Running head: NOT SO FAST FASHION 1

Not So Fast Fashion: An Analysis of Textile Waste on the Environment

Karina N. Gebert

Legal Studies Academy

First Colonial High School

NOT SO FAST FASHION 2

Abstract

The growing demand in consumerism for fast fashion clothing companies has resulted in the

detrimental impact of the environment through the accumulation of textile waste in landfills on a

global scale. This paper provides evidence that with the modernization of the fashion industry,

the fast fashion world has created a race between big business companies which aim to propel an

endless cycle of supply and demand, placing a lower value on clothing items and persuading

consumers to invest in pieces that are not made to last. By researching the relationship between

marketing appeals and copyright law as well as environmental law, it becomes evident that fast

fashion industries thrive off a system of demand that is draws its designs from luxury and trendy

clothing brands without the consequence of design plagiarism and the reward of fast and cheap

production culminating in an overindulgence in material clothing.

NOT SO FAST FASHION 3

Not So Fast Fashion: An Analysis of Textile Waste on the Environment

What comes to mind when the word pollution is spoken? When one thinks of pollution,

they tend to think of single issues like air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, all which

result in climate change, but one may forget the impact that the fast fashion industry has on the

environment, and in that effect, little does one know that the fast fashion industry encompasses

all of these. The fast fashion industry in both the developed and newly developing world has

revolutionized demand through trends and the economy bearing with it, a heavy cost to the

environment.

Globalization

Consumerism

​What drives fast fashion’s success? A multibillion-dollar industry which extends to every

country on the planet, fast fashion supports the backbone of economic and cultural globalization.

The value of consumerism in the modern world is laid by the foundation of industrial

development where it is now a driving force of the global economy. The process of textile

manufacture is completely dependent on the endless cycle of bringing in new clothes as well as

trends and then disposing of old ones all in a matter of weeks. Trends is the simple factor that

fuels the market value and encourages ever-changing stock of new products, creating a

controlled system of supply and demand in the hands of consumers (Claudio, 2007). Devouring

the market for over 80 billion pieces of clothing annually, consumers are aimlessly drawn to

those trends which translate into cheap prices continue to spread and infect the environment like

a disease (Drennan, 2015).

NOT SO FAST FASHION 4

Marketing appeals. ​Fast fashion companies have made it their goal to produce clothing at

low prices, influencing the consumer to put less weight on the decision to purchase. In promotion

of a throw-away-society, fast fashion glorifies the act of overconsumption, and in turn, the cycle

of demand that follows (D. Polk, November 20, 2019). Targeting teens and young adults, these

brands market their products as easily disposable through price so that consumers are not

concerned with the amount of wear they will get from an article of clothing just because of the

fact that the item was cheap. Social media plays a major role in the massive pressure that pushes

consumers to stay up to date with the season’s styles. Those same trends are drawn from luxury

companies considered to be at the top of the pyramid. However, the majority turns to brands that

copy the trends advertised by high-end fashion but produce and sell their products at a fraction of

the price. As a society, it is considered necessary to indulge in fluctuating trends but those that

do fall under the trap of convenience (Drennan, 2015).

Selling in bulk and at fast rates. ​The consumerist mentality revolves around what is

considered relevant in style. The fast fashion industry has converted the most wanted trends into

quick and affordable pick-me-ups, revolutionizing economic globalization. The structure of the

industry feeds from the public’s calling demand and creates a cycle that’s tough to be broken.

Demand allows for consumers to buy at cheap prices, own the piece for a short amount of time

and then refresh their wardrobe, feeding into fast fashion’s infamous cycle which has grown into

a massive global money market. Analyzing the industry directly in rate of output, Zara generates

a new clothing collection twice a month annually while H&M sells twelve to sixteen, but

refreshes its image in available products for consumers walking into stores each week (Remy,

Speelman, & Swartz, 2016).

