Fast Fashion: How did we get here and how do we break the cycle?
Fast fashion has moved at a dizzying speed in the last century. This has come with the cost of spiralling levels of wastewater pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. As the environment becomes a central issue for governments across the world, research into breaking the cycle of fast fashion has intensified.
The fast fashion industry has doubled since 2000 and is ‘fast’ in multiple ways. Trends move quickly, production of new clothes is rapid, delivery of orders is swift, and clothes are often discarded after just a few uses. Further to this, clothes are often ultra-cheap, making the choice difficult even for the most ethical of consumers.
The rise of fast fashion can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of sewing and textile machines meant that previously labour-intensive tasks could be largely automated. The production of clothes became quicker and cheaper. When this was combined with the out-sourcing of work to sweatshops in the middle of the century, fast fashion began to take hold.
Trends began to shift and change more quickly than before. Fashion became something that everyone could use to express themselves. With this increase in demand for garments, fast fashion brands grew in popularity and began to exploit both the environment and people across the world.
Importantly, fast fashion brands were now able to reproduce clothes from top designer fashion houses and sell them cheaply and quickly to the masses. In 2019, the BBC’s ‘Breaking Fashion’ show demonstrated how a fast fashion brand can design, produce and sell a replica bodysuit worn by a celebrity within 10 days. It is not surprising that people were excited by this phenomenon.
There are now countless fast fashion brands operating across the globe. A glance at a major fast fashion outlet reveals 6232 men’s products listed as ‘New’. This bewildering turnover of products typifies the way that the fast fashion industry operates, but raises serious questions about how it is achieved.
The human cost of fast fashion cannot be ignored. Approximately 60 million people work in the fashion and textile industry, many of whom receive less than the minimum wage and have practically no worker’s rights. People sadly rely on this kind of work, but their standard of living and human rights are of little concern to their employers who slash costs wherever possible.
The impact of fast fashion on the environment is also colossal. Fashion Revolution notes that up to 200 tonnes of water are used per tonne of fabric produced. The majority of this is then released into nature as a ‘toxic soup of chemicals’. These toxins, such as textile dyes, largely do not break down naturally. In fact, in high garment export countries, many rivers are totally devoid of life and their water is a nasty irritant to the skin. This has been devastating to communities that rely on these water systems.
Although developing countries are at the highest risk, water pollution is a global problem. In 2018, the European Environmental Agency reported that just 40% of surface water bodies tested in Europe were in a ‘good ecological state’. England was one of the worst countries tested, with just 14% of rivers in good condition. As it stands, the cycle of intense consumer demand and rapid brand output leads to a vast amount of toxic waste entering these water systems from the production line.
Solving the environmental problems caused by fast fashion is a complicated issue. For example, natural dyes have been proposed as a possible alternative to the toxic synthetic dyes which directly pollute water systems. However, the chemicals used to combine the natural colours with the fibres are themselves pollutants. On top of this, a vast amount of water is needed during the production process itself and it is likely difficult to persuade manufacturers to switch to natural dyes.
If natural dyes are not necessarily the answer on their own, another solution is needed to tackle the waste produced by fast fashion. With funding from the EU, and through collaboration with European partner organisations, Waste2Fresh is developing a closed-loop water system that prevents water that is full of toxic chemicals and dyes from being released into water systems. The water is instead filtered and reused within the manufacturing process.
This is a great example of international collaboration leading to potential solutions for one of the central problems caused by fast fashion. While consumers can make a difference by avoiding fast fashion purchases, brands and manufacturers can contribute to the long-term future of fashion by implementing sustainable technologies. Systems such as those being worked on by Waste2Fresh are key forces in reducing the damage of the fashion industry and may well be influential in cleaning up the world’s water systems.