The fashion world has been all about fast fashion, characterized by quick cycles, cheap deals, and a wide array of new trends that greatly determine consumer behavior and alter global economic strategies. The central characteristics of this business model lie in pushing the window between product design and sales; this enables consumers to buy at lower prices and with greater frequency of fashionable items. On one hand, this purchase and ownership process is characterized by comfort and affordability, but such a way can only be considered with serious environmental components on the consumer side. The industry is one of the significant sources of pollution, excessive waste, and exhaustion of resources, which are some of the key problems we are facing today, as indicated by water pollution, exhausted farmlands, and fossil fuel climate change. Through this essay, the main environmental issues of fast fashion will be examined, and we will look into how they damage natural resources and ecosystems. Through the inclusion of concrete illustrations and academic research findings, the ensuing discussion will present a broad perspective on the environmental damage inflicted by such industries. The advocacy for sustainable alternatives is apparent.
One of the unavoidable environmental problems linked to fast fashion is the massive pollution caused by textile production. The fashion sector, generally and more specifically in fast fashion, is seen as the biggest abuser of water and chemicals in dyeing and finishing treatments and, therefore, causes high levels of pollution to the environment (Bailey et al., 2022). Polluted water from fibers manufacturing processes most likely contaminates nearby rivers and streams, discharging inadequately treated chemicals like heavy metals, alkylphenols, and phthalates, which are, in turn, hazardous to aquatic life and ecosystems. According to the UNEP report, these pollutants upset water ecosystems and threaten the health of local peoples who use such water bodies for drinking, fishing, and farming (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), n.d.).
A glaring case of the environment being thrown out of the circle because of the textile industry in Bangladesh is noted. However, it is an employer of great economic strength that is environmentally destructive. Rivers like the Buriganga have become heavily contaminated by different profoundly flowing units. A dozen textile factories along the waterways that were once home to healthy ecosystems with good water quality and abundant wildlife are now degraded, purity is compromised, and biodiversity is threatened, thus causing livelihood challenges among people who depend on this to sustain their daily needs (Ghosh et al., 2023). Research has revealed that heavy metals and other pollutants in the Buriganga River have exceeded the safe limits, threatened the population’s health, and the water is undrinkable (Islam et al., 2023). This case becomes a good example of how effective the regulations are to control fast fashion and its implications for the environment.
One another great environmental problem in the fashion industry is the overuse of important resources, especially water. The fabrics, particularly cotton, are widely used in fast fashion production and consume lots of water. To illustrate this, on average, a single cotton shirt requires approximately 2,700 liters of water, equivalent to the amount of water an ordinary person drinks over 2.5 years (European Parliament, 2020). This sort of high water demand is made worse by water polluted by dyes and chemicals that usually find their way back into the water cycle without proper treatment, aggravating the water shortage. Furthermore, the high-water consumptive nature of cotton production puts immense stress on the hydrologic basin, resulting in less water availability for other uses and, as such, is one of the factors for the environmental degradation of a wider region.
A disturbing fact that points out the water depletion in the fashion industry is the drying of the Aral Sea, mainly caused by the redirection of rivers for cotton irrigation in Central Asia. The Aral Sea, which once was among the largest lakes in the world, is less than 10% of its original size from the 1960s (European Space Agency (ESA), n.d.). The diversion of waters to extensive cotton farming—a thirsty industry fueled by the global demand for cheap textiles—has resulted in the striking level of degradation of the lake, severe ecological problems, and economic devastation for local communities. The fishing industry has collapsed, and the climate in the areas has become more arid with toxic dust from the dried seabed, causing massive health issues for people (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2019). The Aral Sea case illustrates the graver after-effects of fast fashion depleting resource usage, which poses a red flag in pursuing sustainable practices and boosting resource management within the textile industry.
The acts of consumption make the detrimental environmental effects of fast fashion even more serious because fashion addicts keep demanding cheaper and more fashionable clothes, resulting in the repetitive circle of overproduction and waste. The incessant flow of new clothes designs and the dream to wear fashion on trend at low costs in a fast-paced consumer world drive modern consumerism (Brewer, 2019). As a result, producers are driven to produce an unreasonable amount of dress, the part being frequently thrown away or just kept in the wardrobe. According to the reports, pieces of clothing are worn only seven times before they get discarded, and the percentage of recycled clothing that is turned into new clothing is less than 1%, which speaks clearly to the unsustainability and wastefulness of this industry (Ethical Consumer, 2024). The desire to diminish expenditures and shorten the production period results in using low-quality materials and expeditious approaches, which deteriorate the quality of clothing and simultaneously increase the consumption of resources.