NOT SO FAST FASHION 5

​Low prices in relation to low wages. ​According to Andrew Brooks’s ​Clothing

Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes, t​ here is a division

between western and eastern economic globalization which stems from a cultural pattern of

consumerism. The developing world contributes to an individualist society that focuses on the

production process of textiles for one’s own benefit in circulation of currency and in the bigger

picture: maintaining the steady growth of the economy. The developed world, on the other hand,

plays a larger role in the collectivist society that demands control over the production and

distribution. Since fast fashion targets places that are willing to contribute monetarily, that target

falls on populations of countries that can sustain such pressure. Each hemisphere contributes

differently to the cycle of fast fashion, but both are greatly sustaining it because the roles are

equivently distributed. Across the world, that great division between the economic ideology

revolving either around consumerism or productivism are low wages. Those that work in

manufacturing are paid consequently far below the minimum wage and are forced to do so by the

added weight of long hours (Brooks, 2015, p. 7).The Rana Plaza 2013 disaster in Bangladesh

which resulted in over 1,100 deaths and approximately 2,000 injuries after the collapse of the

building serves as an insight into the blind eye that is turned toward the harsh conditions of labor

worth rock-bottom prices (Conca, 2015). It is only one leading example of the cost fast fashion

has brought on human rights. According to Michael Lavergne, author of Fixing Fashion:

Rethinking the Way We Make, Market and Buy Our Clothes, the manufacturing process is not

concerned with safety precautions when the profit coming from production are low in order to

remain in competition with the rest of the industry (Drennan, 2015). On the other side of the
NOT SO FAST FASHION 6

planet, consumers who rely on supply brought on by manufacture, are without knowledge,

fueling even lower wages and longer hours because the demand continues to increase.

Supply and Demand

Economic Globalization

​The surge of fast fashion is continuously born out of the pressurized demand for new

styles and trends of clothing.​ ​Motivated not only by the middle class, but also by increased per

capita sales, the rate of textile fabrication has doubled in the past 15 years according to the Ellen

McArthur Foundation. “An expected 400 per cent increase in world GDP by 2050 will mean

even greater demand for clothing. This demand has mostly been filled by famous brands such as

Zara, Forever21, H&M, Primark, Target et cetera, that sell in trend clothing at low prices” (Tan,

2019).

Textile Waste

Textile waste generated from fast fashion is a greater contributor to the growth and

maintenance of landfills in our nation more than one may believe. This stems from the mentality

of consumerism as the nation continues to consume more output than any other globally. Fast

fashion is the main culprit that many have turned a blind eye to. According to statistics from “To

Put This Issue into Perspective from Statistics” by Velazquez from The Greylock Glass, roughly

one garbage truck of textiles is dumped into landfills every second. On a larger scale,

approximately 92 million pounds enter national landfills annually. For an average American, that

means 80 pounds come from one individual in a single year (Velazquez, 2019).

Man-made Fibers: Polyester v. Cotton

NOT SO FAST FASHION 7

It is essential to take into account the microfibers that are used to manufacture fast fashion

clothing specifically in order to analyze their production impact that contributes to environmental

degradation. One of the most widely used fibers is polyester which through its manufacture,

leaves a significant ecological footprint (Velazquez, 2019). Polyester impacts every sphere of our

environment as it requires large amounts of crude oil releasing harmful emissions as a result of

intense production including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases.

These by-products also make their way into water systems. For example, polyester plays a major

role in plastic pollution of water bodies as polyester textiles shed microfibres when washed

which make their way back in circulation to the ocean (Tan, 2019). On the other hand, cotton is a

major contributor toward harmful greenhouse gases, more specifically carbon mission and its

significance rises as being the second largest industrial polluter. To put this into perspective,

producing one kilogram of cotton fabric is roughly equivalent to 23 kilograms of released

hazardous toxins into the atmosphere (Conca, 2015). The egregious amount of pesticides and

water required to grow cotton is detrimental to the supply of natural resources and their

degradation. Taking into account the amount of water a single cotton t-shirt requires, the water

waste elicited by this process is equivalent to the same amount of water an individual would

drink in two and a half years (Velazquez, 2019).

