Fast fashion has made it easier than ever to buy things that you’ll enjoy wearing. But at what cost? Brands like Shine, Urban Outfitters, and H&M are rolling out new products at an unprecedented pace, pushing trends and runway imitations to market in weeks, even days. Through Instagram ads and shopping malls, we offer an unfathomable variety at very low prices.
The sector is worth $120 billion worldwide and is expected to reach $185 billion in five years, and employs 300 million people. But behind this success story lies a similar range of negative consequences, including labor practices, environmental impact, and the prevalence of intentionally low-quality products.
15 days until release
This was Zara’s meteoric design-to-sale timeline, with the company’s first store opening in 1975. At the time, most clothing companies were releasing four new collections a year, one per season, but his speed helped the new company launch its concept of haute couture. It is within the reach of the average consumer. ZARA, along with several other brands in the sector, is now under the umbrella of Inditex, which calls this approach “the democratization of fashion.”
54% synthetic fiber
This self-reported statistic represents the inventory of another fast-growing online brand, Boohoo.
We lead the industry in the percentage of clothing containing synthetic fibers. These fibers contain polyester, a common petroleum-based plastic that can contain toxic chemicals such as PFCs, which can become harmful over time, especially to young children. These fabrics release pollutant microplastics every time they are washed and do not biodegrade for generations.
“Initially, ZARA and H&M personnel started delivering (new products) at different times a year: 6, 12, 18, 24 times a year, so it was considered the fastest. , Boohoo and Shein have taken it to the next level by introducing up to thousands of styles a day.” —Kenneth Packer, former Timberland CEO
$5 a pop
Shane recently wore a plaid bolero jacket, a royal blue dress with ruffles and white polka dots, a beanie hat with a spiderweb graphic, and an emerald baseball cap with “LA” embroidered on the front, each from Costco. It was offered at a cheaper price than rotisserie chicken. . Based in China, Shein carries up to 600,000 products at any given time through its online store, which can also be viewed through its app, the world’s most downloaded shopping app.
1 truckload of trash every second
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, so much fast fashion waste ends up in landfills and incineration piles around the world. More than half of these clothes are thrown away within a year. About 65,000 tons are shipped each year to his single port in northern Chile, joining the technicolor piles of synthetic fiber that pile up in the Atacama Desert and obscure red rock canyons of scale. This pile of trash is clearly visible from space.
Living wage is less than 2%
That’s the share of more than 75 million fast fashion factory workers around the world. Many people, including children, work up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. They say he was exposed to 8,000 different synthetic chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer. Companies are being monitored in countries like Vietnam, India and Bangladesh, where employees of companies like Primark, which killed more than 1,100 people and injured more than 2,500 when the nine-storey Rana Plaza collapsed in 2013, It saves money by moving production to a minimum number of national subcontractors.
“Fast fashion’s raison d’être is high turnover. It’s almost an addictive genre. They’re offered several looks by brands, designers and manufacturers, even if they don’t particularly like them. It’s almost compulsory to participate, too. People are shocked by their own consumption and feel almost shame, or disgust, for having so much stuff. And they are One must indulge in seed purification rituals. —Nancy Dyle, author of A History of Modern Fashion and professor at New York University.
1/4 of total emissions
By 2050, the global fashion industry is expected to emit 26% of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to fast fashion. This is up from around 4% in 2018 and is enough to equal France’s entire emissions.
Generation Z’s conundrum
According to a Pew Research Center study, 69 percent of Gen Z and 59 percent of Millennial users cite concerns about climate change on social media. But these same demographics are fueling fast fashion. Consider the TikTok hashtag #SheinHaul. Users post videos of themselves unpacking large orders, garnering more than 13 billion views. There are also alternatives like #closetpurge and #wardrobe-purge and billions of their own.
This story appears in the December issue Deseret Magazine. Click here for details on how to subscribe.