The Impact of Your Outfit: 3 Things You Need to Know About The Fashion Industry
In such a fast-paced world, sometimes all we need is to take a minute and slow down. This applies to life and fashion.
With fast fashion creating new trends on the daily, you’re constantly faced with the idea of needing more. More clothes. More shoes. More bags. The cheap and accessible ways of fast fashion make it easy to mindlessly shop for things you don’t need.
The clothing might be cheap and short-lived, but the impacts of fast fashion are expensive and long-lasting. Stick around to learn about slow and fast fashion and the impact of both on our environment.
The Skeletons in Fast Fashion’s Closet.
There’s a laundry list of things the fashion industry is doing wrong. From exploiting people to using psychology in a way that manipulates you into over-shopping. Fast fashion companies treat their own clothes (and the people making them) as disposable.
Have you ever stopped to think about how these companies do it? How all of the fashion giants make clothes so affordable? And so many of them?
There is a lot going on behind closed doors in fast fashion. These are three things the fashion industry is doing to make cheap clothes:
1. Modern Slavery And Fast Fashion
Big fashion companies use modern slavery and forced labor to make their craft “affordable”. But people in 3rd world countries being exploited are paying the true cost of their affordable craft. ¹
You might think slavery is a thing of the past, but there are over 40.3 million people living as modern slaves. And 71% are girls and women. ²
Slavery is real, but it’s hidden away in the supply chain of your everyday products. And supporting companies with these practices support their ways.
To learn more about modern slavery in the garment industry watch The True Cost.
2. Fashion is a Thirsty Industry.
The fashion industry is the second-largest water-consumer worldwide and is responsible for 10% of ALL greenhouse emissions. But it’s also the second-largest water polluter in the world, thanks to the dyes used to make clothing. ³
Their craft includes harmful chemicals and dyes, and petroleum-based fabrics— taking a big toll on the environment. They use low-quality fabric, ensuring it’s useless quickly, so you have to buy more.
But dyes are not the only thing polluting the water. Most fabric in fast-fashion is plastic-based… that’s right. Most clothes are plastic. And tiny microfibers of these clothes get released into the water every single time you wash them.
This means your clothing is releasing microplastics into the water every time is washed. Acrylic clothes release about 728,789 fibers per wash. While polyester releases 496,030 per wash. All these plastic fibers are polluting our oceans and waterways. ⁴
The problem is so hefty that microplastics are now showing up on your dinner plate. A recent study shows fish, shellfish, and other seafood have microplastics in them— and you’re eating them.
3. The Over-Production Problem
With their main marketing strategy, “trends”, fast-fashion boosted clothing production. In 20 years, they went from having 2 collections per year to now having 12 to 25. With more and more trends coming out, they make you feel outdated and create a shopping urge.
But the problem is not only overshopping— is what happens if you don’t buy their clothes. Did you know that the left-over clothes from the different collections that didn’t sell are burned?
They’re not donated, repurposed, or recycled. They’re burned. ⁵
They support modern slavery and forced labor, pollute and waste water, and to put a cherry on top— they burn perfectly good pieces of clothing.
I could go on but I think I made a fair point on the impacts of your outfit and why slow fashion is so important. Ethical consumerism is absolutely key for a future where human rights and our environment are equally respected.
Breaking Free From Fast Fashion…
What is Slow Fashion?
Slow fashion doesn’t have a universal definition and its interpretation varies from person to person. To me, slow fashion was the cure to my previous shopaholic ways. I bought cheap, short-lived clothes I sometimes never even wore.
I shopped to feel better about myself, wanting to look like others. I shopped to please the relentless ads on my phone telling me I had to look a certain way— and I needed new clothes to achieve that.
My clothes, often unworn, ended up in donation bins and most certainly, in a landfill, along with the more than 11 million tons of textile waste the US creates every year. ⁶
All in all, slow fashion is buying clothes with longevity in mind. It’s to ensure those clothes aren’t harming our environment or other people’s rights. It’s about being a conscious consumer and taking responsibility for our habits.
Slow fashion taught me to love every single piece of clothing in my closet— even if it was second hand. I learned about the dirty deeds of fast fashion, and how impactful it was to change the way I shop.
I’ve learned to shop for better quality clothes in a more holistic way— to shop with intent, not because an ad is telling me to. To slow down and think before I bag.
The rewards of slow fashion are plenty. I have more self-esteem, more money, and I stopped supporting companies harming our planet and human rights. And it feels good.
Slow fashion is a selfless way of shopping that takes into account the safety of the environment and other human beings.
If you’re not sure about the practices of your favorite brands, download the app GoodOnYou. They have ratings on different clothing brands. The ratings include their impact on the environment, human rights and ethical labor, and animal use/cruelty.
Sources
Slavery is Still Happening Today, and The Proof is in Your Closet
The Fashion Industry Emits More Carbon Than International Flights And Maritime Shipping Combined.
How Much Plastic is Your Washing Machine Sending Out to Sea?
Why Fashion Brands Destroy Billions’ Worth of Their Own Merchandise Every Year