Emissions from volatile compounds and gases. ​The journey of a single t-shirt is

estimated to travel the length of the world before it is picked up from its rack. There are many

individual stages that the process of manufacturing moves products through. First, cotton is

grown and then transported to be handling and preparation. Then it follows the path of shipment

to multiple factories located thousands of miles apart which specialize in certain jobs. Then the
NOT SO FAST FASHION 8

product makes its way to a distribution center where it is yet again shipped, this time to the

consumer most likely living in the western hemisphere. It is critical to realize the inner workings

of the chain of supply that utilizes the expanse of the globe to craft and deliver a single article.

With each step of the mobile process, that article is contributing to the increased release of

greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Drennan, 2015).

​Comparison. ​There is an endless cycle in cotton production where there is high

production of cotton at subsidized low prices, driving the development of fast fashion, an

industry heavily reliant on the destructive fibers of polyester and cotton. Yet the world is hesitant

to slow down production of these fibers because that means slowing down demand and

consequently profit in the pockets of big name fast fashion companies.

Stockpiling

It’s easier to purchase over a certain limit than to restrict oneself from falling into the

pressures of consumerism. According to a study of ​Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste, a​

September 2006 study done by consultant Oakdene Hollins​,​ hoarding massive amounts of rarely

worn clothing in the back of one’s closet, stockpiling is an issue representing latent waste that

will ultimately make its way into landfills. Statistically it has been found that after purchase,

approximately 21% of fashion fast purchases in a single year remain new with tags, simply

forgotten by or disregarded by consumers (Claudio, 2007).

Environmental Law
Clean Water

According to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act controls

the process of filtration and regulation of water which travels through industrial facilities such as
NOT SO FAST FASHION 9

textile manufacturers. The threat that textile waste in landfills poses concerning water quality is

directly related to toxins escaping from landfills which ultimately make their way through water

systems. The CWA serves to regulate direct and indirect sources of water contamination.

Through industrial activity, water which travels through pipelines, storm water systems, and for

industrialization processes discharges into surface waters bringing as a result, contaminants and

pollutants that have been collected along the way. On the other hand, for regulation of indirect

regulation, the CWA protects the quality of water that travels through the public sewer system

and publicly owned treatment works. In order to meet safety guidelines for water quality, these

treatment facilities must pretreat their waste before releasing filtered water through a public

sewer (RCRA, n.d.). Textile waste generates a large quantity of industrial pollutants that

contribute to the toxins regulated by the CWA, greatly contributing to the pollution of water. The

manufacturing process that fast fashion textiles undergo are detrimental in the fact that cheap

labor and materials are utilized promoting no concern for the environment.

Oil Pollution

Oil Pollution Prevention Under CWA works to prevent oil from spills from contaminating

large bodies of water. These regulations apply to facilities who meet the standard oil storage

capacity and reflect in location whether or not they are a threat to water. Fast fashion industrial

facilities which are the main producers of polyester are at high concern for oil pollution into

surrounding water transported either as runoff or as a direct source of pollution creates the

highest concern because polyester is made from extracted petroleum (RCRA, n.d.).

Clean Air
NOT SO FAST FASHION 10

The Clean Air Act under the EPA sets the guidelines for emissions into the atmosphere

from industrial facilities in order to regulate the rate of transmission of hazardous air pollutants

(HAPs) which in turn, cultivate a great concern for public health. Industrial plants which

manufacture textile articles, during the process of manufacture, emit HAPs generally

encompassing volatile organic compounds. Therefore, the CAA plays a major role in limiting the

release of precarious transmitants regardless of intention from the industry (RCRA, n.d.).

