Prolong the life of your wardrobe by an additional nine months, minimizing its environmental impact by up to 30%
In the ever-evolving world of fashion, a new trend has emerged – fast fashion. Characterised by quick production, low prices, and a short product lifecycle, fast fashion garments are designed to quickly imitate the latest runway styles and reach consumers at a low cost. However, this trendy approach comes with a significant environmental cost.
Fast fashion brands, such as SHEIN, H&M, Zara, Primark, Forever 21, and others, produce items in small batches and frequently update or change their collections during a season. This rapid turnover means clothes often don’t stay long on shelves, and consumers are encouraged to discard items after just a few wears. Consequently, for every five garments produced, the equivalent of three end up in landfill or are incinerated each year.
One of the most notable fast fashion brands under the spotlight is SHEIN. The Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and other European authorities are investigating SHEIN for practices such as fake discounts, pressure selling tactics, and unclear information regarding consumer rights, which potentially breach EU consumer law.
SHEIN's rapid production process often results in compromises in quality and sustainability. Fast fashion garments often have loose threads, uneven or weak stitching, unfinished or twisted hems, and less durable fastenings like buttons or zippers. These indicate hastened or lower-standard manufacturing. Moreover, many fast fashion clothes incorporate synthetic fibres that release microplastics and may contain hazardous dyes or finishes causing health or environmental concerns.
Synthetic clothing, like polyester, acrylic, and nylon, come from plastic and are fast and cheap to produce. However, their production contributes to 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, more than international flights and maritime ships combined. Additionally, synthetic clothing sheds microplastics into rivers and oceans with every wash, contributing to the never-ending flow of waste and negative impacts on the environment.
In response to the criticism, SHEIN has stated that it is not a fast fashion company, but instead has a "customer-driven, on-demand" business model, with a "focus on quality and value". The brand claims its "digital supply chain" reduces inventory waste and ensures a more sustainable approach to production. However, millions of items from fast fashion brands like Zara, H&M, SHEIN, and Primark are found on clothing resale websites, suggesting their environmental footprint remains significant.
As consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of fast fashion, there is a growing movement towards more sustainable alternatives. By keeping clothes in use for an extra nine months, their environmental footprint can be reduced by 20 to 30 percent, according to Wrap, an environmental NGO. By making conscious choices about the clothes we buy and how long we keep them, we can help reduce the environmental cost of fast fashion.
- The environmental science community continues to emphasize the detrimental effects of climate-change, with one major contributor being the fashion industry, particularly fast fashion brands like SHEIN, H&M, Zara, Primark, and Forever 21.
- To help mitigate the environmental impact of fast fashion, many are turning towards environmental-science principles and embracing sustainable-living, avoiding synthetic clothing and opting for home-and-garden-friendly organic materials instead.
- In the quest for a cleaner, greener future, lifestyle changes include minimizing the consumption of fast fashion items, focusing on quality over quantity, and ensuring longer use cycles for clothes to reduce their environmental footprint, as suggested by Wrap, an environmental NGO.
