Fast fashion: definition, impacts and alternatives.
In recent years, many major fashion brands known for the variety of items they offer at unbeatable prices have also gained notoriety for being associated with the spread of a phenomenon that has generated a lot of controversy for its negative repercussions - particularly on the environment: fast fashion.
A sort of low-cost fast food applied to the fashion sector, and standard-bearer of overconsumption, this commercial process began to develop at the end of the 90s, and reached its peak today, constantly pushing its limits with the sole watchword being the principle of profitability.
Unfortunately, the capacity of the fast fashion model to generate capital is matched only by the extent of the environmental and social damage it causes.
From its concept to its negative repercussions to its alternatives, this article dissects the question of fast fashion at length, in breadth and in depth.
Fasten your seat belts!
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to a branch of the clothing industry that manufactures mass-produced consumer goods at very low prices to be sold at very low prices.
Over time, the term fast fashion, known for several decades in the eco-friendly sphere, has become more widely known to the general public, thanks to - or because of - brands that have made it their business, to the point of building empires using increasingly economical and profitable production processes.
So much so that fast fashion, literally “fast fashion”, is now giving way to ultra fast fashion; a form of commerce that no longer offers collections every season, or even every month, but now every week, or even in some extreme cases, every day.
This production of such varied items sold at such low prices logically leads to a buying urge in the consumer; and when overconsumption and overproduction feed off each other, it is a snowball effect.
Unfortunately, the torments and negative effects of this practice are dramatic, and impact both the planet and the health of the people exploited at the bottom of the chain to supply the production of these businesses.
The disastrous environmental and social consequences of fast fashion.
Huge CO2 emissions.
The production, processing and transport of all the raw materials (cotton, plastic polymers, metals, etc.) needed to make sneakers, clothing and fashion accessories are the source of large quantities of greenhouse gases.
In addition to these energy costs, the relocation of production plants to countries in the economic south, such as India, Bangladesh or Vietnam, involves long distribution circuits, which, while profitable, further increase the environmental footprint linked to the transport of clothes once manufactured. It is estimated that a fashion item in the fast fashion circuit travels on average more than 60,000 km before arriving in the hands of its buyer, or 1.5 times the distance to go around the Earth.
While in the best case scenario, this transport is ensured by rail or cargo, it happens that the lots are transported by air. The problem of air transport for the world of fashion is the same as that for tourist travel , since an airplane emits much more carbon into the atmosphere, which causes global warming, than transport by land or sea.
All this combined makes the fashion sector the second most polluting industry in the world, after oil.
Overexploitation of natural resources
Fast fashion is based on the production of huge quantities of clothing, sneakers and accessories, which necessarily require a lot of textile materials.
When these are of natural origin, the plants of which they are composed require gigantic quantities of water to grow.
When the articles are of synthetic origin, they require the extraction and transformation of significant petroleum resources, which also require large quantities of energy and water.
It is estimated that the textile industry uses 4% of the world's available drinking water each year, making it the third largest water-consuming sector in the world. Depletion of groundwater, erosion, global warming are just some of the environmental issues caused by fast fashion.
Environmental impact and degradation of ecosystems.
Fast fashion has the characteristic of encouraging people to consume, making them addicted to a form of materialism, in which buying no longer meets a need, but becomes a way of life.
This overconsumption is based on the production of large quantities of poor quality textiles, which, as with planned obsolescence in the digital world, create the need to regularly buy new items to replace old “disposable” clothes, sneakers or fashion accessories. This waste of resources means that in Europe, 4 million tons of clothing are thrown away every year.
This excessive production involves the use of large quantities of chemicals for the treatment of clothing, and pesticides in the cultivation of raw materials such as cotton. These have the environmental consequences of contaminating soils, waterways, and polluting the oceans , which harms underwater animal species, in addition to terrestrial wildlife.