Toxic Substances

The Toxic Substances Control Act established by the EPA serves to give permission on

access to data regarding chemicals used by textile manufacture facilities. This is essential in

order to monitor and manage the transfer of hazardous toxins as a result of handling by facilities

(RCRA, n.d.). WIthout an insight as to the amount of toxins produced and transported physically

into the environment, then there is no possibility of stopping the leaching of these chemicals.

Superfund

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA

or Superfund) gives authorization to the EPA to act on “releases, or threatened releases, of

hazardous substances that might endanger public health, welfare, or the environment…and

grants the authority to force parties responsible for environmental contamination to clean it up or

to reimburse response costs incurred by EPA.” This law has significance in the fact that many

textile industries do not release information on harmful substances used during manufacture and

implements the requirement to do so. The EPA sets the procedure in regards to highest authority

at the business to report the use of any hazardous chemical which exceeds a set specific quantity
NOT SO FAST FASHION 11

for that particular substance during a span of 24 hours to the National Response Center (RCRA,

n.d.).

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act serves to inform a given

surrounding community on dangerous toxins released from textile manufacturing industries as

well as toxins that leach from landfills which pose a threat to the health of the public. This law

also helps in the process of developing chemical response plans in the case of an emergency and

requires the report of use of chemicals by individual facilities (RCRA, n.d.).

Copyright Law

Increased Demand For Trends

Since the fast fashion industry is ripping off high end designers and selling in bulk plus at

fast rates, there is a never ending cycle of supply and demand from consumers who increasingly

continue to feed into the industry. This high demand results in even more textile waste in the

nation’s landfills coming in at a rate that has never before been reached (​Sustainable Jungle,

n.d.). ​Cheap prices are reflected in the time and effort used to produce clothing material. The

cheaper labor, shipment, and material, the less durable the piece of clothing. Many are drawn to

the cheap prices but don’t take the long run and the amount of life possible in a textile into

account which causes big-name brands to be ripped off in their original designs. In the end, such

companies are limited to copyright protection since fast fashion brands make the article have

enough variation so that there is little outside association between both versions ​(Donoian &

Wallach, 2018).
NOT SO FAST FASHION 12

Case law. ​In the case of​ ​Star Athletica v Varsity Brands, th​ e ruling examined and

established the guideline of certain requirements which identify if a design falls under copyright

infringement. These guidelines revolve around the testing of whether or not the design is

separable from the article in which case if the article is copyrightable if it can be envisioned

separately from the brand or clothing item. The ruling was derived from the Copyright Act which

contests that a design is deemed copyrightable even if it can be envisioned without the article of

clothing. In this particular case, it was found that the unique design printed on the cheerleading

uniform, resembling the outline of the uniform, was not protected from the copyright law. This

decision was supported by the fact that a protected trademark or design which is created to fit a

certain medium is not considered to be replicable if it doesn’t fit identically, the space covered

by the original article (Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, 2017).

In the case of ​Converse Inc. v. ITC,​ ​ Converse sued the International Trade Commission

for the unrestricted importation and sale of the brand’s products through multiple separate

companies (Justina, n.d.). The court ruled that “registered trade dress carries a presumption of

secondary meaning only prospectively” and it was therefore held that the brand’s logo was not

protected under copyright law because it did not hold a “secondary meaning” or a developed

identification of relationship in the mind of the consumer between a manufactured product and

its trademark. However at this time, Converse had not proven, founded on the basis of the

brand’s use and appeal that it’s products held a secondary meaning in the eyes of the public

(Kachner, 2018).
NOT SO FAST FASHION 13

​The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in ​Louis Vuitton v. My Other Bag​ held that the

company of My Other Bag manufactured products that depicted interpretations of multiple Louis

Vuitton bags through a cartoon image but were not subject to copyright infringement. Louis

Vuitton argued that the interpretations which used the famous patent trademark design on cloth

totes held enough direct replication that it may be associated with the work of Louis Vuitton. It

was found that the portrayal of the Louis Vuitton bags in a cartoon mannar were clear parodies

which had enough variation from the brand’s original design that they did not portray the

intention of copyright and distribution. This served as a revolutionary decision in order to

establish a definite marker for designs which are either considered parodies or which truly

infringe on copyright of a specific trademark (TFL, 2019).

