Immersed and deeply fascinated by rapidly changing fashion trends and styles, we rarely stop to consider the source of these items. The appalling and horrific facts behind their production is what I’d like to shed some light on. We are blinded by the ability to have the latest trends at our fingertips and therefore don’t end up realizing, this is the only advantage to this form of production. The first of many disadvantages is the working condition in which items of clothing are manufactured. Several huge and multinational companies use developing countries for their production. The cheap labour there enables them to keep their costs of production low and consequently gain large profits. Labour is so cheap and hence, these cost advantages may be passed on to consumers in the form of low prices in stores. Workers are exploited as wages paid to them are awfully low and don’t increase even if there is a rise in output. This causes them to have poor standards of living despite having spent hours at work. Moreover, the maintenance of a healthy, clean and safe environment with reasonable working hours in the factories is usually ignored as this would only increase costs of production. As a result, most workers have to unfortunately deal with working an exhausting number of hours, in dirty surroundings, with limited working space and the risk of faulty machines accidents.

Another major disadvantage to highlight is the impact on the environment. Reducing pollution and waste disposal is not one of the concerns of these factories and therefore, is not controlled and managed. Reduction in air quality, damage to habitats of species and to landscapes overall is enough to have long lasting detrimental consequences. Another cause of worry is microfibers which enter water bodies. They could do harm to animals which ingest them. Lastly huge amounts of water used in production (20000 liters for only 1 Kg of cotton) is an issue as water is already a scarce good.

I’d now like to end by bringing your attention to one aspect of the fast fashion industry we have control over – it’s consumption and disposal. Yearly majority of clothes bought end up in landfills, are burnt (to create space in overflowing landfills) and therefore only further contribute to pollution. Our responsibility as individuals is to reduce this to the best of our abilities. This can be done in a few easy steps:

1. Buy clothing only when necessary: We often feel the need to keep up with the trends and rarely want to repeat outfits. This ideology is a major source of the problem; however, this aspect of the issue is in our control.

Donate clothes when it is time to get rid of them: Clothing that is recycled throughout society reduces the issue. Less waste ends up in landfills and therefore less is burnt.

Buying second hand: This ties in with the second point as clothes found in these kinds of shops have usually been provided after being previously worn. Clothes are once again reused and not discarded.

Sustainable companies: Many new organizations are starting up which brand themselves as eco-friendly. Although items are usually more expensive it is worthwhile to look into their practices and consider them for future purchases. One, however, must be cautious of ‘Green-Washing’. This is when unsustainable and unethical companies try to lure in customers by falsely stating their items are environmentally conscious. We must rethink the companies and organizations to which we give our money.