Photo from Flickr
Cheap, accessible and trendy: fast-fashion seems way too good to be true – that’s because it is.
The fast fashion industry is inherently exploitative and wasteful, making it one of the worst things to happen to the environment, human rights and your wardrobe.
Not only is it responsible for 10% of global emissions, but the industry unjustly capitalizes on its over 75 million person workforce, 80% of which are young women from developing countries between the ages of 18 and 24, according to a Fabric of Change webpage.
For something so characteristically cheap, fast-fashion comes at a ridiculously high cost.
Garment workers in Bangladesh only make about $96 per month, 3.5 times below the average liveable wage there, according to a World Resources Institution webpage.
Furthermore, evidence of forced and child labor in the fashion industry in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam, according to a 2018 report by the U.S Department of Labor.
The worst part is, it would cost brands close to nothing to do the right thing.
If brands were to add the full price of livable wages to the price tag of a garment, the cost would only increase by 1%, according to research by Oxfam.
Designer of NEVERENDING WORLDWIDE, Jordan Narra, also known as Nasty Novocaine, vocalized his disdain towards fast-fashion.
“Fast-fashion is objectively bad. As a creative it’s such a huge roadblock … fast-fashion, it gets the most sales. Shein, you can’t beat the prices,” Narra said.
In an era where living has become increasingly expensive while reputation, association and image mean so much, it’s no surprise masses of people, especially teens and young adults, find the low cost of fast-fashion so appealing.
This growing culture of consumerism has manufactured and marketed an illusion of perpetual lack, pressuring us as a collective to buy more, want more and need more.
Ads, influencers and fleeting microtrends are shoved in our faces to let us know we aren’t hot enough just yet. Not without the latest craze or fad, at least.
Ryan Masangkay, the creative director for Korrupt, shared both understanding and ridicule towards fast-fashion.
“I get why people do it, it’s a cheap way to access cuts and looks that are popular and are cool without spending too much money. I think where it really is an issue with me is, like, obviously the environmental factor. There’s a lot of waste,” Masangkay said.
Like Masangkay stated, fast-fashion emits a disturbing amount of waste.
The industry is the second-largest consumer industry of water, as an astounding 700 gallons is needed to produce a single cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons to produce a pair of jeans, while 85% of textiles end up in dumps each year, according to a webpage by Earth.org.
To make matters worse, just washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, an amount comparable to 50 billion plastic bottles, according to the same webpage.
Aaron Pelaez, the artist for Korrupt, shared his two-cents on how social media and trends perpetuate overconsumption.
“I think fast fashion begins with the trends. Everything is so accessible. The trends on Instagram, TikTok, people pick up on it and they bounce on it so fast and they hop off it just as fast,” Pelaez said.
In 2015, we consumed 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year, 400% more than we did 20 years prior, with the average American generating 82 pounds of textile waste annually, according to 2015 documentary The True Cost.
Since then, our collective consumption has only increased, as the average American today buys 53 new items every year, four times as much as we did in 2000, according to a webpage by PIRG.
But what do we do to negate the damage of fast-fashion? How do we curate our personal style without feeding into unethical practices?
One sustainable way to shop is to buy second-hand clothing and avoid big brands like H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Uniqlo, Shein, ASOS, Boohoo, and Fashion Nova.
Though much of Gen-Z has succumbed to pervasive advertisement and capitalist culture, we have also contributed to the increasing popularity of thrifting, upcycling and reselling.
Poshmark, ThredUp Inc. are both good platforms to buy from second-hand sellers.
Depop, Ebay, and Facebook marketplace can also be legitimate alternatives depending on how you interact with the platform.
Masangkay also spoke on how to build up your style in a more sustainable way.
“I would urge finding the really good essentials, get a bunch of white tees, get a bunch of black tees, black jean, light blue jean, dark blue jean, good brands … use that as a base and then branch out, that way you can actually develop your fashion,” Masangkay said.
Supporting ethical consumption also means voting for climate change and reducing your personal carbon footprint by engaging in sustainable practices, such as recycling and composting, opting for public transport, carpooling and conserving energy at home.
Purchasing clothes that are made from organic materials also has a positive impact.
The use of cheap materials like nylon, polyester and acrylic take hundred of years to biodegrade, and a 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), found that 35% of all microplastics found in the ocean are derived the laundering of such materials.
On the other hand, recycled cotton, organic hemp and linen and recycled wood are some environmentally-friendly materials to look for, according to a Good On You webpage.
Here in San José, a reliable and ethical place to shop is the San José Clothing Swap at the SJ Peace and Justice Center, where they hold swaps on the 2nd Sunday of every
month.
I also think it’s important for us to reflect on why we dress the way we do.
I mean, what exactly are we trying to say? After all, it’s our predominant form of visual communication.
I believe that in choosing pieces that align with our true expression as well as our ethical values, we can represent ourselves more authentically and own our styles in good faith, knowing we aren’t actively contributing to environmental and humanitarian crises.