Written by Nurah Abdulhaqq, Georgia
While in recent years, the fashion industry has been called upon to reform the heinously exploitative conditions of which their developing labor force works within, the rise of fast fashion and modern-consumerism has created a vicious, yet overlooked cycle of human rights abuses, alarming pollution, and Western-monopolized markets..The greatest contributor to these unethical and indifferent practices are our favorite Fast fashion retailers: Forever 21, Fashion Nova, Zara, Uniqlo, Gap and many more.
Though fashion is global, forever-changing, and highly influenced from the Far East to the Wild West, more socioeconomically ”developed” nations are highly to blame for the demand and growth of the fast fashion industry. Though the customer is always right, perhaps our privileged and blinded (ignorant) view of clothing as ‘easily disposable’ and ‘easily created’, has given the business of fashion the leeway to be the most unethical and damaging industry of all. In Britain, consumers are buying twice as many items they were ten years ago. “Fashion and footwear retailers have a responsibility to minimise their environmental footprint and make sure the workers in their supply chains are paid a living wage. We want to hear what they are doing to make their industry more sustainable” reports environmental audit chair Mary Creagh MP. Fast fashion isn't just ruining our environment, but it's ruining fashion designers. Fast fashion companies like fashion Nova tend to rip off other peoples designs and trademark them as their own because local designers aren't trademarking their clothing. Fast fashion is ruining our earth, putting people out of business, and exploiting everyday citizens of under developed nations.
Fast fashion is putting our lives at risk, we can act by shopping locally, thrifting, and actively calling out the fast fashion industry. Over eighty billion articles are produced annually, carving one of the largest carbon footprints onto our earth ever. Fast fashion is also dealing with our seasonal costume parties, birthday parties, and events. In the US approximately 2.6 billion dollars are contributed to the fast fashion industry on halloween alone. That's one night, and one year, Americans spend 2.6+ billion dollars on costumes for one night. Fast fashion isn't only polluting our air, but using our earth's natural resources to produce clothing at an exponentially fast rate. Two thirds of all fibers used to make our clothing are cotton based, which requires a vast amount of water, placing a strain on our environment and water supply.
Although fast fashion is providing jobs in underdeveloped nations that require little work experience, exploitation in the fast fashion industry is a human rights violation, not only dealing with outsourcing that US and western companies participate in, but the conditions those who work in factories are provided with. Its reported that the wages in garment factories can be as low as 1-3 USD a day. That's less than standing average minimum wage American citizens are making.
Companies like American Apparel, Louis Vuitton, Everlane, Patagonia, etc all focus on environmental sustainability. H&M, has even switched to a more sustainable type of consumption and production of retail. We can end fast fashion.