Finally, regularly renewing massive stocks of items requires the necessary destruction of a large part of the collections that remain unsold; recycling them costs more than destroying them. In addition to being absurd, these production methods lead to the rejection of millions of textile items into nature, which end up burned or piled up in open-air dumps in poor countries, where the piled-up fashion items decompose and slowly release their chemical treatment agents, residues and dyes into the soil.
Exploitation of workers and social misery.
Who has not heard in recent years about the treatment inflicted on the Uighur populations, exposed to serving the productivity of textile giants in inhumane conditions?
Worldwide, some 75 million workers work in the textile industry, and while not all of them operate in such conditions of extreme exploitation, a large proportion of these people suffer from working in conditions that are not conducive to their well-being.
To ensure maximum revenue, fashion giants have been relocating their production to developing countries for decades, exploiting cheap labor there.
Producing in third world areas allows these brands to rake in unbeatable margins. This is done to the detriment of the consideration of women, men, and sometimes even children, who perform repetitive tasks over very long hours, for extremely low wages.
With meeting targeted performance targets being the key word, factory personnel may be required to work in unsanitary facilities and perform risky tasks without protection, such as handling chemicals, which exposes these people to the risk of developing various pathologies.
Animal abuse and biodiversity decline.
Ultra fast fashion contributes to the slaughter of millions of animals for the exploitation of their skin, fur, or wool. But animal suffering does not stop at the slaughter of the latter, which are often also raised in inhumane conditions before that.
Locked up, deprived of access to daylight, treated with regulating drugs, sometimes beaten, they suffer all types of mistreatment throughout their short existence.
In addition, pollution of natural habitats and deforestation, in addition to increasing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, lead to the disappearance of the habitats of many wild animal species, which contributes to the collapse of biodiversity.
Slow fashion, sobriety, second hand, solutions to fight against fast fashion.
While pushing back against fast fashion depends on political decisions and choices made by fashion companies to redirect their business models towards a more ethical form, consumers also have a significant role to play in building more sustainable fashion.
Learn about the harms of fast fashion.
No action without reflection. To adopt responsible habits and consume differently, it is important to start by questioning our real needs, to differentiate them from our impulsive purchases.
It is also important to redefine the moral requirements that we expect from the brands we support through our purchases by raising ethical questions:
Do we want to promote the purchase of fashion items made in Europe, or made in France? Are we attached to supporting a sustainable fashion brand that looks after the health of the people who offer their services? Do we want to turn to committed vegan brands that preserve the well-being of animal species ? Are the clothes we buy the result of eco-responsible fashion, which emphasizes production using eco-designed materials , with a view to preserving the planet ? Or, what does the real price of a fashion item justify ?
All these questions lead us to adopt a new perspective, to better assimilate the issues and problems raised by the model established by fast fashion.
Consume items from sustainable fashion brands.
Turning your back on fast fashion doesn't mean you no longer dress or treat yourself. On the contrary, in recent decades, many ethical brands inspired by slow fashion have emerged.
It's time to show curiosity and take the opportunity to discover these new brands of clothing, accessories and shoes , often produced locally , designed using innovative, quality eco-responsible materials , and manufactured by people who are rightly considered , like COG and our recycled vegan sneakers produced in Portugal .
Adopt sobriety to reduce your consumption.
Buying less but better, maintaining your sneakers , prioritizing mending your clothes, opting for recycling, second-hand and second-hand, rather than systematically turning to new shoes, clothes and accessories, helps to reduce your consumption, and allows you to further anchor yourself in a personal “slow” and sustainable approach to say no to fast fashion.
Our ethical shoes as an alternative to fast fashion. View all
Together for sustainable fashion in response to fast fashion.
As with each of our articles, thank you for taking the time to read this article to the end!
Please share it with your loved ones to give it a wider scope on the issues of slow fashion and the nuisances of fast fashion.
Of course, don't hesitate to talk about COG and our ethical approach around you, and to contact us to obtain more information on our approach or our products , and see you soon for other articles on sustainable fashion.
The COG team.