Why is the Growth of Fast Fashion Unsustainable?

As we’ve discussed in this previous article, any sustainable industry must treat these three aspects: economy, environment, and society as foundational. However, with the fashion industry focused solely on profit, oftentimes these ethical foundations are overlooked entirely. 

A Look at Fast Fashion: Environmental Impact

According to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry is the second biggest water consumer and water polluter globally.

It contributes 20 percent of the world’s wastewater, and 10 percent of global carbon emissions! 

Furthermore, its scheme of producing at high speed and releasing up to 24 collections per year results in overproduction.

In 2018, H&M reported that it has $4.3 billion of unsold clothes in its inventory!

Waste.

Code for excess product. 

A 2017 report revealed that the brand has been burning its waste since 2013.

And, they’re not the only ones who do it either.

In 2018, Burberry disclosed in its annual report that they physically destroy (read: burn) their unsold products in an effort to preserve their brand exclusivity.

Burning and shredding apparel are the cheapest methods to destroy merchandise.

Often justified using the pretence that by doing so they can recycle the energy.

Which is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Even with these methods, 85 percent of textiles still end up in landfills every year.

Some clothing materials they use also contain micro-plastics, another huge environmental issue, contributing to around 30 percent of ocean plastic pollution.

This mostly comes from polyester, which consumes 342 million barrels of petroleum every year.

According to CFDA, we’re using and extracting this natural resource faster than its production; we may reach maximum extraction by 2030.

A Look at Fast Fashion: Social Responsibility

If the negative environmental impact of fast fashion still doesn’t prove it’s unsustainable, let’s talk about how the industry neglects its social responsibility. 

Disregard for workers started after the Industrial Revolution, when sweatshops emerged and brands started to use teams of garment workers.

In 1911, the first garment factory fire happened in New York, claiming the lives of 146 workers.

Most of them were female immigrants.

There were also a series of factory disasters, starting with the 2012 factory fire in Bangladesh, which awakened people to the horrors of fast fashion.

In 2016, another fire broke out in Bangladesh, killing four people.

Controversially the fire happened just days after labour groups criticised delays in the factory’s safety improvement.  

Let’s also not forget that producing clothing at such a high rate often comes at the expense of worker safety.

Despite the gruelling work and unsafe environment, they are also amongst the lowest paid. 

American garment workers earn around $9 per hour or $1,660 per month. Many fashion brands deem too expensive to be profitable.

So, they move their production to developing countries, and pay as low as 2 percent of what American garment workers receive!

To put that into perspective, Bangladeshi workers earn only $43 a month, and Chinese workers earn around $117.

These are just some of the discrepancies and societal neglects that occur in the fast fashion industry. There are many more reasons the growth of fast fashion is unsustainable not only for itself, but the environment, and for us all.