Since there has been a push in saving the planet fast fashion is a term that we hear a lot, and I’d say that working to stop fast fashion is one of the easiest ways in which we can contribute to doing our bit for the planet. This post explores what fast fashion is, the impact it has on our planet, brands that are “culprits” and more ethical ways to shop. Trying to be more sustainable with my fashion choices is something I’m really passionate about and will definitely be exploring more soon.
What is fast fashion?
As the term “fast fashion” is thrown around often it can be difficult to understand the meaning of it. Investopedia have a useful page on fast fashion and describe it as being retailers use of inexpensive designs that have come from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends, a usual trend for fast-fashion retailers is to introduce multiple lines in a single week to stay on track with present trends.
There are advantages of fast fashion, especially for retailers because all the new products encourage consumers to visit stores more often and therefore, make more purchases leading to more profit for the retailers. Big profits also come for retailers if they spot a trend before the competition.
Fast-fashion has been criticised as it encourages a “throw-away” attitude for the consumers, which is particularly dangerous in our society where we are damaging the planet one day at a time. Main concerns surrounding fast fashion are surrounding the environmental impacts and poor working conditions, and big retailers are well-known to illegally reproduce the designs of independent designers. If we’re being completely honest, no one cares whether an outfit appears on your Instagram feed more than once.
I really recommend reading the full page, I’ll link it here.
Why is it so bad?
If you type “fast fashion” into the search bar on Instagram there’s so much information that comes up, whether it’s from posts or profiles dedicated to reducing fast fashion. I’m going to keep this simple and list some of the most shocking facts that I found whilst doing this research, I’ll also provide links to the accounts where I found them.
- It is cheaply made and designed to fall apart leading to huge amounts of textile waste and environmental pollution by exploiting garment workers, this has claimed many lives. (@thesustainablefashionforum)
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation/World Resources Institute say that every second the equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles are sent to landfill sites or burned. (@truecostmovie)
- 250 million children as young as 5 work in the fibre and apparel around the world. (@thenuwardrobe)
- In just 4 days, top fashion CEOs earn a garment workers lifetime pay – Oxfam (@oxfamgb)
The following are all from Beyond Retro. (@beyondretro)
- A pair of shoes can take up to 1000 years to decompose.
- It would take up to 3 years to drink the water used to make one cotton t-shirt.
- Every 18 seconds an item of clothing is thrown away in the UK.
- 95% of textiles sent to landfill could be recycled.
- Save 36 bathtubs of water by buying a pair of vintage jeans instead of new.
The Culprits
There are many websites that have shed light on fast fashion and brands that are guilty of it, these include…
According to Good on You the following brands do not provide enough information on their impact on people, the planet or animals which should raise alarm bells, they are: Missguided, Fashion Nova, Shein, Romwe and Nasty Gal.
Eluxe magazine focuses on Channel 4’s investigative program, Dispatches, to draw light on Boohoo’s UK sweatshops where workers are paid far less than the minimum wage. Employees in these awful working conditions have complained about a “three strike and you’re out” policy, including being a minute late or smiling.
The main store that I was interested in finding out about was Primark because I have always been a huge fan of the cheap prices and bright colours, but have never considered what the cost was to someone else.
Good on You rated Primark as “It’s a Start” on their rating scale from their own research. The brand still have a long way to go but they have implemented different initiatives to reduce waste and increase the energy efficiency in their stores and factories, as well as other steps including signing the Bangladesh Accord and Cotton Pledge. But their business model is based on creating “huge amounts of short-lived, poorly-made fast fashion products” which is dangerous for workers, the environment and animals.
Everything I have mentioned here I have found through other sources and have linked them accordingly.
Whilst doing this research I have been really impressed with the “Good on You” website, not only do they provide easy-to-read articles giving you lots of information about fast fashion, but they have a brand directory where in a short article they rate a brand based on different efforts for sustainability which is incredibly helpful if you’re looking to be more sustainable but do not know where to look for sustainability information. There’s an app too, so you can search whilst on the move.
What can we do?
I’ve looked at many different ethical fashion brands and below are a few of my favourites, based on their website (I haven’t ordered from any of them so cannot comment on quality of garments etc.).
There are some trousers on here currently that are very “me” and they have some staple pieces that never go out of style.
They’re dreamy and have so many different styles of denim, personally eyeing up the Kennedy Vertigo white dress.
I just want all the dresses, basically. Not too much to ask for.
But wait…
Yes, they are all amazing brands with a passion for making sustainable fashion, but they can be a bit on the pricey side…I understand, I’m a poor student so will not be forking out all the dollar anytime soon for something off these websites.
So, does that mean our only alternative is to buy from fast fashion brands? No!
Charity shops are gold mines. You might hear “charity shop” and think it’s going to be full of old people clothes that no one wants and they’re falling apart and any other negative connotations you may have of the places. But trust me, you can find so much good stuff in a charity shop. I personally like hunting for colourful dresses and new jackets but there’s a huge variety. Different places have different ranges as well so it’s worth exploring a few, you can also find good brands there as well at huge discounted prices. So, you’re still buying the brand and knowing the quality is there but you’re helping the planet (the clothes have already been produced, enjoy them!), helping a charity (duh, they’re called charity shops), and saving yourself pennies. Why wouldn’t you?! I recommend setting aside some time to go and mooch around the charity shops in your local area.
Depop! People sell their old clothes all the time on Depop and often there’s nothing wrong with them, it’s just a handy way to recycle clothes and get a bit of money in return. I could spend hours on Depop just scrolling through and ending up miles away from what I was originally searching for. Although Depop is a brilliant way to shop more ethically, sometimes you have to be a bit mindful as people do buy in bulk from potentially non-ethical sources to resell on Depop but these are quite obvious to spot.
Vintage shops. I used to think that if I walked into a vintage shop I’d just find a load of Victorian costumes and stuff like that so was always put off, but I remember the first time I went in one and I was amazed at how wrong I was and now I go in every time I see one. I’m quite lucky because I live close to Sheffield and it’s full of vintage shops and you’re always guaranteed to find something amazing in one of them.
Obviously, it isn’t always possible to shop ethically and that’s okay. I wanted some new swimwear for my holiday soon and searched high and low for ethical swimwear brands that there in my price range and couldn’t find anything and was very disheartened, so ended up going to Primark. But that’s okay, because for a while now I have been looking at more sustainable places to shop so I’m not going to let one trip to Primark undo all the other good shopping I’ve done. Neither should you! Making small steps to being more ethical is a lot better than turning a blind eye and pretending that fast fashion isn’t contributing to killing our planet.
All my love,
Lia x
Life of Lia 