'Fast Fashion' May Be Cheap, But It Comes At A Cost
Last edited Mon Dec 30, 2019, 01:40 AM - Edit history (3)
'Fast Fashion' May Be Cheap, But It Comes At A Cost,' ArriannaTowner/Earth Island Journal, Truthout, Dec. 24, 2019. Ed. EXCERPTS:
Would you believe that something as standard as buying a t-shirt can directly impact someone halfway around the world? That the chemicals used to color your clothes are likely polluting waterways? That with every clothing purchase you make, you are essentially voting for or against the future of the planet? These might not be the first things that come to mind when you decide where to buy your new pants and sweaters and shoes, but the links between “fast fashion,” human rights issues, and the environment are well established. As Solene Rauturier writes in a post for Good On You, an organization that rates fashion brands in terms of their sustainability: “Cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture, and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed.”
- In 2015, the textles sector emitted more greenhouse gas emissions than the international shipping industry and the aviation industry combined. The resulting clothes — often have a short lifespan, falling apart after a few uses. -
Or as Ayesha Barenblat, founder of Remake, a nonprofit that focuses on helping people move away from fast-fashion and move towards living a sustainable lifestyle, puts it: “I think of fast fashion very much like fast food. It was marketed to us as convenient and cheap.” The key word both Rauturier and Barenblat’s definitions is “cheap.” What does it really mean for a sweater at H&M to cost as little as $9.99? And who is paying the price to produce such inexpensive clothing? These days, most clothes are made out of synthetic fibers, AKA, plastics like nylon or polyester. Like other plastics, they are often created from oil or coal. And once created, they won’t decompose for hundreds of years. (Not to mention that when these clothes are washed, they release tiny microscopic pieces of plastic, which find their way into our oceans and harm ocean-dwelling animals).
Other hazardous chemicals are used to increase fabric durability. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which have been linked to hormone disruption, are used to fireproof materials, and perfluorinated chemicals, which have been linked to impacts on fetal development and an increased risk of certain cancers, create water-proof fabrics. But these synthetic fibers treated with chemicals are “cheap” compared to natural fiber — so long as you don’t tally the cost to the environment.
-- The garment industry is taking a steep toll on people and the planet in order to keep prices low.
The process is completed by factory workers with the help of industrial machines. From textile production to sewing and stitching, the production process comes with a steep climate cost: In 2015, the textiles sector emitted more greenhouse gas emissions than the international shipping industry and the aviation industry combined. The resulting clothes — which come from well-known stores like Zara, H&M, often have a short lifespan, falling apart after a few uses. This means many of the roughly 840 million garments that Zara makes every year quickly end up in landfills, and consumers are left to buy new ones, contributing to the production cycle — and associated environmental costs — once again. Fast-fashion takes a steep toll on people as well. Many clothing items are made in poor countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India where labor is cheap and not well regulated. According to Remake, few garment makers are paid a living wage. A typical wage in Bangladesh, for example, is $97 per month. Of the one-in-six people on the planet working in the fashion supply chain, 80 % are women in their early 20s. Men are almost always in charge at the garment factories, and women are rarely given opportunities to move up in the workplace.
Human Rights Watch has documented widespread sexual harassment in the industry, including in garment factories in India, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Women on short-term contracts, or working under other casual forms of employment, are especially vulnerable. “The cost of fast-fashion really is the bodies of black and brown women who power this industry around the world, who are placed in risky situations, but also kept in a cycle of poverty and oppression through the wages they make,” Barenblat says.
But there’s another side of the garment industry: sustainable-fashion. As Remake defines it: “This term usually means eco-friendly practices in the fashion industry.” Materials that are plant based — like organic cotton, merino wool, modal (made from beech trees), or sustainably sourced silk — are typically more environmentally friendly than synthetic fibers. Designer’s using synthetic materials can reduce their environmental footprint by using recycled polyester or other recycled fabrics, or even using other recycled items, like plastic water bottles, to create their fabrics, though these clothes can still shed microplastics. Of course, just because the fabrics are natural or plant based doesn’t mean they are necessarily sustainable. For example, clothing made out of conventionally grown cotton may come from crops that were treated with pesticides, whereas organic cotton would not. Natural fibers may still be treated with chemicals.
On the production side, it’s more sustainable to choose clothes produced in countries with higher wages, stricter environmental laws, and greater worker protections. It’s also best to buy clothes made closer to home, due to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with shipping of clothes. And then there’s consumption of the clothes...
More, https://truthout.org/articles/fast-fashion-may-be-cheap-but-it-comes-at-a-cost/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Island_Institute
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