Have you ever wondered where your favourite high street garments actually come from? Well, behind all the glitz and glam of the latest trends, it isn’t all that pretty. Many workers in countries across the globe such as China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia are exploited in clothes factories every day, being stripped of their basic human rights.
Sooner or later, fast fashion may one day cost us our world:
Over the past few years there has been a massive increase in sustainable fashion brands and those in support of the sustainable fashion movement. This is a direct effect of the environmental and ethical horrors of the fast fashion industry coming to light in recent years.
In 2020 sustainable fashion made its biggest break yet with more and more sustainable brands popping up all over our favourite fashion blogs and influencers social media pages.
Obviously, the increasing popularity of sustainable fashion comes with many benefits. But what makes sustainable fashion so ‘sustainable’ after all? Otherwise known as slow fashion, sustainable garments are produced with the focus of creating little to no impact on the environment.
Sustainable fashion garments are mainly produced from recycled and repurposed materials which is massively beneficial to our environment as it prevents waste and the need for more material to be produced, preventing the opportunity for even more harmful gases and chemicals being released into the environment, causing further pollution.
In short – sustainable fashion is good for the planet as it prevents the mass over-production of products, unlike its competitor, the fast fashion industry.
Fast fashion has zero focus on the environment therefore has over time become one of the most rampant contributors to pollution.
The industry accounts for up to 10% of global pollution every year. Fast fashion produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually. Additionally, the industry produces gases that are harmful to the environment, dangerous chemicals and use non-recyclable or non-biodegradable materials for their garments. Over 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends-up in general waste bins, 20% of which goes to dumps and 80% is incinerated which yet again, causes even more pollution.
Climate change and pollution is a very important topic especially in the 21st century. This is because the damage is starting to shine through. It’s very urgent that humans begin to make a change. In 2020, NASA reported it as being one of the warmest years on record.
Due to many fast fashion brands mainly being driven by profit, they will not hesitate to waste clothing and use the cheapest production methods possible. With this money-making attitude comes an extremely sad reality for those behind the industry who are exploited daily in the fashion giants’ factories.
Consumers of fast fashion are constantly unconsciously contributing to this daily horror for those being exploited, which is why more people need to be educated on the dark truth of where their favourite fashion pieces come from.
The demand for the latest trends to hit the high street stores almost immediately after debuting on the runway creates immense pressure on factories and workers abroad.
You may be asking yourself - how bad can making clothes really be? Well, it actually goes much deeper.
Fast fashion companies are greedy and entirely money driven, causing overseas workers to face exploitation by working extremely long hours in dangerous conditions for a ridiculously low wage in what are known as sweatshops.
The majority of the garment workers overseas are women, 85% to be exact, whose management is male dominated. These women are taken advantage of by their superiors and face sexual, psychological and physical abuse.
A male dominated management team means it is near impossible for women to report on their abuse and be taken seriously in their places of work. Even one simple attempt to report the abuse can land you on a blacklist, making it impossible to seek out work in another factory in future.
Female employees are even forced to take birth control and routine pregnancy tests to avoid supporting maternity leave or providing appropriate health benefits.
The International Labour Organisation reported that there are an estimated 170 million children from ages 5-14 who are engaged in child labour, many of which are forced to produce textiles and garments to meet the demand of European and US fast fashion consumers.
Although workers heavily rely on these jobs to afford a roof over their head and feed their families, sweatshops still do not alleviate poverty and simultaneously violate a number of the workers’ human rights.
After these shocking facts about the production of fast fashion being exposed, many have no issue in turning their back on fast fashion and seeking out better and more humanely sourced garments.
A study from the 2004 Cambridge Journal of Economics showed that doubling the salary of sweatshop workers would only require a 1.8% consumer cost mark up, however consumers would be willing to pay up to a 15% increase just to know their clothing was ethically and sustainably produced.
I conducted my own poll on Twitter where 79% of people said they would spend more money on clothes just to know they were ethically and sustainably sourced, 21% said they would not.
In an ideal world where sustainable fashion was to take centre stage over fast fashion, would there still be room for current sweatshop workers to keep their all-important jobs but in new sustainable and ethical factories with a fair wage?
I asked Amanda Grulke, owner of the AntiBasic Shop her thoughts on this.
