Fast fashion includes clothes that are mass-produced, inexpensive, and trendy. They are not made to last long, so people keep buying more of them frequently. They are made with cheap raw materials and cheaper labor. Some common fast fashion brands are H&M, forever 21, GAP, Zara. Fast fashion continues to spark moral concerns, such as causing environmental damage and thriving on bad working conditions for employees. Let’s know about, Is fast fashion ethical?
Fast fashion allows people to buy clothes at comparatively affordable prices. They can also keep buying clothes because fast fashion is not durable, and they end up having a large, trendy closet. While these things are very attractive for consumers, fast fashion is one of the worst things possible in a lot of other aspects. It is not ethical in several ways.
The ethics questions broadly two categories: the environment and labor conditions. In this article, we will explain how fast fashion is not ethical in detail.
Impact on the Environment
- Waste Generation
A lot of waste is generated when every fast fashion consumer throws away their clothes. A study conducted by the Council for textile recycling says that an average American that consumes fast fashion throws away around seventy pounds of clothing every year.
Clothes are not exactly biodegradable, made of different materials that have different properties. All this makes it very difficult to dispose of all this waste. is fast fashion ethical?
- Carbon Emissions
Another aspect of this wastage is the massive amounts of carbon emissions it produces. The clothes we throw out end up in landfills, which emit carbon. Even burning the clothes, which would be a simple option, would result in terribly huge amounts of emissions.
Carbon emissions have been talked about a lot recently, owing to their connection with climate change. The fast fashion industry is responsible for around ten percent of global carbon dioxide emissions today, and this share will keep increasing if nothing changes.
- Water Pollution
Fast fashion also contributes to water pollution. Sounds unrelated, right? But, these clothes are made from microplastics. When they have any contact with water, such as when they are washed, some tiny plastic shreds end up in larger water bodies. These microplastic fibers end up in the ocean, where marine life is in danger.
Even when brands proclaim themselves as sustainable and environmentally friendly, there may be a lot of factors they hide from the consumer. This is called greenwashing.
To find out if a brand is sustainable, you can refer to sites that have done full research on the brand and its manufacturing process.
Labor Conditions
Getting information about the workers who make the clothes that we see in shiny stores is no easy task. These workers are like a treasure for companies who want to keep them under wraps because the truth about them is ugly. The true cost of that cute top you see in a mall is much more than what you pay the brand.
- Exploitation of Workers
First of all, fast fashion is likely made in third-world countries. These countries have more relaxed labor laws and weak labor movements that allow companies to exploit workers much more than in countries like the United States. They also have strict environmental regulations, so it is profitable for these companies to profit off of these lax restrictions.
- Below Minimum Wage
The workers are rarely paid a proper living wage. They are heavily underpaid for the work they do, which is slogging from morning to night in the factories. Though these fast fashion companies are worth billions, they will not pay their workers proper wages as it will lessen the margin of their profit.
If you pay $100 for a hoodie, you can be assured that barely 10% of this, if that, goes to the actual workers who made it. Most of the cost goes to the brand. The price of fast fashion is not related to the production cost at all. It depends on the market and consumer expectations, which explains how the same hoodie will not cost the same across the globe.
It gets worse when clothes are being sold on offers and discounts, something that fast fashion thrives on. It does not mean that the company’s profit will be lesser. The workers who manufactured the clothes will be taking the hit.
So, fast fashion is not ethical. All the mass-produced, nondurable, and cheap clothes piled up in malls are the product of intense labor.
Conclusion
Buying and contributing to fast fashion can never be a guilt-free experience for anyone who cares enough. But the blame here does not lie on the consumer. Consumers are constrained by various factors, especially budgets.
The blame lies wholly on the companies. If they want to, they can make big changes. The companies need to be pressured into changing how they work, and only governments can do that.
As consumers, something we can do is try and make clothes last. Don’t throw them out if you can still wear them. Except that, try looking up sustainable manufacturers, small businesses rather than big companies. Happy Shopping!
