Sustainability in Fashion

The overconsumption of millions of clothing garments a year has led to a disastrous effect on our environment. the Fashion industry is the second most polluting industry second to oil and has little regulations for working wages and pollution. A subgenre of the fashion industry that has been the most taxing is that of fast fashion. This trend of mass-producing clothing at an incredibly cheap rate

Workers dumping fabric scraps

has caused the biggest impact on the environment. Cheaply made products in factories where workers are paid little to nothing; with cotton that is sourced from pesticide riddled fields that have caused cancer in farmers, has taken over the industry and impacts the entire globe. Consumers are turning a blind eye to the dangers of fast fashion and only focus on how cheap the clothes they are buying.

With such a vast increase in consumer spending after the recession, people are beginning to splurge on tangible goods. This resurgence of consumers has made companies evolve to try and keep up with the wants of their customers. The traditional cycle of fashion was roughly two cycles; Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Now companies are forcing out new products every week creating almost fifty cycles a year to attract customers. This strain on businesses has resulted in many companies seeking cheaper and faster ways of production to maximize profits. Dangerous working conditions and low wages in third world countries alongside with fast and abundant cotton farming has caused a multistage pollution effect that stretches from production to sales. Recognizing ethical and environmental issues within the clothing industry, will mitigate the effects of pollution and improve society from a human rights perspective.

Many people don’t think twice about what they put on their bodies. Thousands and thousands of garments are bought, worn, and either thrown out or donated in such a short amount of time. The life cycle of clothing has diminished so much because of companies trying to keep up with trends, rather than creating them. How can the average person change this? What is there to do about this problem? If we talk and have an open conversation about such an unknown subject, we can educate and impact the future for the better.

This has been one of my biggest passions for the last few years. As the youth of America, there is a certain entitlement that you take up to protect what you will inherit from your elders. If you were given a hand-me-down toy and it was broken, you can either throw it away or fix it. This earth is our only home and there is no option to throw it away. Clothing is one of the universal necessities that the world cannot live without. It takes almost 2,700 liters of water to dye one t-shirt. That is 2,700 liters that are poisoned, flushed back into our waterways, and needs years and years to become usable again. So the next time you go shopping, take a step back and think to yourself what exactly are you buying.