“Fast fashion”: Wear quickly, discard quickly – a major problem for global warming!
In the present era, repairing and reusing clothes is almost impossible. Nowadays, people tend to buy new clothes and discard old ones for convenience and speed, which leads to “Fast fashion”, which is a cause of global warming.
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion is a concept in the production of clothing and fashion that focuses on fast production, low prices, and following current trends that change rapidly. There are new collections coming out continuously. Therefore, the materials used to make the clothing have low costs and are not complicated in design. This allows products to be produced in large quantities and sold on the market quickly. Although it is convenient and affordable, it creates a significant impact on the environment and society.
Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion
In 2019, the United Nations reported that the world’s clothing production volume increased between 2000 and 2014 due to the popularity of fast fashion, which caused the clothes produced to become waste and a major environmental problem. In addition to the large amount of clothes that became waste, the factories that produced the clothes had to speed up production to meet consumer demand, causing the factories to emit a large amount of carbon dioxide. According to the United Nations (UN), the global fashion industry emits up to 8-10% of pollution, which is more than flying and transportation. It is expected that clothing sales could increase by 65% by 2030. In addition, a large amount of wastewater and chemicals are also released from these factories.
Currently, clothes are often made from synthetic materials to reduce costs. Most of them are made from synthetic fibers or polyester, approximately 342 million barrels per year. Cotton is sourced from about 2.5% of global agricultural land, and 43 million tons of chemicals are used annually for dyeing fabrics, leading to significant pollution that impacts the environment.
Social Impact
As the fashion industry has to produce more clothes, the use of labor must also increase. Most employees have poor working conditions, work hard, and sometimes receive wages that are not commensurate with the labor they use. In addition, they are at risk of poor health due to being close to various pollutants that occur in the production process. Currently, many people have come out to demand that clothing brands that use human labor like slaves receive lower wages than they should, and some brands even use child labor.
Solutions
Currently, some clothing manufacturers are more aware of the problems of fast fashion and have adjusted their materials and production processes to have the least impact on the environment, such as clothing made from plastic waste and clothing made from can lids. In addition to manufacturers starting to change the use of materials and improve the production process, consumers are also turning to consume more circular fashion. We can see this from buying more second-hand clothes every year. Using more materials and consuming more circular fashion is considered to be a great way to help the environment.
Clothing is a product that can last for a very long time. It can last from 10 years or more. If we use this type of product in a worthwhile way and use it for a long time, in addition to saving money, it also helps to conserve the environment in the long run.
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