– Aparna Chatterjee
As the world continues to battle new diseases and collapsing ecosystems, plastic is one of the dangerous threats; a whole system left unchecked for a long time might lead us to choke in the future. Fast Fashion is a rapidly growing industry. The amalgamation of big, profitable corporations with their top-notch marketing teams directing our consumption with the helpless labor of third-world countries leads to the exploitation of life as we know it.
Why is Fast Fashion problematic?
Fast Fashion generates up to 92 billion tons of waste every year. This waste ends up in landfills and oceans and stays there for millennia without an established way to get disposed of. Fabric made up of synthetic material takes even longer to disintegrate, leaving microplastics in the ecosystem. Not to forget the essential raw materials consumed to produce the commodity.
Every year, the industry wastes up to 71 trillion tons of freshwater. Nations struggle to provide drinking water and nourish their people. Yet industries thrive on unconscious consumption without being responsible for their carbon footprint.
But are only we to blame?
Fashion trends change by hours nowadays. The problem only seems to increase with the power of social media, influencing the masses to purchase more and the ability to sell goods from anywhere to anywhere. Additionally, with the deteriorating quality of the goods, minimalistic people consciously try to consume less and buy things they don’t want.
The nature of the relationship between supply and demand has grown exponentially. While we feed the harmful growth, industries do everything to capitalize on this growth. The fast fashion industry is making money off doing its bit of destroying the planet, and we are letting them do so by pouring our earned resources. We are paying them to do so, consciously or unconsciously.
Exploiting cheap labor?
As we pointed out at the beginning of this article, this industry thrives on the helpless labor in third-world countries, starting from the big brands to the not-so-known designers. They have clothing lines made in developing countries in Asia. It is cheap, and due to poor environmental and labor laws, designers get away with the damage they have done.
Time and again, we hear news from the people working in the clothing industry in Bangladesh and how big brands get away with paying them pennies. Hundreds of people lose their lives making the clothes we own. People are forced to work in hazardous situations with poor labor protection laws. You got that cute t-shirt for barely Rs.300 because someone was paid Rs.10 per hour for stitching it.
Is the change needed?
We can change this. We have several local brands that provide clothing made of natural materials. Clothes made of cotton jute are more eco-friendly and better for the skin. You will be surprised that banana leaves and bamboo are also used to create fabric.
Additionally, clothes made up of such fabrics do not produce fabric balls, usually because of regular wear and frequent friction. They last long and can later be used for multiple things.
Shop local!
Many big brands came with their revolutionary ‘green’ products. Remember Levi’s jeans that consumed eight plastic bottles to make? For Nike shoes that were helping recycle plastic. But the goods were too costly to push people to purchase them. Speaking of jeans and shoes, these products are one of those commodities that consume the most water in the clothing industry while producing more wastewater than others.
Well, we have some low-cost brands recycling plastic in more innovative ways than we think. United Blue is a brand that helped recycle more than 2 million pounds of ocean waste, producing bags and clothes at affordable prices. Also, thanks to the vegan movement, the surge in demand for vegan products and brands gives us a fraction of hope.
Adidas and Parley have collaborated to do their bit for the cause. They produce t-shirts and shoes using ocean plastics. We have HP, which came up with the Elite Dragonfly Laptop, the first one in the world made of ocean plastics. We also have 4ocean, a brand that got hype on Instagram for consuming ocean plastics and creating beautiful bracelets.
Despite these good initiations, the problem remains, and hopefully, we can see an irreversible cycle we must commit to unless we find a giant that can consume plastics. Why giants? Because Mealworms that can potentially consume toxic plastics can only eat to its size.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!
Reducing purchases, reusing old clothes, and recycling old fabrics by making rugs, dusters, and napkins can make a huge difference. If your clothes are in good condition, do not think twice before donating to someone in need.
Consuming goods consciously is the only practice that can help us and the planet with immediate effect. Thrifting is another innovative way of reusing and recycling things. You will get branded clothes at a low cost and in good condition. Awareness of the carbon footprint left behind due to our daily consumption and trying to reduce it further will help distribute the environmental impact load.
In a nutshell, these are the ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Being vocal and supportive of local brands
- Using environment-friendly green products
- Reuse and donate old clothes
- Thrifting
- Displaying conscious consumer behavior
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