It’s not a hidden fact that the fashion industry is a top player when it comes to global emissions. From the shoes on our feet to the shirts on our back, apparel and footwear companies contribute around 10% of global emissions and are estimated to use in the region of 1.5 million tons of water per year. And this is just the tip of the iceberg…

There is that old saying, usually attributed to Yves Saint Laurent: “Fashion fades, style is eternal.” Literally speaking, that actually may no longer be true, especially when it comes to fast fashion. Fast-fashion brands may not design their clothing to last (and they don’t), but as artefacts of a particularly consumptive era, they might become an important part of the fossil record.

More than 60 percent of fabric fibres are synthetics derived from fossil fuels, so if and when our clothing ends up in a landfill, it will not decay.

Fast fashion was coined in fashion retail to describe the quick turnover of designs that move from the catwalk to current fashion trends and became extremely popular in the early 2000s. Retailers aimed to increase profit by focusing on key elements of the supply chain with an emphasis on increased manufacturing speed at a low price. The concept has changed the industry dynamic with a quick response philosophy that has resulted in increased forecast accuracy because of the shortened time frame and the ability to generate quick turnover of merchandise for major retailers.

There is a reason why fast fashion is also known as disposable fashion; the significant amount of waste associated with it. With consumers understanding and accepting the lesser quality of the garments in substitution for lower prices, they are quick to throw away the items and move on to the next trend. Although this is nothing new in the fashion industry as there have always been trends causing a large surplus; with fast fashion however, the amount of pollution has increased at a tremendous rate.

A recent article by Emma Ross reports that the fast fashion industry employs approximately 75 million factory workers worldwide. Of those workers, it is estimated that less than 2% of them make a living wage. This leads to workers living below the poverty line and the European Parliament has even described the conditions of factory workers in Asia as “slave labor”.

To keep up with the fast fashion machine’s enormous appetite for new trends, the industry often falls victim to aggressively high production targets. Overburdened workers are often subjected to forced overtime or through breaks with little to no pay. One woman’s testimony in GLJ’s H&M report recalled how her employer made lunch breaks dependent on finishing “urgent pieces.”

The fashion industry also relies on the exploitation and subjugation of animals. From the production of goods using wool, fur, leather, silk, horn, and feathers, this industry uses animal body parts to create ‘products’., and the process of turning non-human animals into fashion items to sell is a violent and labour intensive process, as well as involving many toxic chemicals that can have long term adverse effects on workers.

When factoring in the entire lifecycle of a garment, from manufacturing to transportation to, ultimately, ending up in landfill, in total, 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions are released by the fashion industry every year, which is a huge contributor towards climate change.The perception that wearing an item only a handful of times, is acceptable, has resulted in an increase of discarded items, fuelling overconsumption and overproduction, which in turn has created a vicious cycle of increased demand, over production and waste.

With the fast fashion sector relying on a business plan that encourages mass production at an accelerated rate, there was always going to be collateral damage. There are some indicators that fast fashion is decreasing but as long as corporate social and environmental initiatives are enforced by retailers and high consumer demand remains, fast fashion will continue to be a business model for the foreseeable future.

However, we can all do our part to avoid promoting—and thereby financing—fast fashion. From buying second hand clothes (it can often be fun and cheaper as well as more sustainable) to repairing our current clothes, and avoiding certain retailers. Fundamentally, however, this is something that requires systemic change and government policy, of which our current iteration hasn't really looked at.

We recommend you keep an eye out for any petitions that might sign up, or even write to your local MP (they love a demanding email.)

In the meantime, check out this blog from The Good Trade, explaining what ‘slow fashion’ is, and why you should get into it, as well as Good on you for any updates on this topic!