Fast Fashion...Not So Fast!

Contributed by Karen Price, Hive National (Florida)

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I recently moved out of a home we had lived in for almost 20 years. To compound the challenge of moving we moved into a smaller space without a basement! We had too much of a lot of things... don't even ask how many spatulas I had! 

When I got to my clothing I didn't know how to even start. It was daunting so I tried the Marie Kondo method. I put every piece of clothing on. Yes, it took a long time and it was both humbling and comical. WHY had I kept so much clothing that I had not  worn in a very long time??

Going down this path with my embarrassing amount of clothing spurred 

on some discussions with my environmentally conscious children about fast fashion.

What is fast fashion: Fast fashion is a business model that involves designing, creating and selling trend clothing at low prices in a quick and efficient manner. It is a 1.3 trillion USD industry. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

Why is it bad?: Fast fashion is usually cheaper quality, which doesn't last as long as clothing made with higher quality fabrics and construction. Poor quality clothing often gets thrown away or donated in a relatively short period of time. While people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long (McKinsey & Company, 2016). In the last 20 years, global fibre production has almost doubled from 58 million tons in 2000 to 116 million tons in 2022, and is expected to continue to grow to 147 million tons in 2030 (Textile Exchange 2023). That's a lot of fabric!!

So, why don't we just donate the clothes we don't need any longer?

We want to feel good about our unused clothing finding a new home and being used by someone else. Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that.

There is so much donated clothing that the donation sites cannot keep up or store all of it. Very little of the clothing we donate is sold or used in the US. A large amount is sent overseas to be sold. It is baled and sold by weight and most of it goes to Latin America and Africa. For context, in 1991 the US sent 158,741 tons of clothing. In 2022 we sent 856,124 tons. (source:AAFA)

Unfortunately, because the quality of our clothing has diminished, the destination countries cannot use much of it and then have to figure out what to do with all of it. They often have limited resources to pay for proper disposal or rules in place to protect the environment so it ends up incinerated or dumped in landfills or the ocean. Over 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year (UNECE, 2018)

The environmental impacts of textiles are vast. 

Clothing that ends up in landfills can impact drinking water and food production for nearby communities due to leaching of chemicals into the soil and water system. The dyes, chemicals and plastics used to make fabrics are often used in large quantities and are toxic to the environemt. Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic (UNEP, 2019). Who knew we are wearing so much plastic?

The amount of water it takes to make fabric is staggering. Each year, the textile industry uses 215 trillion litres of water (the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools ) (Quantis, 2018) and around 20% of industrial wastewater pollution worldwide originates from the fashion industry (Word Bank, 2020). That's a lot of water and a lot of waste!

We as individuals CAN make a difference!

Here are a few simple ways to help:

1. Take inventory of what you own. 

   I am embarrassed to tell you how many pairs of black pants I owned. Having this information helps you avoid purchasing new items that you already own.

2. Purchase used. I acknowledge this is not for everyone, but consider purchasing from a resale site. I have used Poshmark since moving to Florida because I needed warmer weather clothing. You can find so many great quality items on this (and other similar sites), it's significantly cheaper than new and you are keeping clothes out of landfills!

3. Buy Less. You can make a concerted effort to use what you already own so you buy fewer clothing items throughout the year.

   
   

Want to dig deeper? View this Link or watch this Video

Nature gives us so much, let's try to lend a helping hand in return.

Karen, Conservationist Corner