Solutions

Sustainability Efforts

There are a number of sustainable organizations which work to promote the awareness of

the impact of textile waste on the environment. One of these programs is the Sustainable Apparel

Coalition which utilizes the Higg Index which presents clothing industries with a means to assess

and alter the effects of produced goods both in an environmental and social manner. The Better

Cotton Initiative, on the other hand, takes on the role of integrating sustainability behind the

production of cotton since its manufacture is one of the most environmentally draining.

Combining management, training, measurable assessments, and specialized farming techniques,

BCI works directly from the ground up to formulate a new system to sustainable growth.
NOT SO FAST FASHION 14

Revolutionizing the value of rights when it comes to labor, the Ethical Trading Initiative not only

upholds ethical trade, but clearly defines worker’s rights worldwide. (Drennan, 2015).

Awareness

It is essential to re-educate those who are blindly throwing money into unethical practices

and environmental degradation in landfills. In order to combat this, companies around the world

such as Patagonia which created its Footprint Chronicles are beginning to provide an insight into

the way products are manufactured. Illustrating to consumers the process of manufacturing an

article of clothing travels through creates a sense of transparency between consumer and

company. This movement can also help motivate other companies to communicate a message of

sustainability through depiction of natural resources used, labor needed, and transport of clothes

that are land in the hands of individuals all around the world (Drennan, 2015).

Recycling

Recycling holds no value in protection against textile landfills if the rate of consumption

is on the high. The concept of recycling is going through various changes, and there needs to be

quick shift in reevaluation of the production processes and rate of waste generation (D. Polk,

November 20, 2019). In order to recycle a garment efficiently for any future purpose, there

would need to be advancement in methods that are used today in incorporating fibers into new

products. Recycling in itself is a responsibility few companies take on because it’s not what’s the

easier route. In global context, collection statistics show that the United States collects

approximately 15 percent of disposed textiles while over 150 billion articles of clothing are

produced within a single year (Conca, 2015).

Reduce
NOT SO FAST FASHION 15

Fast fashion is fueled solely by the consumer, a perspective one may fail to consider. The

goal of the fashion industry is to sell the product as quickly as possible so in return, there is a

great emphasis placed in production rate. The faster the product gets out on stock and is sold, the

more room for profit and new stock which continues to circulate, attracting the customer ("Fast

Fashion," 2019) Investing in sustainability is the ultimate solution in reducing the amount of

textile waste disposed in landfills because garments that are high quality are made to last.

Wrangler and Lee, for example, lead in clean denim dying and the rehabilitation of fabrics which

still have life ("Fast Fashion," 2019). However, one cannot simply make an impact in the

movement to end fast fashion in limiting the number of shopping trips for the season. It is

evident that there needs to be a change in perspective for both parties and re-education on long

term effects urging for spending more on less is the most efficient method to limit fast fashion’s

power (D. Polk, November 20, 2019).

NOT SO FAST FASHION 16

References

Brooks, A. (2015). ​Clothing poverty: The hidden world of fast fashion and second-hand clothes​.

London: Zed Books.

Calma, J. (2019, August 2). A scrappy solution to the fashion industry's giant waste problem .

Retrieved December 18, 2019, from Grist website:

https://grist.org/article/a-scrappy-solution-to-the-fashion-industrys-waste-problem/

Can fast fashion and sustainability be stitched together? (2019). In ​Weekend All Things

Considered​. Retrieved from Gale In Context: Global Issues database.

Claudio, L. (2007, September 1). Waste couture: Environmental impact of the clothing industry.

