The Real Cost of Fast Fashion

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a virtual global textile trade show, Texworld, which provided three days of education for participants. There was a strong focus on reducing the negative impact the textile and fashion industries place on our environment. As a new business owner of a slow fashion design firm, the timing couldn't have been better. I learned so much and will be able to incorporate the knowledge gained into the structure of my company. That's why I chose to write about fast fashion and how it affects pollution, climate change and human rights. I found it eye opening and, if you didn't already know, hope you will too.

Dictionary.com defines fast fashion as "low-priced clothing that is brought to market quickly and copies fashion trends created by luxury brands."

Many consumers can afford to buy a fast fashion version of the latest from the runways of top designers not long after they've been shown. This fast turnaround, coupled with budget pricing, has created a seemingly insatiable appetite for a revolving door of new looks. But wait...there's a catch. Actually, there's more than one catch but the first and most obvious one is the clothing quality is subpar. The label "throwaway fashion" is used to describe fast fashion garments because they're not made to last. This ensures the customer will return again and again to purchase more and more.

So what's wrong with having a non-stop supply of brand spanking new outfits you ask?

Even before the advent of fast fashion, the textile and garment manufacturing industries were large consumers of energy and water as well as major contributors to air and water pollution. An entire blog post could be written about the effects on the environment just from the dyes used to create the rainbow of colors we get to choose from. Sure there are vegetable dyes but you're not going to see those used in large batches commercially. Chemical dyes loaded with toxins resulting in wastewater with some nasty stuff in it is the result. Now that so many more clothes are constantly being churned out globally, the already detrimental impacts to the environment are supersized. Non-renewable resources are depleted in greater numbers, greenhouse gas emissions are elevated and even more water and energy are being consumed. The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Then there's the whole synthetic fabric issue. Synthetic textiles like polyester are made from fossil fuels. Polyester is a synthetic petroleum-based fiber, and is therefore made from a carbon-intensive non-renewable resource. Petroleum products are used as feedstock (raw material to make the fiber) and also used to generate the energy needed to manufacture. More than 70 billion barrels of oil are used to make polyester each year. It is not bio-degradable and will persist in the ecosystem even as it eventually breaks apart. In fact, it is believed that synthetic garments are the biggest source of micro-plastic pollution in the oceans because up to 1900 fibers can be washed off one garment every time it is washed. Micro-plastics are scary. When you wash and dry polyester clothes, tiny bits of polyester break off creating micro-plastics that go into our water supplies and elsewhere.

Tiny pieces of degraded plastic, synthetic fibers and plastic beads, collectively called micro-plastics, have turned up in every corner of the planet—from Florida beach sands to Arctic sea ice, from farm fields to urban air. Their size—from about five millimeters, or the size of a grain of rice, down to microscopic—means they can be ingested by a wide range of creatures, from the plankton that form the basis of the marine food chain to humans. Ingested micro-plastic particles can physically damage organs and leach hazardous chemicals—from the hormone-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA) to pesticides—that can compromise immune function and stymie growth and reproduction. Both micro-plastics and these chemicals may accumulate up the food chain, potentially impacting whole ecosystems, including the health of soils in which we grow our food. Micro-plastics in the water we drink and the air we breathe can also hit humans directly.

Oh, and then there's the whole landfill issue. You know I used to feel really good about donating clothing to Goodwill and Salvation Army but then I learned that when organizations like these can't move all their stock, their excess ends up in a landfill. The only way to be certain your unwanted clothing doesn't go into a landfill is to recycle or upcyle the garments. When an article of polyester clothing or, other synthetic fiber like spandex or nylon, is discarded they take decades to break down. The majority of polyesters are not biodegradable meaning that the polyester fabric shirt you bought last season will not decompose for 20 years at best and 200 years at worst, depending on conditions. Nearly 85 percent of textile waste in the United States goes to landfills or is incinerated. Yikes! Even cotton, a natural fiber, is problematic unless it's organic or recycled due to the mass quantities of water it takes to grow the crop, on average 10,000 liters to cultivate one kilogram of raw cotton, and the toll is takes on the soil in which it's grown. Land used to grow cotton requires crop rotation. However, organic cotton is farmed in a manner that uses far less water and is kinder to the earth. Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the

environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the

use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse

agriculture.

These reasons alone are enough to make one think twice before buying another $7.99 t-shirt but, alas, there's more. The majority of fast fashion is made outside the USA because of the cheap labor, provided mostly women, and free reign to pollute. Clothing is mainly manufactured in developing countries, as they often have lower wages and do not have the environment legislature in place to stop the negative effects of clothing production. The top clothing exporting countries include China, the European Union, Vietnam and Bangladesh. From the very moment a garment is formed, there are environmental costs. During textile production, toxic chemicals from factories pollute nearby rivers, aquifers, and communities. This directly affects the health and lives of those who are producing clothes and those who live near these factories. Throughout the process of clothing manufacturing, those who are making the clothes are put at risk and their environment is deteriorated in order to meet the demands of the consumers in developed countries. Birth defects, cancer and jaundice are common in communities near highly polluted waterways and the factories that produce the toxic by-products from various textile and leather processes such as dyeing.

So, what can you do to help break the chain of fast fashion environmental and human rights abuses? Start by buying less. When you need to purchase clothes, do some research first to find sustainable brands to patronize if you plan to buy new items. If you can afford it, seek out higher quality goods. They'll last longer, even a lifetime or more if they're made from a sturdy natural fiber like wool. Alternatively, consider buying second hand from a consignor boutique, clothing rental company like Rent the Runway or set up a clothing swap with family or friends who wear the same size. Before you get rid of a wardrobe item, consider keeping it or giving it to someone who needs it. How you care for your clothing counts too. Air dry items when possible and launder and dry clean only when necessary.

As a designer and manufacturer I'll plan ahead so the choices made will result in circularity. Sustainable or circular fashion starts with the design. Whereas fast fashion has no qualms about something falling apart after a few washings, circular fashion resolutely steers clear of waste. The initial aim is to create products that last; things that we’re dying to have and to keep. Timeless design and above-average quality are important prerequisites here. In other words, the entire life cycle of the items I design and produce will be planned for so that there is no waste. When a garment is no longer wanted or needed, it will be a prime candidate for upcycling, recycling and it will also be biodegradable because they'll be made from natural fiber fabrics. I'll use organic or recycled cotton and seek to use single fiber natural fiber fabrics whenever possible as I learned at Texworld those are easier to recycle. If a synthetic fiber fabric is used, going forward I'll purchase those made from recyled fiber. I'll seek out contractors who utilize sustainable practices. This will include patternmakers, samplemakers, grader and marker makers and sewing factories. Goods will be made in the USA by ethical sewing factories who train, employ and empower women of color and those seeking to rise above poverty. I was introduced to one such organization through Texworld called Custom Collaborative. I am eager to patronize them. Learn more about the good they're doing at https://www.customcollaborative.org. Finally, I'll be mindful of the type of packaging used for my products to reduce waste there with the goal of using no plastic. The clothing needs to be protected from damage during shipping but once upon a time we didn't have plastic so I'll figure out an alternative.