Fast Fashion's Pollution: What's The Real Damage?

Fast fashion is an enormous, rapidly growing industry, with global consumption of fashion increasing by 400% in the last 20 years. It is a dominant business model that has changed the way people buy and dispose of clothing, with consumers buying more clothes and wearing them for less time. The fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon emissions. It is the second-largest consumer industry of water, and textile dyeing is the world's second-largest polluter of water. The production of fast fashion also involves the emission of greenhouse gases, the use of massive amounts of energy, and the exploitation of labour.

Fast fashion's environmental impact

Fast fashion has a significant environmental impact. The fast-fashion business model relies on the exploitation of resources and human labor to deliver garments following the latest trends to its consumers at an unprecedented rate. This quick output of garments demands a large volume of raw materials, creating a significant amount of waste, pollution, and degradation to air, water, and wildlife habitats.

The environmental impact of fast fashion includes the depletion of non-renewable sources, the emission of greenhouse gases, and the use of massive amounts of water and energy. The industry is the second-largest consumer industry of water, requiring about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Textile dyeing is the world's second-largest polluter of water, as the leftover water from the dyeing process is dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers. The production of plastic fibers into textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids like hydrogen chloride.

The fast-fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions—more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The poor quality of fast fashion clothing contributes to the limited lifespans of garments, which often end up slowly decomposing in landfills or being incinerated. The proliferation of chemicals and microplastics in waterways has devastating impacts on both terrestrial and aquatic environments, with harmful effects linked to habitat degradation and the increasing impact of climate change from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

The fashion industry has approximately 1.2 billion garments made per year, with global consumption increasing by 400%. This has resulted in waste at every stage of the garment manufacturing process, harming wildlife, degrading land, and polluting soil and water. The pollution introduced by the fast-fashion industry has devastating impacts on both terrestrial and aquatic environments.

To counter the waste caused by fast fashion, more sustainable fabrics can be used in clothing, including wild silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp, and lyocell. Consumers can also play a role in reducing the environmental impact of fast fashion by exploring alternatives and supporting brands that prioritize sustainability and justice.

Textile dyeing and finishing

The fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The industry also dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year.

Textile mills can use up to 200 tons of water per ton of dyed fabric, which in turn only produces about 1400 pieces of clothing. The colloidal matter in the dye prevents the penetration of sunlight necessary for the process of photosynthesis, creating plumes of invasive algae. Mills discharge millions of gallons of effluent as hazardous toxic waste, full of colour and organic chemicals from dyeing and finishing salts. The wastewater from textile plants is classified as the most polluting of all the industrial sectors, considering the volume generated and the effluent composition.

Textile dyeing is the world's second-largest polluter of water, and the industry accounts for up to 20% of industrial wastewater globally. The water is often dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers, compromising the aesthetic quality of water bodies, impairing photosynthesis, inhibiting plant growth, entering the food chain, and promoting toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity.

To reduce the environmental impact of textile dyeing and finishing, individuals can opt for clothing made from natural fibres like organic cotton, hemp, and linen, or purchase naturally dyed products using materials such as tree branches, leaves, turmeric, and beets.

Worker exploitation

The fast fashion industry has a significant environmental impact, contributing to about 10% of global carbon emissions. The industry is the second-largest consumer of water, and its processes result in the emission of greenhouse gases, the use of massive amounts of water and energy, and the depletion of non-renewable sources.

The negative impact of the fast fashion industry is not limited to the environment, as it also involves worker exploitation. The human and environmental health risks associated with inexpensive clothing are often hidden throughout the lifecycle of each garment. The fast fashion business model relies on the exploitation of human labour to deliver garments following the latest trends to its consumers at an unprecedented rate. This quick output of garments demands a large volume of raw materials, creating a significant amount of waste and pollution.

The garment industry has always been a labour-intensive industry, with one in six people working in some part of the global fashion industry. Developing nations are attractive to garment industries due to their cheap labour, vast tax breaks, and lenient laws and regulations. The continuous accumulation of cheap garments is only possible because of a constant reduction in production costs, which has serious consequences for the health of garment workers.

Workers, primarily young women, are subjected to hazardous working conditions while earning unlivable wages, despite the companies pulling in massive profits. The European Parliament has used the term "slave labour" to describe the current working conditions of garment workers in Asia. While companies may argue that they are providing jobs to people who would otherwise not have them, they are also exploiting the misery of poor populations who have no choice but to work for any salary, in any working conditions.

The environmental and occupational burdens associated with mass production and disposal are often shifted from high-income countries to under-resourced communities in low-income countries.

Carbon emissions

The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions, according to the UN. This is more than the carbon emissions from aviation and shipping combined. The industry releases 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.

Fast fashion, with its emphasis on rapid and large-scale production, is a significant contributor to the industry's carbon emissions. The need to match trends leads to the continuous production of new garments, increasing the environmental footprint. The cycle of buying and discarding clothing fuels overconsumption and overproduction, exacerbating carbon emissions.

Fabric production is a primary cause of GHG emissions in the fast fashion industry. Cheap materials like polyester, made from petroleum, are widely used to keep costs low. Polyester creates carbon emissions three times higher than cotton manufacturing, leading to air pollution. Additionally, polyester contributes to the surge of microplastics in the oceans, which degrade slowly and harm marine ecosystems.

The manufacturing processes for fast fashion also contribute significantly to carbon emissions. More than 60% of textiles are used by the clothing industry, with production often taking place in developing countries reliant on coal-powered plants, amplifying the carbon footprint. The transportation of raw materials and finished products globally further increases emissions, with some garments travelling multiple times during production.

To reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, various strategies are being explored, including the second-hand trading model, which can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90%. Extending the service life of clothing through rental services and encouraging consumers to repair and revamp existing pieces can also help mitigate emissions.

Water pollution

The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water, with the fast fashion business model relying on the mass production of cheap clothing replicas. This has led to the industry being named the second most polluting industry, contributing to 8% of carbon emissions and 20% of global wastewater.

Textile dyeing is a major contributor to water pollution in the fashion industry, accounting for over 20% of global industrial water pollution. The dyeing process uses toxic and hazardous chemicals, which are often dumped into water bodies untreated, contaminating waterways and causing health issues for nearby communities.

The washing of synthetic clothing also contributes to water pollution, as microfibers are released into the water, which can be ingested by marine animals and work their way up the food chain. Additionally, the fashion industry's high levels of consumption and production lead to massive quantities of water being wasted, with a significant amount of fabric wasted during the pre-production stage.

To address these issues, companies should focus on reducing water usage and contamination, adopting more sustainable practices, and producing quality garments that stay in style longer to reduce production and consumption. The use of sustainable materials, such as organic hemp and linen, can also help mitigate water pollution caused by the fashion industry.

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