Fast Fashion Fallout: Trendy Today, Tragic Tomorrow

The clothing industry applies fast fashion as its model to quickly create numerous low-priced trendy garments which customers can access within short periods. Stores release fashion trends extracted from runway productions and celebrity outfits only moments after their original appearance.

Illustration by The Geostrata

This business structure depends on rapid conceptual development followed by the utilisation

of low-cost raw materials and large-scale manufacturing for adapting to changing consumer demands. Although it enables fashion accessibility and tracks trend shifts well, fast fashion introduces major problems regarding ethical standards and long-lasting product value as well as sustainability.

The industry needs quick delivery at low prices but these business requirements result in compromised quality alongside illegally paid workers which makes fast fashion both challenging and unsustainable to maintain long-term success.

CONSEQUENCES SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL

The high-speed pace of fast fashion (shape) results in excessive (product) consumption by consumers whose actions harm the environment. The emissions process for fast fashion produces 1.2 billion tonnes of yearly CO₂ pollution and accounts for 10 percent of global pollution totality.

Fast fashion companies deliver trendy clothing at budget-friendly prices using cheap materials which result in fast clothing deterioration alongside huge waste production during manufacturing.

Actions need to be taken now because emissions from fast fashion operations will expand by 26% through the following fifty years unless industry adopts proper measures. The low-cost nature of fast fashion items turns out to cost a significant sum to environmental health.

Consumer purchases have driven the industry growth through their acquisition of 60% additional clothing since the last two decades due to the rising interest in fashionable disposables. The income maximisation business model and its disregard for ethical practices at fast fashion companies creates environmental problems throughout the production of waste.

Individuals making ethical brand choices while shopping in thrift stores have distinct alternatives for environmentally friendly buying habits. 

Production system modifications and treatment methods of workers and buying patterns from customers enable fast fashion to continue functioning as an economic model that mostly disregards environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

THE HIDDEN COST OF YOUR CLOTHES

The toxic chemicals used for dyeing rivers make them polluted while the production processes use such resource-heavy methods that deplete water reserves. The workplace environment for these workers remains inadequate and minimum wages become unaffordable. Wool and leather manufacturing activities generate adverse effects on animal welfare.

UNEPA states fast fashion stands as the second biggest water polluting industry after textile dyeing operations.

One vehicle load of old textiles gets discarded or burned into the landfills each and every second. Landfills accept clothing items produced through fast fashion manufacturing methods that result from high consumer demand. The manufacturing process for jeans requires 3,781 liters of water that leads to further depletion of important water resources found in particular locations.

The textile industry utilizes over 8000 synthetic chemicals during fabric dyeing and treatment operations causing toxic pollutants to pollute water reservoirs. Any improper disposal of chemical materials presents risks to human health while also creating threats to the health of aquatic ecosystems. The prolonged shifts of 16 hours per day and seven days without rest only give workers small portions of their minimum pay in Vietnam and India alongside Bangladesh.

The Rana Plaza garment complex suffered a fatal catastrophe in 2013 because its dangerous conditions led to the death of over 1,100 workers.

The fashion industry creates environmental issues along with its extreme textile waste production and water usage thus breaking sustainability goals SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Although businesses create environmental sustainability programs the collective effect on the industry is harmful to its sustainability objectives.

THE SHIFT TOWARDS ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE FASHION

The situation requires people to choose sustainable fashion products from reputable ethical brands. Ethical brands exist as firms which diligently practice sustainable operations together with fair pay as well as workplace security along with eco-friendly materials for their entire manufacturing cycle.

Authority over fast fashion supply chains needs immediate moral development to suppress ongoing unethical business conduct. The industrial sustainability requires people involved in buying products along with producers and officials to develop progressive fashion principles and improve supply chain transparency and material recycling methods.

Seamlessly choosing high-quality products instead of acquiring multiple quantity of inferior ones helps minimize both consumer purchasing behaviors and waste output from textile disposals. Educational programs about ethical brands enable people to acquire responsible purchasing habits.

The acquired knowledge for maintaining clothes protects nature while enabling individuals to develop self-reliance.

The escalating evolution of fast fashion depends on three interconnected elements of excessive consumption combined with environmental destruction and wrong labor treatment. The low-cost trendy clothing comes at a steep environmental and social expense that includes water scarcity and hazardous pollution combined with worker protection violations.

The increase in fast fashion demand leads to expanding environmental as well as social repercussions. A transition toward ethical and sustainable fashion presents a path for positive change. Governing bodies alongside brands and customers need to work together for implementing responsible operational standards.

We can lessen fast fashion's adverse effects through the combination of supporting ethical brands together with awareness elevation and dedicated choices for high-quality over abundant products. The fashion industry must transition immediately to sustainable practices because this change brings both environmental fixings and social justice solutions which will benefit the entire world.

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BY POSHIKA MUKKU

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@geostrata.com