Consider what you’re about to read a recommendation, not a necessity (you’ll see why as you continue reading). Some of you may be confused as to what all of the fuss is about regarding Fast Fashion.
Wait, what’s that?
Oh, you haven’t heard?
Well, buckle up because what you’re about to learn may come as a shock to you. Additionally, I feel the need to warn you all that your favorite clothing stores might become your most disliked stores after reading this, so I’m going to apologize in advance. But in all seriousness, if we were able to adapt to living amongst a pandemic, you will be fine swapping out your Zara jeans with a clothing company that values human rights and is environmentally friendly.
What is Fast Fashion?
Essentially, Fast Fashion is the mass production of cheap, low-quality, and disposable clothing. Some of the most popular Fast Fashion companies are Uniqlo, Topshop, GAP, Fashion Nova, Zaful, Shein, H&M, and even ASOS. Fast Fashion companies produce “trendy” clothing that can be seen on the runway or in celebrities’ closets at an extremely low price and in an extremely short amount of time, catering to aggressive consumer demands. Since the clothing is made so poorly, consumers are forced to buy more, resulting in extreme waste and negative impacts on the environment. But that isn’t even the worst of it. Within garment factories across South Asia and India, millions of women work long hours for very low wages in uncomfortable and dangerous working conditions. Not to mention, they are producing clothing for individuals in highly developed countries, because that makes sense, right? The majority of garment workers are women aged 18-35, making them the perfect candidates for students, aspiring politicians, business owners, but instead, they are crammed into threatening environments, abused, and treated like animals.
The Environmental Effects
Pivoting back over to the environmental effects of Fast Fashion. Being that the average Fast Fashion garment is only worn 10 times, these companies produce upwards of 80 billion garments each year, meaning more synthetic material, more intensive labor, and more waste. The issue is that Fast Fashion clothing is rarely recycled or donated, which means that it ends up in landfills or gets burnt. Since the majority of Fast Fashion garments are made from synthetic material like polyester--a popular fabric derived from fossil fuels, contributing to global warming--or nylon, it can take more than 200 years for the clothing to decompose, however, most of the time the clothing never ends up decomposing at all. As the amount of waste produced by society continues to increase, and as climate change continues to get worse, it is important to realize that Fast Fashion poses a real threat to our struggling environment.
Why is Fast Fashion a Feminist Issue?
As young women are pressured into meeting the demands of the Fast Fashion industry, they experience sexual and physical abuse, work ridiculously long hours (16 hours a day, 7 days a week), receive terribly low pay, and endure dangerous working conditions. If the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse which killed 1,134 factory workers isn’t enough to prove how awful the working conditions are, then keep reading. The factories have no ventilation, lack filtered water, lack supervision, causing disease, injury, and destructive fires to be far too common in these environments. The women are beaten, threatened, abused, and taken advantage of on a daily basis. They earn about 25 cents an hour, granting them no financial stability or assistance to fulfill the needs of themselves and their children. Speaking of children, Fast Fashion companies use child labor. Currently, South Indian factories have 250,000+ young girls from poor families working in these factories, and that is just South India alone! This has gone so far that some refer to these realities as ‘modern slavery.’ This dangerous cycle persists because children are considered “compliant” and will get the job done, while the children feel they have no choice but to comply because this is one of the only ways to support themselves and their families.
If Fast Fashion Companies Are So Harmful, Why Isn’t “Cancelling” Them A Practical Solution?
Recall back to the beginning of this post when I said ‘consider what you’re about to read a recommendation, not a necessity.’ The reason for which I, and many others, aren’t rushing to get these companies eradicated is because they provide garments for people at affordable prices. With 689 million people living in extreme poverty, 1.3 million Americans being paid less than the federal minimum wage, and 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, affordable and cheap clothing is necessary for our society. Yes, Fast Fashion companies severely impact our environment and exploit women and children, however, those negatives will never outweigh the positive of providing a significant percentage of our population with clothing--a basic human need--that they can afford. This is why I encourage you to occasionally swap those Zara jeans or H&M t-shirts with items from a company that is environmentally friendly and doesn’t engage in harmful behavior, such as Everlane or Reformation. Don’t interpret this post as a mandatory change that you must execute because… sh*t’s expensive, especially when that sh*t is from environmentally conscious companies. However, the clothing from these companies is of higher quality and will most likely last a lifetime, meaning less money and time spent trying to replace and repair the tattered clothing.
We will never be able to truly combat this problem until human rights are put at the forefront of government officials’ agendas. The federal minimum wage must be raised. Garment factories need to have suitable working conditions like ventilation and filtered water. And nobody should be forced to work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. This topic is so controversial and tricky because at one end of the spectrum women and children are being taken advantage of, while at the other end of the spectrum there are struggling individuals being catered to. In light of that, take into account the environmental impacts and human distress caused by Fast Fashion the next time you’re in the market for some new clothing.
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