The document discusses the environmental impacts of fast fashion, including:
1. The fashion industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions and pollutes water sources through dyeing and other processes. 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year.
2. Fast fashion results in high water usage for production and releases microplastics when synthetic fabrics are washed.
3. Cotton and leather production require large amounts of resources and release pollutants, while synthetic fabric production is energy intensive.
The document discusses the environmental impacts of fast fashion, including:
1. The fashion industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions and pollutes water sources through dyeing and other processes. 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year.
2. Fast fashion results in high water usage for production and releases microplastics when synthetic fabrics are washed.
3. Cotton and leather production require large amounts of resources and release pollutants, while synthetic fabric production is energy intensive.
The document discusses the environmental impacts of fast fashion, including:
1. The fashion industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions and pollutes water sources through dyeing and other processes. 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year.
2. Fast fashion results in high water usage for production and releases microplastics when synthetic fabrics are washed.
3. Cotton and leather production require large amounts of resources and release pollutants, while synthetic fabric production is energy intensive.
The document discusses the environmental impacts of fast fashion, including:
1. The fashion industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions and pollutes water sources through dyeing and other processes. 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year.
2. Fast fashion results in high water usage for production and releases microplastics when synthetic fabrics are washed.
3. Cotton and leather production require large amounts of resources and release pollutants, while synthetic fabric production is energy intensive.
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Consequences about fast fashion
According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total
global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500 000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. The Quantis International 2018 report found that the three main drivers of the industry’s global pollution impacts are dyeing and finishing (36%), yarn preparation (28%) and fibre production (15%). The report also established that fibre production has the largest impact on freshwater withdrawal (water diverted or withdrawn from a surface water or groundwater source) and ecosystem quality due to cotton cultivation, while the dyeing and finishing, yarn preparation and fibre production stages have the highest impacts on resource depletion, due to the energy-intensive processes based on fossil fuel energy. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030. The time it takes for a product to go through the supply chain, from design to purchase, is called a ‘lead time’. In 2012, Zara was able to design, produce and deliver a new garment in two weeks; Forever 21 in six weeks and H&M in eight weeks. This results in the fashion industry producing obscene amounts of waste.
Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact
1. Water The environmental impact of fast fashion comprises the depletion of non-renewable sources, emission of greenhouse gases and the use of massive amounts of water and energy. The fashion industry is the second largest consumer industry of water, requiring about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2 000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Business Insider also cautions that textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water, since the water leftover from the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams or rivers. 2. Microplastics Furthermore, brands use synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon and acrylic which take hundreds of years to biodegrade. A 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics – tiny pieces of non-biodegradable plastic – in the ocean come from the laundering of synthetic textiles like polyester. According to the documentary released in 2015, The True Cost, the world consumes around 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year, 400% more than the consumption twenty years ago. The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year. The production of leather requires large amounts of feed, land, water and fossil fuels to raise livestock, while the tanning process is among the most toxic in all of the fashion supply chain because the chemicals used to tan leather- including mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives and various oils and dyes- is not biodegradable and contaminates water sources. 3. Energy The production of making plastic fibres into textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids like hydrogen chloride. Additionally, cotton, which is in a large amount of fast fashion products, is also not environmentally friendly to manufacture. Pesticides deemed necessary for the growth of cotton presents health risks to farmers. To counter this waste caused by fast fashion, more sustainable fabrics that can be used in clothing include wild silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp and lyocell.
The Social Impacts of Fast Fashion
Fast fashion does not only have a huge environmental impact. In fact, the industry also poses societal problems, especially in developing economies. According to non-profit Remake, 80% of apparel is made by young women between the ages of 18 and 24. A 2018 US Department of Labor report found evidence of forced and child labour in the fashion industry in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam and others. Rapid production means that sales and profits supersede human welfare. In 2013, an eight-floor factory building that housed several garment factories collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1 134 workers and injuring more than 2 500. In her project, An Analysis of the Fast Fashion Industry, Annie Radner Linden suggests that ‘the garment industry has always been a low-capital and labour intensive industry’. In her book, No Logo, Naomi Klein argues that developing nations are viable for garment industries due to ‘cheap labour, vast tax breaks, and lenient laws and regulations’. According to The True Cost, one in six people work in some part of the global fashion industry, making it the most labour-dependent industry. These developing nations also rarely follow environmental regulations; China, for example, is a major producer of fast fashion but is notorious for land degradation and air and water pollution.
Bibliography Maiti, R. (2022, 1 diciembre). Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
The Fashion Industry Has Seen Significant Development in The Last Decade and Has Had A Dramatic Shift Towards A New Model of Industry Called Fast Fashion