She said: “If we can get sustainable fashion to surpass fast fashion in our world, it will organically produce new opportunities within the world of fashion. If we all do our personal part to recycle and upcycle, then it creates a ripple effect on others in other communities.”
The AntiBasic shop is an indie sustainable brand based in New York that focuses on upcycling basic, pre-loved pieces into one of a kind items. Their brand aim is to encourage individuality and non-conforming fashion trends.
So how has the Covid-19 pandemic had an effect and ultimately contributed to the seemingly now imminent end of fast fashion?
Yes, online shopping does exist, however, fast fashion is an industry which almost solely relies on physical retail. Almost 80% of purchases are made in store.
On top of this, people haven’t really had any need to purchase new clothing at all. Preparing and purchasing an outfit for a weekend out on the town is now a thing of the past in our current situation.
Furlough or the loss of employment entirely, has meant people are making more conscious decisions when it comes to spending money. Essentials are priority for the majority of us at the moment.
Being in lockdown has forced people to shop exclusively online and with the vast majority of sustainable clothing stores being online, they have had more opportunity to be discovered and grow.
Amanda said: “Shopping has become more of a transaction than an experience. But Covid has also forced us to look within ourselves and ask what is most important to us and how important it is to save this planet we are on.”
“I would definitely say that lockdown has at least provided most of us with more downtime to work on passion projects and get organised. Which overall has been a huge boost to the sustainable and upcycling community.”
Many can argue that fast fashion is a good thing and offers accessible and affordable clothing to those of lower classes – which is a fair point. Sustainable fashion is great but, it doesn’t come cheap in most cases.
There are a number of reasons why sustainable fashion is more expensive. Sustainable brands pay their workers a fair, liveable wage and source eco-friendly fabrics and means of production, it is priced fairly in terms of what it costs to produce their items.
Therefore, shopping sustainably currently isn’t an option for everyone – if we were to completely wipe out fast fashion stores from the high street, we would see thousands of families with little to no access to new clothes whatsoever. However, many sustainable activists hope for a change in the very near future.
BeePop Shop is a sustainable clothing brand based in Bristol, UK. They are an female owned brand who upcycle and ethically hand-produce festival and party type clothing.
I asked Bronte Cavalla, owner of BeePop Shop if one day sustainable fashion can become the new normal for all.
She said: “Yes, I believe that one day sustainable fashion will be the norm. I think soon there will be more laws put in place for the protection of the environment within the fashion industry. I think this will mean using non-harmful materials, biodegradable materials and recycling.”
“I also believe that the next generation is much more interested in helping the environment and they will be leading the way with new concepts and discoveries for sustainability within and outside of the fashion industry.”
“Sustainable fashion is becoming more accessible, via online stores and websites. Depop is becoming bigger and bigger and now there are more websites like this.”
Since the start of the pandemic, fast fashion giant Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy and H&M reported a 46% drop in their monthly sales. The panicked high street retailers have even been reported to have cancelled orders from overseas sweatshop suppliers or worse, refused to pay for product which in turn has put hundreds of sweatshop workers out of employment, leaving them struggling to feed their families and barely able to afford a home.
Nothing reflects the downfall of the fast fashion industry more than these damning statistics - but is it for the best?
"I think it's an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and to look at our lives, and to rethink our values, and to really think about the waste, and the amount of money, and consumption, and excess that we have all indulged in and how we really need to rethink what this industry stands for." Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour told the BBC.
The world is at a standstill, and it really is a better time than ever to ask ourselves if quick fashion fixes are really worth sacrificing our planet and contributing to the exploitation of thousands of lives in sweatshops abroad.
How can we be more sustainable?
If you’re reading this article, you’re more than likely interested in sustainability. I asked Amanda Grulke, owner of the AntiBasic Shop ways we can incorporate simple and sustainable habits into our everyday lives when it comes to clothing.
Here are some tips from Amanda:
“The best practice we can do is to practice conscious shopping. When you buy a piece of clothing, you should really ask yourself some questions. ‘Will I wear this more than once?’, ‘Is this a piece I can re-wear to other events?’, ‘Does the company I am buying from practice fast fashion and use unethical sources to produce their products?’
“You should always have a recycling plan for any pieces you outgrow or don’t use anymore.”
Such a good read! Really hope sustainable fashion will be the norm one day as I have gained a real insight into the benefits from this article. The pandemic has really highlighted how fast fashion needs to come to an end very soon.