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All of us love to wear trendy clothes, but how do our choices impact the environment? In this article, we discuss the impact of fast fashion and present some sustainable ways to look great without polluting the environment.
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What we wear defines us. It is a reflection of our mood and personality. Over the years, the emergence of the fast fashion industry has made clothes more accessible than ever before. This has led to overconsumption, resulting in a huge negative impact on the environment.
In this article, we will look into the environmental impact of the fashion industry and what measures we can take to reduce it.
Before we dive into the problems, let’s take a step back to understand what fast fashion is in the first place.
Fast fashion refers to the mass influx of cheaply produced clothes that follow the latest styles and trends. Since the production cycle is short, these clothes are available at cheap rates, making them affordable to everyone.
Some popular fast fashion retailers are Zara, Temu, Shein, Forever 21, and H&M. It’s estimated that many of the items sold in these stores and online platforms move from the design stage to the store within just 15 days!
Now, this might sound great. You get trendy clothes at affordable prices. However, this is not good for the long term, as the fashion industry’s pollution is harming the environment in more ways than we can imagine.
To better understand the fashion industry’s environmental impact, here’s a breakdown across different impact areas.
The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of fresh water after agriculture. It is estimated that a cotton shirt requires 700 gallons, while a pair of jeans can guzzle up to 2,000 gallons of water.
Also, cotton is known to take up a considerable amount of water. It is estimated that one kilogram of cotton requires 10,000 gallons of water.
Due to this high amount of water consumption, many freshwater lakes are drying up. The World Bank, for example, states that 90% of the Aral Sea dried up because of cotton irrigation and only the remaining 10% due to climate change.
Along with water consumption, the textile industry is also responsible for extensive water pollution. Oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes are greatly impacted.
It releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the oceans each year. For comparison, this is equal to 50 billion plastic bottles. Similarly, untreated water from the dyeing process is dumped into rivers and streams, which are the source of drinking water for local communities.
Do you know that the fast fashion industry is responsible for 10% of total carbon emissions? For context, this is equal to the emissions of the entire EU. Moreover, emissions are expected to increase by 60% by 2030.
Much of these emissions stem from the use of coal to power looms and machines that convert fibres into fabrics. Additionally, the cost of transporting finished goods adds to the emissions, as most of the clothes used in the Western world come from Asia.
What makes these emissions and power consumption unsustainable is the large textile waste. It is estimated that 85% of all textiles end up in landfills each year. Since most of these garments are made from synthetic fibres, they can take up to 200 years to decompose. And we keep adding about 100 million tons each year to the landfill. Imagine how long these clothes will take to decompose!
When you put these numbers together, you can get a comprehensive idea of the fashion industry’s problems and its big negative impact on the environment.
Now that we know the impact, what can we do to boost sustainability in the fashion industry?
As the world grapples with climate change and pollution, it’s important to improve sustainability in the fashion industry.
Below is a list of possible initiatives in this regard.
While these ideas can lead to a better environment, they are not easy to implement. For starters, using sustainable materials and having a longer production cycle can increase the costs. This may work against the economic models of companies like Temu and Shein.
Furthermore, consumers are used to seeing trendy clothes available in abundance. Hence, it will require concerted campaigns and efforts to change this mindset.
Still, implementing the above initiatives is essential to conserving the environment for future generations.
To conclude, fast fashion is a big polluter of the environment as it consumes enormous resources like water and energy. At the same time, it is also one of the largest polluters, as it emits carbon dioxide from manufacturing and transportation, while dumping waste and microfibers in the waters.
Due to this double impact, fast fashion is considered dangerous for the future of the world. However, the problem is highly complex to tackle. As long as consumers demand cheap and trendy clothes at affordable prices, fast fashion retailers are going to continue to produce them.
A good step forward is to break this cycle of demand and supply with awareness programs, where consumers are educated on the dark side of this fast fashion. Alongside these campaigns, companies must consider using sustainable materials, improving the manufacturing process, and switching to clean energy. Governments must also step in with stringent action on those companies polluting the waters with untreated waste.
Such coordinated efforts are necessary to save the world from the long-term negative impact of fast fashion pollution.
To learn more about this problem and its solutions, and to create awareness, bring our experienced fashion industry speakers to talk to your people. They can showcase the impact of the fashion industry, explain practical solutions, and even show real-world examples of sustainable implementation to spark new ideas.
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