Fast Fashion or Futile Future?

After recently watching a BBC 3 Stacey Dooley documentary and having read various articles on the issue, I was shocked about the amount of pollution that comes from the fashion industry, particularly that of fast fashion. The fashion industry is one of the major contributors to pollution, accounting for 10% of global carbon footprint and is the second greatest polluter of local freshwater. The pollution from these industries include water pollution, toxic chemical use and textile waste. These present irreversible and damaging consequences to both the local and global environment, thus this is an issue that requires immediate action.

The fast fashion industry focuses on high-speed and low-cost production in order to deliver new and frequent collections to catwalks, various retail stores and online sellers. Subsequently, environmental corners are cut.

Toxic chemicals are used to produce the colours, prints and finishes of appealing garments resulting in the pollution of freshwater, the magnitude second only to the agricultural industry. Green peace have recently placed pressure on fashion brands, encouraging action and the removal of these toxic chemicals from their supply chains. There has been a confirmed presence of hazardous chemicals within these supply chains and one that is proven to be increasing. Bans and strict regulations have been placed regarding chemicals that are toxic, bio-accumulative, carcinogenic, and disruptive to hormones. However, the extent to which this is enforced needs to expand and be carried out consistently in order for the negative effects to be significantly reduced, and hopefully eradicated.

Part of this problem stems from polyester which is the most popular fabric within this industry. When washed in domestic machines, fibres are shed, adding to the increasing levels of plastic within the oceans, as these are minuscule particles and easily pass though sewage systems, enter waterways and do not degrade. These particles become a threat to aquatic life and eventually travel up the food chain to human consumption through ingestion via fish.

Toxic chemical use refers to agriculturally grown cotton. A documentary called ‘The True Cost’ revealed that serious defects can occur in the children of cotton farmers, directly linked to the industry in which they work. Cotton crops are treated with toxic pesticides which are harmful to both animals and humans. As a result of these revelations, there has been an increasing interest in cotton; as a company,  popular high-street store Zara is one of the world top 5 users of organic cotton in 2016.

Toxic waste is, therefore, a direct result of fast fashion as consumers purchase an increasing amount of garments at an increasing rate. In addition to this, the increase in disposable income levels within recent generations has removed the “make do and mend” attitude that characterised previous generations.

So the question remains as what can be done to prevent this or reduce the toxic consequences of the fast fashion industry. One way is to choose eco-friendly fabric, however, this in itself is complex are there are pros and cons to all fibre types - even if the material is natural, the processes involved in making garments still have multiple environmental impacts. Products with recycled content is considered the best as it tackles the growing issue of waste management.
A simple thing to do is to keep clothing for longer and buy less. As someone who loves shopping and is inspired by the fashion industry, this is something I have tried to keep in mind over the past few months but still proves challenging.

I found the topic eye-opening and knew that it was an issue that needed addressing. I also highly recommend watching Stacey Dooley’s documentary on BBC 3.

Love always, Annabelle

 xox