The role of consumer behavior in the deterioration of the environment can be seen during huge shopping days like Black Friday when the mass of cheaply priced fashion items purchased will create a short-term but significant increase in trash rates. It is amazingly interesting to see how consumers increase their contributions to landfills due to the large rise in clothes discarded in the aftermath of such sales. It has been revealed that in the weeks after Black Friday, there is the amount of textile waste doubled. Consequently, the waste management systems become stressed, and ecological pollution increases (Sailer et al., 2022). The habit of consuming is one of the many factors that represent the change of culture into what people call ‘throwaway culture.’ The main idea in this culture is that the products’ durability is less important than their immediate availability and trendiness. In addition to environmental deterioration, such conduct perpetuates the cycle of exploitation and waste in the global fashion industry. Hence, there is an urgent need for more sustainable consumption practices and consumer awareness of the environmental implications of fast fashion.
The wide-ranging environmental harm of fast fashion cannot be refuted, as revealed through the domain that includes pollution, depletion of resources, and generation of waste among its impacts. The impact of using a lot of toxic chemicals for textile production goes along with the ecological damage in the whole world. Contaminated water sources and alteration of biodiversity are examples of river pollution in Bangladesh. Moreover, the growing usage of water without regard to sustainability, with a striking example in cotton cultivation, caused the decline of the Aral Sea that, in turn, has adverse effects on the microclimates and population of that region. Consumer behavior is fuelling these problems, as the insatiable appetite for the so-called bargains continues to be met with the production of new cheap fashion items, resulting in an even higher volume of textile waste, which can be seen during sales such as Black Friday. If these practices continue, the consequences might be fatal, leading to a deepening environmental crisis and social inequality among global communities primarily dependent on natural resources and the environment. For cases of maximum impact, multi-dimensional strategies are needed. Customers should consider non-sustainable fashion decisions by immersing themselves in the second-hand market and supporting designers who strive for environmental protection. Organizations are expected to enhance sustainable technology to reduce the production cycles and minimize secrecy by increasing the transparency in their supply chains. Governments should enforce tighter environmental control, fund research into renewable materials as well as sponsor information activities about environmentally conscious consumption. Through the joint implementation of more ecologically sound ways of production and consumption, we can reduce the environmental harm that fast fashion brings and secure a future for the fashion industry that will be both sustainable and contribute to the planet’s health.
References
Bailey, K., Basu, A., & Sharma, S. (2022). The environmental impacts of fast fashion on Water Quality: A Systematic Review. Water, 14(7), 1073. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071073
Brewer, M. K. (2019). Slow fashion in a fast fashion world: Promoting sustainability and responsibility. Laws, 8(4), 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws8040024
Ethical Consumer. (2024, April 9). What is fast fashion, and why is it a problem? | Ethical Consumer. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem
European Parliament. (2020, December 29). The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics) | Topics | European Parliament. Topics | European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics#:~:text=To%20make%20a%20single%20cotton,and%20land%20use%20in%202020.
European Space Agency (ESA). (n.d.). The changing Aral Sea – Image of the Week – Earth Watching. https://earth.esa.int/web/earth-watching/image-of-the-week/content/-/article/the-changing-aral-sea/#:~:text=Formerly%20one%20of%20the%20four,diverted%20by%20Soviet%20irrigation%20projects.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2019). Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture: Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation, and mitigation options. FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER 627. Food & Agriculture Org.
Ghosh, B., Rahman, M. M., Saha, T., Hossain, M. J., Alam, S., Al-Aman, D. a. A., Kayser, M. S., Islam, M. S., Islam, M. K., Singh, A. K., & Ahmed, T. (2023). Drinking Water Sources along the Banks of Buriganga River of Bangladesh are Polluted and Possess Serious Health Risks: A Comprehensive In Vivo Analysis. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2023, pp. 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/3369163
Islam, T. T., Chakma, S. K., Akter, L., Mondol, A. S., & Bari, F. S. (2023). A cross-sectional study on consumption pattern and heavy metal content in Buriganga River fish. Heliyon, 9(12), e22714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22714
Sailer, A., Wilfing, H., & Straus, E. (2022). Greenwashing and bluewashing in Black Friday-Related Sustainable fashion marketing on Instagram. Sustainability, 14(3), 1494. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031494
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (n.d.). The environmental costs of fast fashion. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/environmental-costs-fast-fashion
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