The Truth Behind Your Clothes
Fast fashion provides cheap fashion at fast turnover rates causing it to take over the fashion industry. However, these clothes come at a higher price than it seems. These are low quality products made in sweatshops in other countries where workers have poor working conditions, long hours, and low wages. Also, because the trends in fast fashion change so rapidly, the life cycles of these products are extremely short and they are discarded not long after being bought which is horrible for the environment. to put it into perspective, one garbage truck full of textiles is sent to the landfill every second.
The film “Clothes To Die For” describes the horrific event of Rana Plaza which injured about 2,000 people and killed over 1,000 factory workers in Bangladesh. This tragedy and many others that have happened like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Dhaka happened due to the lack of safety precautions taken by the factory owners and the government. Cheap, fast fashion is not worth the lives of the people making our clothes so changes need to be made. People need to be aware and companies need to take accountability of what fast fashion is doing to our world.
The environmental effects of fast fashion also need to be brought to light and changed. A lot of fast fashion products are made using synthetic fibers because they are cheaper, but they take up to 200 years to biodegrade. Fabrics made from natural fibers are usually considered better for the environment because they biodegrade faster than synthetic fibers, but they affect the environment in a different way. The use of pesticides and fertilizer when growing crops like cotton heavily pollutes runoff waters and evaporation waters. These chemicals also cause health problems, or even death, for farmers and consumers. Chromium 6 is one chemical in particular that pollutes the air, water, and soil. It is used in electroplating, stainless steel production, leather tanning, textile manufacturing and wood preservation. To avoid these chemicals, go for clothes made from organic fibers from sustainable brands.
Making clothes requires large amounts of water which creates a demand for a resource that is already scarce in countries where most textiles are made. To help with this problem, companies can use recycled fibers or linen because they require less water.
“85 % of the daily needs in water of the entire population of India would be covered by the water used to grow cotton in the country. 100 million people in India do not have access to drinking water. ”
Microfibers are another major environmental problem. Every time clothes made of synthetic fibers are washed, it releases tiny microfibers made of plastic that get into our oceans and are impossible to clean up so they are then ingested by small aquatic animals, which get eaten by fish that we eat. Each year 1.5 million tons of microfibers are released into the ocean from textiles, which is equivalent to 50 billion plastic water bottles.
Sustainability is becoming a bigger trend in the fashion industry because people are finally starting to realize and care about what is happening to our world. One example of this is fair trade: a global movement made up of a network of producers, companies, shoppers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first. It encourages people to demand higher standards of their clothing. Clothes that are made sustainably and ethically should be the industry standard, not a costly privilege.
The Green Carpet challenge is another example of how people are trying to encourage and bring attention to sustainable fashion. According to their website, it is a “sophisticated initiative that pairs glamour with ethics, serving to raise the profile of a brand on red carpets around the world, putting sustainability in the spotlight underpinned by digital disruption. The GCC was launched in 2010, when Livia walked the awards season red carpet in sustainable gowns. Since then, the GCC has grown exponentially to include world famous designers and celebrities, all united in highlighting sustainable fashion and methods.”
There are many examples of how sustainable and ethical fashion is growing in the industry but these are just a couple that are encouraging the change. Yes, doing away with these fast fashion practices means you may have to pay a little more for your clothes, but isn’t it worth it when you think about what you’re paying for? You are paying for quality: the quality of the product, quality of the environment, and quality of the lives of the people making these products. Be a fashion revolutionary!