What is fast fashion? “Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand.”
Some popular fast fashion companies include Shein, Boohoo, H&M, Forever 21, Zara and many more. While fast fashion can seem appealing due to the low price tag, there are multiple negative impacts:
- Offshore labor workers are paid low wages without adequate rights or safety. They work in dangerous environments without basic human rights for minimal pay. Farmers who may work with toxic chemicals may suffer devastating impacts on their physical and mental health.
- Cheap, low quality materials produced at a high speed where clothes degrade quickly means after just a few wears these garments get thrown away, creating a huge amount of textile waste.
- Use of many cheap and toxic textiles such as polyester, which is produced using fossil fuels and contributes to global warming.
Many people are not aware of the underlying issues cheap fashion brings to workers and the planet. Were you aware of this devastating impact? What will it take for you to make the switch to eco-friendly fabrics that are ethically produced?
Is it worth it to you to pay a little extra for clothes that are better quality and longer lasting?
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