Fast fashion is a term used to describe cheap, trendy clothing produced in large quantities, usually by sweatshop workers. This phenomenon has skyrocketed in the past few decades, with over 400% more garments being consumed each year than two decades ago. One reason for this rapid increase in popularity can be attributed to the rise of social media and the desire to keep up with current trends. Although fast fashion is relatively new, it is having detrimental impacts. Some of these impacts include environmental impacts from excess consumption and disposal and lowered working standards for sweatshop workers. There have been a few public responses to this issue, including stronger government regulations and actions taken by the public population.
Fast fashion is having an increasing impact on the environment as more people populate the word and the need to have the current clothes increases. The current standards of fashion involve having the latest and ‘trendiest’ clothes. This results in a short cycle of people buying the latest clothes and then disposing of them just to buy the new trendy clothes. This cycle has caused clothing to become the second biggest pollutant worldwide, with over 80 billion pieces of clothing being bought each year and 85% of that number going to landfill (University of Queensland, 2018). Ultimately, the fast fashion industry is having a detrimental impact on the environment due to the fast-changing nature of fashion.
Fast fashion is also having a negative effect on garment workers who are forced to work in dangerous conditions for long hours and low wages. The garment industry has grown to be one of the largest industries in the world, making up around 2% of the world’s GDP (University of Queensland, 2018). In response to this growth, companies have set up factories in developing countries with loose regulations on the treatment of workers. Many workers in these factories get paid just two dollars a day and have to work in dangerous conditions. Various deadly accidents have occurred because of the lack of safety measures in these factories. One of the most tragic accidents in one of these factories was the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, where over 1100 people were killed and over 2500 people were injured (International Labour Organisation, 2017). In summary, fast fashion has caused a decline in the treatment and wages of overseas sweatshop workers.
The government response from developed countries to the fast fashion problem has been extremely minimal in comparison to the scale of the issue. Very few changes to combat fast fashion have been made by those governments around the world. However, there have been a few positive changes, including stronger regulations regarding the treatment and rights of sweatshop workers. Disappointingly, most of the changes have come from the countries in which the sweatshops are located, rather than the wealthier countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. This lack of action is displayed by UK ministers not acting on any of the recommendations put forward by the Fixing Fashion Report (United Kingdom Government’s Environmental Audit Committee, February 2019). On a global level, The United Nations Environment Programme is working with over 100 countries to reduce worldwide pollution, which also encompasses fast fashion and its effects. There have been a few changes made to reduce the effects of fast fashion, but these have mainly come from the less developed countries instead of the developed countries.
There has been a significant public response to the fast fashion issue, with consumers preferring ethically-sourced garments and organisations raising awareness to the impacts. In recent times, the way garments are made is becoming a critical factor in whether or not customers will buy them. This is largely due to the efforts of organisations that help raise awareness and encourage customers to avoid certain brands. One example of this is the naughty or nice list published every year by Oxfam, which details which brands have been ethically sourcing their clothes and which have not. Awareness initiatives like these have been effective in creating change among some leading brands, including Nike. Nike came under scrutiny in the early 2000’s when information surfaced about unethical working practices. The public outcry to this situation pushed Nike to improve its working conditions and ensure every factory had acceptable standards. Non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam have helped raise awareness about the negative effects of fast fashion.
Fast fashion is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is having significant impacts, particularly with the increase of sweatshops and the environmental impacts of the production and disposal of so many clothes. The dangers of fast fashion have been recognised by the public, but governments from richer countries have refused to address these issues. Non-government organisations have attempted to combat the increase of fast fashion, mostly by raising public awareness, but the only way it can be really solved is through the attention and action of governments.
2020-9-16-1600256336