Fashion has become accessible and affordable. T-shirts can be found for as little as a few zlotys, and store collections change so quickly that it's hard to keep up. However, this colorful and beautiful world of clothing also has another, much less colorful side.
What is fast fashion? - Definition
Fast fashion literally translates to "fast fashion." The goal of fast fashion is to provide consumers with fashionable clothes inspired by the latest trends quickly and at low prices. In the past, fashion and trends developed much more slowly, and clothes were expensive. Just a few decades ago, clothes were made to order. Today, due to instant access to designer products and the possibility of rapid production, trends change very dynamically. The hidden cost of low prices in chain stores is the cost to the environment and to future generations.
In this post, I'd like to share a few facts about fast fashion that you might not have known. Before you decide on your next impulse purchase, read on 💚
Fast fashion - facts and myths
🚫 Mass production of clothing and footwear is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions - that is, for more greenhouse gas emissions than international flights ✈️ and maritime shipping combined.
🚫 It takes up to 29,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of raw cotton. It's estimated that cotton cultivation accounts for 1–6% of global freshwater consumption. The impact of cotton cultivation on the drying of surrounding areas in Uzbekistan is clearly visible, with the Aral Sea shrinking by 85% while increasing salinity by almost 600%, leading to the extinction of all animals living in the body of water.
🚫 One of the most popular fabrics used by clothing retailers pursuing the fast fashion trend is polyester, which is classified as a plastic. When washing polyester clothing, microplastic particles leak into the water. However, their small size prevents them from being filtered out. Every year, 0.5 million tons of microplastics released during the washing of synthetics end up in the seas and oceans. They constitute 35% of the original microplastics released into the environment.
🚫 It's widely believed that cotton is both environmentally and human-friendly. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Growing conventional cotton involves the use of vast amounts of agricultural chemicals and water, which can lead to soil depletion, loss of biodiversity in a given region, water pollution, and desertification. Cotton is grown on only 2.5% of the world's arable land. Despite this, cotton accounts for 25% of global insecticide use and 8-10% of synthetic fertilizers. This has a detrimental impact on both the natural environment and the people exposed to these chemicals.
🚫 The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that textile waste takes up nearly 5% of global landfills. Statistically, of the 100 billion pieces of clothing produced each year, a staggering 92 million tons end up in landfills, meaning a fully loaded garbage truck of clothes ends up there every second.
🚫 Every year, at least 39,000 tons of used clothing are dumped in the Atacama Desert.
🚫 The global production chain means that the average T-shirt travels between 18,000 and 50,000 km before it's sold in a store. It could circle the Earth 🌍
This is the price of fast fashion.
Why is the topic of fast fashion important to us?
As inhabitants of Earth, we waste, and we can't reduce our waste to zero. While we function, commute to work, prepare meals, and make various daily choices, we can't be zero waste , but we can be less waste and not contribute to the development of fast fashion. Every purchase is a choice and a responsibility. I believe the world isn't black and white, so we should simply choose more wisely, to the best of our ability. That's why we don't follow trends; we prioritize educating our customers and ensuring the quality and timelessness of our products, so that customers who trust us don't have to replace them frequently. By reading this blog and educating ourselves about fashion, you'll learn to make more conscious purchases that are tailored to your needs, rather than disposable.
💚 As consumers , it's important that we don't contribute to overproduction and the strengthening of fast fashion - we should think about our purchases long-term , don't rule out second-hand shops, repairs, swaps with friends and, of course, creating a capsule wardrobe .
💚 Sometimes, before making an online purchase, it's worth "holding" the basket for a few days and observing whether we haven't forgotten about these products during this time - maybe they are "unnecessary" to us at the moment.
💚 When buying another product, consider how reusable it will be - how many styles you can use it for.
It's hard for us to measure up to the machine of well-designed marketing, so gaining some distance can be helpful.
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Martyna from ANSIN
