It's Not Just About Clothing, but a Disposable Society-- Part 1
Updated: Feb 28, 2021
As commendable as it is to combat the climate crisis by ditching single-use plastics, Americans often overlook or are trained not to notice one of the greatest contributors to the crisis: the fashion industry.
In fact, according to Business Insider, 10% of global carbon emissions, which are the number one contributors to climate change, are produced by the fashion industry alone. Furthermore, 20% of all wastewater produced in the world is directly linked to the fast fashion industry’s wasteful manufacturing techniques. So, why have celebrities such as the Kardashians chastised us for still using plastic straws, which only make up 0.025% of global ocean pollution, while staying silent on these horrific stats?
In fact, according to Business Insider, 10% of global carbon emissions, which are the number one contributors to climate change, are produced by the fashion industry alone.
While being wasteful in nature, the same industry in question also creates around $3 trillion in profits annually by manufacturing over 1 billion garments. They are able to do this by picking up speed on their supply chain. Examples of this include, but aren’t limited to,
TOPSHOP (releases 400+ new styles weekly)
FASHION NOVA, an online fast fashion giant (600-900 new items a week)
MISSGUIDED (1000 new products monthly).
Seeing as though fast fashion executives are able to line their pockets generously, they directly benefit from the public’s overconsumption habits and lack of knowledge on the topic. However, as more light is shed on not only the detrimental environmental impact but the horrific treatment of hardworking laborers, media’s attention has slowly shifted from blindly trusting favorite big box retailers to urging consumers to shop more sustainably and ethically.
That being said, there are still millions who merely aren’t aware of the negative impacts of the fast fashion industry-- if that’s you, no worries! You are already taking a step in the right direction by educating yourself right now. After reading this, it will be important to share anything you learned with your friends and family. They might also not know what is going on and if by reading this, they become conscious of their consumer habits, you have already made an indelible dent in the problem at hand. Keep reading with Part 2 of our fast fashion blog series.