Fast and Furious Fashion

Sifting through my emails has become part of my morning ritual nowadays, just as much as scrolling aimlessly through Kardashian-esque Instagram pictures and drink-clinking-boomerangs. But as I wake to yet another batch of unread emails I realise most of them are now simply just marketing ploys.

Last week I counted how many emails I received from online clothing brands offering huge discounts, constantly enticing consumers into their 'on trend' and 'affordable' fashion.

56.

56 emails were sat on my laptop, each with the hope for me to click 'open' and punch in some kind of 25% discount code for clothes I suddenly think I need and internally justify. Aaaaah capitalism.

In the same week, I also made a conscious effort to recycle as much plastic as possible and refused to use straws, paper or plastic, for my drinks as I was so concerned for the welfare of the baby turtles we see David Attenborough narrate on our screens.

There seems to be a bitter irony in these two scenarios.

As I sit here the 'lungs of the earth', more commonly known as the Amazon Rainforest, is burning at an alarming rate, with an 84% increase in fires compared to 2018. This coupled with a staggering 95% of the Artic's oldest ice now melted, is a clear indication that we are slowly and painfully murdering our planet. We've drawn our attention drastically over the past few years to how we can help reduce pollution in the sea, become more mindful of products we use and attempt to reduce our fuel consumption in everyday life. However, there's still a gaping black hole that we struggle to acknowledge when it comes to becoming more eco-conscious of our planet, a gaping black hole that is sucking the life out of our planet.

Fashion, more specifically, the fast kind.

I began my research on this subject vaguely understanding the concept of fast fashion and thinking I could identify brands that steer away from these kinds of labels, however, I was very much mistaken.

Think of any brand you have in your wardrobe right now and the chances are they, sadly contribute to the trend of fast fashion.

So what is fast fashion and why is it suddenly now a problem?

Simply put, fast fashion focuses on cheap clothing that is often seen in celebrity culture, produced at a high, fast and cheap speed to hit online and high street stores in order to keep up with trends and social culture.

The main problems with fast fashion are that they are cheap and often overseas labour is used in the fast turn around production. This raises questions of the companies ethics and standards, and also the quality of the products which many find after a few wears, get thrown away.

The reason why fast fashion is enticing to so many of us is the encompassment of so many high-end trends at an affordable price, we see a trend emerge in the media and less than a month later we can wear it ourselves at a reasonable price. In a world where anything can be discovered by the click of a button, the need to stay on trend for so many is imperative.

Of course, there are huge environmental drawbacks to this way of shopping. Back in the spring of 2017, the UK sent 235 million pieces to landfill and with an overall £12.5 billion thrown away that year.

Other environmental damages include:

• Using cheap textile dyes that pollute clean water across the globe.

• Cheap textiles are used in excess such as polyester, a highly popular fabric. Derived from fossil fuels and can shed microfibres that add to the increasing levels of plastics in the ocean.
• Impact on consumers and 'throw-away' culture, encouraging consumers we need to stay on trend and constantly buy the next 'it' item.
• The high speed and demand mean there is a growing stress on environmental concerns such as land clearing, biodiversity, and soil quality.

So,

We get it, fast fashion is pretty bad for the planet, and most high-street and online stores contribute to this environmental impact. There's a lot of obvious ways we can try and reduce this growing trend and help save the planet, to name a few:

• Reduce your shopping consumption, only buy pieces you know will last and you know you'll wear.
• Invest in higher quality goods that'll last longer.
• When you are done with your clothes send them to a clothes bank/charity shop/ online stores such as Depop and all that jazz.

HOWEVER...dot dot dot...

Yes, wherever we can we should ideally be steering away from the cheap quality clothing however, what if this is the only clothing we can afford? What happens now?

Should people with limited income be expected to pay more for their clothes when there are options for much cheaper, yet envirnonmentally damaging clothing?

The answer is, no, fashion is a luxury that has become capitalised into a neccesity and if people struggling to afford cothes for themselves and their families then that shouldn't be criticised by comapnies who want to appear high and mighty.

There are other ways for lower income families to become more environmetnally concious.

Instead of shining the spotlight on the individual, it should be companies that are targeted in taking steps towards sustainable production.

Take Zara, for example, who are pledging that by 2025 80% of their clothes will be made from sustainable materials.

So, to summarise my waffling in 3 short sharp points:

1) Fast fashion is a problem, but a problem you as an indivudal can't solve, just help, so don't beat yourself up.

2) If you can't afford to invest in sustainable clothing then don't, there are other ways to help improve your environmental impact.

3) I need to unsubscribe from marketing emails to improve my sanity.

G x