FAST FASHION VS SUSTAINABLE FASHION
Image courtesy of Earthday.org
WHAT IS FAST FASHION?
Fast fashion affords consumers access to low cost clothing; albeit of lesser quality. The fast fashion industry replaced producing fashion trends based on the seasons with faster weekly fashion trends. In order to maintain this unsustainable production rate the fast fashion industry has moved to an economic model that exploits its workforce and replaces the use of natural fibers with more economical fibers spun from crude oil. The fashion industry is contributing to environmental pollution from cradle to grave; through manufacturing practices that disregard environmental concerns to the large number of hyperdiscarded clothes that end up in landfills or incineration.
FOSSIL FUEL = FAST FASHION
The Fast Fashion industry provides new markets for the fossil fuel industry to diversify the use of their commodity in response to the accelerated global energy transition to renewable energies like wind and solar. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that by 2028, renewable energies will account for less than 42% of global electrical generation. The IEA estimates that by 2030 the global supply of crude oil production will outpace demand creating an excess 8 million more barrels of oil, per day, that will not be needed. The extraction & processing of fossil fuels comes with the burdens of high operating cost and having to secure the sources of these commodities —through wars or imperialism . . . The abundant sources of renewable energies: solar, wind . . . are easily accessible to the masses and democratizes the production of electrical energy —for now, no one owns the Sun. As the use of fossil fuels sunsets, the use of renewable energies is incentivized by increases in state & private financial investments in renewable energy production technology, efficiency in the supply chains, advances in renewable energy production efficiency and energy density capacity of battery storage. It is more profitable to produce energy from unlimited renewable resources like solar, wind & hydro compared to the scarcity & high cost of crude oil & natural gas extraction & processing.
The fossil fuel corporations has found new commercial markets for Crude oil & natural gas, in the form of PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET), (C10H8O4), used in the fast fashion and food packaging industries. PET accounts for 60% of the textiles used in the production of fast fashion; while up to 30% of single-use plastic water & soda bottles are produced from PET. Polyester clothing has become a favorite of fashion designers, manufacturers & consumers because it is profitable for fast fashion manufacturers, easy to produce, has low maintenance, does not require professional cleaning, does not shrink in the wash, does not wrinkle unlike natural fibers & are low cost for consumers.
Acrylic, Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is another fossil fuel based fiber derived from petroleum or coal. Acrylic is known in the fashion industry as a plastic imitator of wool. If the the Acrylic fibers are woven tightly, it can have the same thermal benefits of wool without the post wash shrinkage and cost.
FAST FASHION ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The fast fashion industry is the 8th largest polluting industry when it comes to global green house gas emissions. The fast fashion industry generates 92 million tons of waste annually, which is 4% of the global solid waste. Lately, fast fashion clothing has been Green Washed with advertising to consumers with attributes of water resistant or stretchable fibers that facilitate outdoor recreation and exercise. This is in contrast with the harm Polyester causes to our health and the environment. The extraction and processing of crude oil is energy & chemically intensive and contributes to environmental pollution. Polyester clothing easily sheds microplastics from normal wear & tear, also through the wash drain effluent; which subsequently pollutes the rivers and oceans. These micro / nanoplastics then move up the aquatic food chain from plankton to large fish, eventually in to humans when consumed. New research has found micro & nanoplastics particles present in human placentas (aka afterbirth) and in newborns. A report from the International Conservation of Nature estimates that 35% of ocean microplastics originate from laundering. Also, these synthetic fibers do not biodegrade when the fashion manufacturing waste and discarded clothing enters landfills or our Oceans.
Toxic chemicals used to give clothing a distressed appearance along with petroleum based dyes have been discharged in to rivers, leached in to the underground water table, all sources used by the population for drinking and irrigation. These chemical pollution has poisoned the population and caused birth defects in children.
SUSTAINABLE FASHION
One practical objective of building a sustainable wardrobe is to avoid clothes that require special care like dry cleaning dependent clothing and consider clothing washable in cold water. After all, the laundry in the Tiny Off-Grid House will be performed in a combo washer / dryer powered by renewable energy. The cold water laundry will reduce the energy consumption of the electrical tankless water heater supplying the combo washer with heated water. The chemical solvents mainly used in commercial dry cleaning, perchlorethylene (perc), is considered to be an environmental contaminant and a potential carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Perc has also been linked with other ailments, including, but not limited to liver and renal disease. Perc emissions from laundry and dry cleaners has also been a concern with warning to vent clothes retrieved from dry cleaners and not to store in an enclosed space. Perc emissions has become such a concern that the EPA banned the use of PERC in on-site dry cleaners located in residential buildings occupied by longterm residents; effective December 21, 2020.
