Fast fashion is made by manufacturers in such a way that it only lasts a few months, disposable clothing in the truest sense. It is a trend, to the detriment of the environment and human dignity.
Worker’s Rights
It is common knowledge that production facilities of fast fashion are located in emerging or developing countries. These large fast fashion companies employ thousands of people from India, China, Bangladesh and other developing countries as cheap labour.
The pay is anything but fair. Over a half of fast fashion employees don’t even get a living wage, not to mention the working conditions. The most well-known proof of the mistreatment of these workers is the collapse of the Dhaka garment factory in 2013 that took the lives of 1134 people and left around 2500 injured.
Pollution
The environment also falls by the wayside in the production of the clothing that is sold by the millions every day. Many chemicals that are used to make these cheap clothes end up in landfills and back in the environment after being thrown out.
The main goal of fast fashion giants is to lower the production costs. In this process the sustainability aspect is deliberately neglected, starting from using non-biodegradable materials that end up in the oceans and lakes every year, when washed or thrown away. Since the materials of the clothes are cheap, people throw them away after only a few uses in exchange for new clothing. And big fast-fashion companies also prefer to throw away or burn unsold goods instead of recycling or donating clothes that weren’t sold.
Transparency
Unfortunately, this is just a glimpse into the colossal impacts of the production and supply chains of major fashion brands. Hopefully, this article has given you a quick overview of some of the biggest problems. There are so many more disadvantages in the production of fast fashion, such as toxins, deforestation, greenhouse gases, microfibres, water usage, not to mention the issue of human rights.
Sustainable fashion cannot exist without transparency. We should all be suspicious of any brand that is not prepared to fully account for where and how it produces the clothes it wants us to buy. It is important and a precondition for industry action to reduce pollution, eliminate human rights violations and treat workers and communities with respect.