Environmental Concerns of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion creates massive waste at every level of production: manufacturing, retail, consumer, and post-consumer.

In the summer of 2018, I decided to sew a pair of shorts to challenge myself creatively. The only fabric I had on hand was 3 yards of orange quilting cotton with a fish scale pattern made out of white polka dots. For anyone unfamiliar with sewing, quilting cotton is thin and stiff and makes particularly ugly shorts even without an orange polka-dot fish scale pattern. Sewing unwearable shorts inspired my passion for environmental activism through fashion.

“After learning how many ways the fashion industry pollutes the environment, I felt discouraged and useless. I have battled for years with the question: How can I live green if every option has significant drawbacks?”

Even before the cotton-dot-fish-shorts, I had never been a big shopper. I bought new clothes when my old ones wore out. I had heard of the many humanitarian issues in clothing factories during disasters such as the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed 1,134 and injured hundreds more (Rushe). As I became more aware of what clothes were in my closet, I became more aware of movements such as #Who Made My Clothes.

The deeper I got into making my own clothes, the more objectively I was able to look at the fashion industry. All the largest and fastest growing clothing companies, such as H&M and Zara, use an aggressive business model called fast fashion. This business model shortens garment production (from design to sale) from approximately 2 years to 4 months (Minhaj). This allows companies to quickly respond to trends, creating large runs of cheap clothes that are quickly going in and out of style.

The following summer I sewed over a dozen garments and effectively overhauled my wardrobe. After making the hideous shorts, I lost whatever interest I did have in shopping. Anytime I saw an outfit I liked my thoughts immediately went to "I bet I could make that." And every time I finish a garment I want nothing more than to take good care of it so that I can wear it for years to come. Sewing is my motivation to make my clothes last.

Every time I looked online at fabric I learned about fiber content and new fibers I had never heard of before. When I tried to figure out the difference between polyester and rayon and tencel and modal, I learned that polyester is made from crude oil. In addition, polyester manufacturing releases “...volatile organic compounds, particular matter, and acid gases such as hydrogen chloride, all of which can cause or aggravate respiratory disease. Volatile monomers, solvents, and other by-products of polyester are emitted in the wastewater from polyester manufacturing plants” (Claudio 450). Rayon is made from cellulose—sounds natural and better right? Rayon mostly comes from old growth forests and 70% of harvested material is unusable byproduct (Minhaj).

I was shocked to learn about the severe environmental impacts of fibers that filled my closet. Living in California, I have many cotton clothes—cotton requires massive amounts of water and uses a quarter of all pesticides used in the U.S. per year (Claudio 450).

When a handful of my clothes stopped fitting well about six months after the cotton-dot-fish-shorts, I no longer felt right getting rid of clothes without doing so mindfully. For the clothes that were salvageable, I mended holes and cropped hems to make them last longer. I gave some shirts to friends who fit them better. As I got rid of a pile of my clothes, it made me question what happens to most clothes when they are thrown away or donated.

Of all the clothes Americans buy, 85% ends up in landfills or incinerated (Bick 1). Furthermore, 60% of the total clothing purchased is discarded within a single year ( "The Price..."). These numbers were higher than I had ever imagined—with how wide-spread thrift stores are, I assumed more people donated their used clothes.

From there, I learned about the journey of donated garments. Only a fifth of the clothing donated is able to be resold. Some textiles can be recycled as scraps in upholstery stuffing or industrial rags. Some can be chemically recycled to be rewoven into fabric (Claudio 452). However, most clothing waste in America is shipped in thousand-pound bales to low-to-middle-income countries and resold (Bick 2).

But what happens to the clothes when shipped out of the country? Whether they are purchased or not, discarded clothes in low-to-middle-income countries without efficient waste management systems ends up polluting waterways (Bick 2).

After learning how many ways the fashion industry pollutes the environment, I felt discouraged and useless. I have battled for years with the question: How can I live green if every option has significant drawbacks?

I find guilt to be an unproductive emotion, so I have come to accept that it is impossible to live in this world without leaving at least a small footprint. So rather than worrying about all of the discouraging statistics about climate change and the fashion industry in particular, I focus on stepping lightly. In fashion, the best way to minimize consumption and waste is to make clothes last. Mending is a dirt cheap and accessible way to make any clothes—from any source—last longer and need replacement less.

I purchase fewer and fewer clothes as I continue to fall in love with sewing. My store-bought clothes from before the cotton-dot-fish-shorts have almost all either been donated or deteriorated beyond wearable. For me in my journey, sewing has been a source of artistic satisfaction and hours of fun, in addition to all the durable, well-fitting garments. Sewing makes me value my clothes more and even more likely to mend them till they turn to dust.

I openly acknowledge that sewing garments is not for everyone. Mending, however, is affordable, accessible, and can even be artistic if you want it to be. By replacing buttons and fixing holes, you can give your clothes a second chance at life. For most people, mending is the best way to Make It Last.

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Bick, Rachel, et al. “The Global Environmental Injustice of Fast Fashion.” Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, vol. 17, no. 1, 2018, p. 92.

Claudio, Luz. “Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 9, 2007, p. A448.

“The Price of Fast Fashion.” Nature Climate Change, vol. 8, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1–1.

Minhaj, Hasan. “The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion.” Patriot Act, season 5, episode 3, Netflix.

Rushe, Dominic, and Michael Safi. “Rana Plaza, Five Years on: Safety of Workers Hangs in Balance in Bangladesh.” The Guardian, 24 Apr. 2018, www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/apr/24/bangladeshi-police-target-garment-workers-union-rana-plaza-five-years-on.