Wrinkle free clothing are treated with formaldehyde woven into the fabric; while stain resistant clothing may contain the toxic chemicals perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or perfluorooctane; sulfonate (PFOS), commonly known as Forever Chemicals, which have been labeled “persistent synthetic chemicals” for their ability to bioaccumulate and become detectable in humans, animals and the environment. In a study, the only humans it was not detected in were Korean War Veterans whom were alive before these toxic chemicals were created.
Social media promotes fast fashion and imposes unhealthy beauty standards & social pressures on audiences; with the main target group made up of young girls and women. The role of fashion cannot be underestimated on how it influences a teens identity and social standing. The Fast Fashion industry has responded to consumers insatiable appetite for new fashion trends by evolving in to Ultra Fashion. Instead of fixed seasonal trends, new low cost fashion trends emerge on average every two weeks. Now a Fast Fashion garment can be purchased for the same price of a cup of StarBocks Cafe.
The artificial low prices and rapid pace of fast fashion manufacturing could not be possible without the low wages & the exploitative labor of garment workers in developing countries; most often Women, between the ages of 16 and 24, with evidence of workplace intimidation and sexual violence. Garment workers earn less than $2.00 a day. A 2018 U.S. Department of Labor report also found evidence of child labor and forced labor of garment workers in several developing countries; in no specific order of severity, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam, Argentina and Brazil . . . Approximately 1 in every 6 people alive on Earth today is employed in the fast fashion industry in some capacity; the fast fashion industry is currently the most labor dependent industry in the world.
These developing countries often have relaxed, albeit ignored, enforcement of environmental protections laws for energy & water intensive garment manufacturing processes like the petroleum based dyeing of textiles along with the slackness dumping of toxic chemicals that pollute waterways and poison aquatic life. The fashion industry is a major contributor to climate change and environmental pollution. Reports show the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter of global clean water. After the manufacturing stage in developing countries, even more fossil fuels are consumed to transport these garments to international markets for purchase. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions; outranking the 5% of global carbon emissions generated from air travel and shipping combined.
The fashion industry Green Washing attempts to promote ecofriendly fashion is a vain attempt to hide their environmental & labor abuses. Analogous to British Petroleum (BP) diversionary tactic of imposing the responsibility of a “Carbon Footprint” on the consumer which fools consumers so they believe their lifestyle choices are to blame for the environmental pollution associated with the use of fossil fuel. The fast fashion industry has a different strategy by giving fashion consumers an opportunity to donate their unwanted garments, back to the retailer, to be recycled; in exchange for some form of a financial incentive. Only 20% of donated garments in affluent nations are sold; while the remaining unsold garments are sold to the developing world, consuming more resources for transport, where they economically out-compete the domestic bespoke garment industry. Eventually, the “Trashion” reaches the end of their fashion lifecycle by incineration and / or in open-air dumps. The former contributes to air-pollution while the latter leach petrochemicals or dyes in to the ground water. Each year, 85% of all global purchased garments end up in some form of landfills.
Image courtesy of Martin Bernetti / AFP; Chile’s Atacama Desert
HOW PERSONAL CHANGE CAN IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE
Sustainable fashion provides an environmentally friendly alternative to fast fashion production of garments with the use of organic textiles. Organic textiles consume less resources like water and excludes the use of pesticides and herbicides; with minimal environmental impact. Organic cotton farming has a 91% lower water consumption, 26% lower soil erosion and 46% lower CO₂ emissions compared to legacy cotton farming.
Although not a solution to fast fashion waste, the reuse of garments does prevent some garments from entering landfills or incineration. However, it is reported that a dismal 1% of all discarded garments are recycled. Fashion manufacturers use the long fibers of Cotton to manufacture clothing. However, the machinery involved in the recycling process makes the fibers short, reducing the quality of the end product. Subsequently, to maintain some semblance of the softness & durability of the original fabric a percentage of recycled Cotton has to be blended with virgin Cotton fibers. Natural fibers, like Cotton, Even when natural fibers like Cotton is blended with a synthetic fiber like Polyester makes recycling the discarded garments prove economically challenging for recyclers.
In 2021 Josephine Philips founded SOJO, a clothing repair & alterations delivery service, based in London, U.K. This service extends the life of clothing; but most of all, weakens the fast fashion business model of mass production of low quality garments at the exploitation of garment workers. Then there’s always degrowth by reducing purchases of garments until necessary and creating a sustainable wardrobe made of timeless, seasonless, durable garments that outlast fast fashion trends.
The resource intensive fast fashion industry can no longer leverage environmental pollution with the argument it provides masses of consumers with affordable clothing and democratizes fashion by making garments displayed on the red carpet or worn by celebrities accessible to the masses at affordable prices. Consumers must free themselves from the chains of overconsumption and the manufactured need to keep up with appearances. Consumers whom have the ability and choose sustainable fashion are not just making an individual choice, but are making a decision that align with their values. However, individual climate change mitigation has to be merged with collective action to ultimately combat climate change.
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