributes to more waste being produced in the world than ever before: 1 billion tons per year!
It also uses up valuable resources like water and energy during production processes, which leads us down yet another path of environmental destruction as we try to meet our ever-increasing demand for cheap clothes.
Finally, fast fashion certainly isn’t ethical because it exploits people who work long hours at low wages under terrible conditions just so you can get new clothes for under $20 at H&M or Forever 21 without thinking twice about where they came from (or how much effort went into making them).
When was the last time you thought about who made your dress? Or if they were paid fairly? Most people don’t think about these things because they don’t want anything getting in between their desire for instant gratification and their budget constraints but by supporting brands like
Zara instead of ones owned by larger companies like Gap Inc., which offer better benefits packages including health care coverage along with higher pay rates across all levels within their organizations
Conclusion
We bought all these clothes because they were cheap and convenient, but what we didn’t realize is that the cost of fast fashion impacts us all.
That cheap sweater at H&M may not seem like a big deal when you’re buying it, but when all those cheap sweaters are being produced by workers who are being exploited and forced into dangerous working conditions, it becomes our problem too.
This isn’t just an issue for the people making our clothes; pollution from textile dyeing or fabric production can ruin our waterways and drinking water too!
So next time you go shopping remember: before buying something new ask yourself if it’s really worth supporting an industry that cares more about profits than people’s lives?
Further Reading
To learn more about the impact of fast fashion on the environment, check out these resources:
Fast Fashion’s Detrimental Effect on the Environment: This article from Earth.org explores the negative environmental impact of the fast fashion industry.
The Environmental Costs of Fast Fashion: The United Nations Environment Programme provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts of fast fashion.
The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment: This article from Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security examines the environmental impact of fast fashion and explores potential solutions.
FAQs
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to the mass production of clothing at a low cost and high speed, resulting in trends quickly going in and out of fashion.
What are the environmental impacts of fast fashion?
Fast fashion contributes to environmental degradation through its use of non-renewable resources, water pollution, and textile waste.
How does fast fashion affect workers?
Many fast fashion workers are underpaid and work in poor conditions, including exposure to hazardous chemicals.
What can individuals do to reduce the impact of fast fashion?
Individuals can reduce the impact of fast fashion by shopping sustainably, buying secondhand clothing, and donating or recycling old clothing.
What are some sustainable alternatives to fast fashion?
Sustainable alternatives to fast fashion include shopping from ethical and sustainable clothing brands, renting clothing, and buying secondhand.
I am Hellen, I’ve been passionate about sustainability for as long as I can remember. It’s something that my mom taught me from a young age, and it’s something that has shaped my life in so many ways.