Retrieved September 23, 2019, from

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.115-a449
NOT SO FAST FASHION 17

Conca, J. (2015, December 3). Making climate change fashionable - the garment industry takes

on global warming. Retrieved November 15, 2019, from Forbes website:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/12/03/making-climate-change-fashionabl

e-the-garment-industry-takes-on-global-warming/#7965fe5979e4

Donoian, J., & Wallach, M. (2018, May 24). Fast fashion and IP regulation: Will fast fashion kill

the golden goose? Retrieved September 27, 2019, from

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2b1efd99-6f50-486f-aec2-fa9569bc910

Drennan, K. (2015). Picking up the threads: Fast fashion led to the Rana Plaza tragedy in

Bangladesh. We can do better. ​Alternatives Journal,​ ​41(​ 3), 20+. Retrieved from Gale In

Context: Global Issues database.

Fashion Industry Law Blog. (2019, March 26). Supreme Court rules: Copyright registration

required to file suit [Blog post]. Retrieved from

https://fashionindustrylaw.com/category/cases/

Fast fashion is as much the industry's fault as consumers. (2019, September 4). ​The Independent

(London, England)​, p. 31. Retrieved from Gale In Context: Global Issues database.

Gunther, M. (2016, September 27). Fast fashion fills our landfills. Retrieved December 18, 2019,

from JSTOR Daily website: https://daily.jstor.org/fast-fashion-fills-our-landfills/

In the trendy world of fast fashion, styles aren't made to last. (2013). In ​All Things Considered.​

Retrieved from Gale In Context: Global Issues database.

Justina. (n.d.). Converse, Inc. v. International Trade Commission, No. 16-2497 (Fed. Cir. 2018).

Retrieved December 17, 2019, from Justina US Law website:

NOT SO FAST FASHION 18

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cafc/16-2497/16-2497-2018-10-30.ht

Kachner, M. (2018, October 30). Converse, Inc. v. ITC. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from

Knobbe Martens website: https://www.knobbe.com/news/2018/10/converse-inc-v-itc

LexisNexis. (n.d.). Law school case breif. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from LexisNexis

website: https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-converse-inc-v-itc

Nee, V. Y., Natland, S., & Zelkind, B. (2017, June 6). The top hits: Fashion cases with a big

impact. Retrieved October 9, 2019, from

https://www.knobbe.com/news/2017/06/top-hits-fashion-cases-big-impact

Polk, D. (2019, November 20). [Personal interview by the author].

RCRA. (n.d.). ​RCRA in focus textile manufacturing.​ Retrieved October 3, 2019, from EPA

website: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-01/documents/k02028.pdf

Remy, N., Speelman, E., & Swartz, S. (2016, October). Style that's sustainable: A new

fast-fashion formula. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from McKinsey & Company website:

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sust

ainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula

Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2019, from Oyez

website: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-866

Sustainable Jungle. (n.d.). Sustainable & ethical fashion: Counters to fast fashion and why they

matter [Blog post]. Retrieved from Sustainable Jungle website:

https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-living/ethical-sustainable-fashion/
NOT SO FAST FASHION 19

Tan, J. (2019, March 15). Fast fashion is a bigger pollutant than you think. Retrieved October 24,

2019, from Medium website:

https://medium.com/@jiayiiii4137/fast-fashion-is-a-bigger-pollutant-than-you-think-2f45

1f3d8cef

TFL. (2019, March 18). Louis Vuitton wins the last round in fight over "my other bag".

Retrieved December 5, 2019, from The Fashion Law website:

https://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/louis-vuitton-wins-the-last-round-in-fight-over-my

-other-bag

United Nations Environment Programme. (2018, November 12). Putting the brakes on fast

fashion. Retrieved September 23, 2019, from

https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion

Velazquez, S. (2019, April 23). Fast Fashion: The environmental threat hiding in your closet

[Blog post]. Retrieved from The Greylock Glass website:

https://www.greylockglass.com/2019/04/23/fast-fashion-the-environmental-threat-hiding-

in-your-closet/

Von Hahn, K. (2004, March 6). Noticed: Fast fashion. ​Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada)​, p. L3.

Retrieved from Gale In Context: Global Issues database.