THE COST OF FAST FASHION...

The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global GHG emissions. In the United States, 88% of consumers prefer shopping for fast fashion, followed by consumers in Europe (46%), India (25%), and China (21%). The most popular fast-fashion retailers in the world are Uniqlo (21%), H&M (18%), and Zara (18%). But fast fashion has enormous social and environmental costs.

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So, what can be done to reduce your wardrobe's impact on the planet?

What is fast fashion???

• The term describes the quick turnover of fashion trends and the move towards cheap, mass-produced clothing - with new lines constantly released.
• The Fast Fashion Market size was valued at $122,257.5 Million in 2021 and is projected to reach $283,457.5 million by 2030; growing at a CAGR of 10.13% from 2023 to 2030.
• Wardrobes are "overflowing with clothes", argues fast fashion campaigner Elizabeth Cline. Oxfam research suggests the average Briton has 57 unworn items.

What is the environmental impact of fast fashion???

Producing clothes uses a lot of natural resources and creates greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. 

• According to the UN, the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions, more than aviation and shipping combined. 
• World Bank suggests global clothes sales could increase by up to 65% by 2030, 

Most of the fashion's environmental impact comes from the use of raw materials:

• Cotton for the fashion industry uses about 2.5% of the world's farmland
• Synthetic materials like polyester require an estimated 342 million barrels of oil every year
• Clothes production processes such as dying require 43 million tonnes of chemicals a year
• When we wash synthetic clothes, around 700.000 plastic microfibers are released into the water, ending up in our oceans and potentially harming marine life.
• The industry also uses a lot of water, to make a t-shirt (2,700 liters) make a pair of jeans (10,000 liters), and make a pair of socks (600 liters)

Who buys fast fashion???

Acc. to the research done by The Round Up in 2023:

• Women under 35 are the largest target demographic for fast fashion retailers.
• 54% of people believe that social media influencers have been at least partly responsible for the rise in mass-produced clothing. This figure rises to 73% of people aged 18-24.
• 26% of people are inspired by family and friends when making their fashion choices, but 17% say they rely on Instagram, a figure that has more than doubled compared to 5 years ago.
• The average online purchase contained around 3 items at a time.
• Young people top that list.
• A recent survey by environmental charity Hubbub found that more than 40% of 16 to 24-year-olds buy clothes online at least once a week, compared to 13% on average for other age groups.

How can you reduce your fashion footprint???

The UN has launched the #ActNow Fashion Challenge to highlight how industry and individuals can help improve fashion's environmental impact. It says that reducing the fashion industry's carbon footprint "is key to limiting global warming".

Make clothes more sustainably

Several firms have launched "eco" collections that use organic and recycled materials, including H&M Conscious, Adidas x Parley & Zara Join Life. But critics argue that such collections don't solve the problem of overconsumption. Zara rejected that accusation, telling the BBC that it "does not use advertising to push demand or promote overconsumption". Adidas said that by 2025, "9 out of ten Adidas articles will be sustainable". H&M declined to comment.

• "Until brands tackle this issue first and foremost, 'conscious collections' by fast fashion brands can only ever be considered greenwashing," argues Flora Beverley, co-founder of sustainable brand Leo's Box.
• The UK's competition watchdog is investigating Asos, Boohoo, and Asda over claims about the sustainability of their products and the language used to describe them. The companies said they were committed to providing accurate information.
• Many "slow fashion" companies are emerging - offering fewer new pieces a year, all of which have a lower environmental impact. But not everybody is prepared to pay for them. A third of young people surveyed by the London Fashion Retail Academy said they wouldn't pay more than £5 extra for sustainable garments.

“If you pay a little more, we can live a little better.” – Sharti Atka, a garment worker from Bangladesh.

Buy second-hand

• Charity shops and jumble sales have long offered a reliable way to extend the life of clothes. Sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace also make it easier to buy and sell pre-loved items. But this doesn't necessarily mean that shoppers buy fewer items overall.
• The waste charity Wrap argues that second-hand purchases are unlikely to replace more than 10% of new sales. It recommends other approaches, such as encouraging people to repair and revamp existing pieces.

Rent your clothes

• Hiring clothes is another way to access new pieces.
• Market research company Imarc suggests the rental market could increase by 65% to about £1.6bn worldwide by 2025.
• Wrap argues that renting would save 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the UK alone if it replaced 10% of new purchases every year

Buy less

The simplest solution could also be the most effective. Simply shopping less can make a significant change in the right direction. It will lead to a chain reaction that reduces the resources required to produce and distribute garments.

• Buying a maximum of eight new items a year could reduce fashion emissions by 37% in the world's major cities, according to research by Leeds University and Arup. But this would have significant financial implications for manufacturers and retailers, a tension that is not unique to the fashion industry.

Conclusion...

It is in our power to do something about it, if not completely stop it, at least slow it down. If enough of us adopt simple habits like buying less, buying right, and reusing more, there will be noticeable effects on the grand scale of things.

“Buy less. Choose well. Make it last” 

– Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer and businesswoman.

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What are your thoughts???