Stablize The fabricated cost

Camille Resma

Everyone wants to look good on a budget. But the back of the price tags seem like a daunting thing to look at when you walk inside high end stores. Hence, the demand for fine clothing and exquisite design has a big potential market in “fast fashion” —an industry that started in the late 1990s which exemplifies trendy fashion but for a relatively cheaper cost. Fast fashion shops like H&M, Zara, and Forever21 play a vital role for boosting confidence and making the stylish look available to most consumers. However, it is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Despite the looks, production largely lacks quality because the clothes are made fast by unskilled laborers in sweatshops in places such as India, Uzbekistan, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh. These makes their products mostly throwaway items—adding to the disposable culture, marking it as an unsustainable idea.

Fast fashion is the second largest waste contributor in the world next to oil—about 85% of textile waste goes to the landfill each year while the industry accounts for 20% of wastewater and 10% of carbon emission globally. According to WWF or World Wildlife, to produce 1 kilogram of cotton, you’ll need 20,000 liters of water (for the long process of washing, bleaching and dyeing) which is roughly equivalent to only a single shirt and a pair of jeans—a startling fact when we consider 20% of people in east Asia and the Pacific can barely fill their cups with clean water according to Our World in Data by Hanna Ritchie and Max Roser.

Furthermore, when we wash our clothes, microplastics are released into the water that could be digested by marine species along with the chemicals in the detergent. We often think of clothes as a harmless industry but fashion has a lot to account for in the damage being done to our planet.

Other problems with the industry pose a different threat to people. Georg Kell in his 2018 article from Forbes magazine says that the fast fashion industry is employing over 60 million people that work in dangerous conditions, many which are prone to accidents. In 2013 for example, the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed leaving 1,100 dead and 2,500 people injured. Such accidents are due to buildings and factories that do not meet safety construction standards and the lack of maintenance.

“We often think of clothes as a harmless industry but fashion has a lot to account for in the damage being done to our planet.”

A lot of underaged individuals are also recruited in the manufacturing sites because they are a cheaper source of labor for the companies. It can be considered as modern day slavery targeting susceptible groups in exchange for the promise of “good money”.

Illnesses are also developed inside the factories from being exposed to unsanitary conditions and toxic chemicals causing workers skin irritation and issues with breathing. Such conditions also make people prone to developing cancer.

Psychologically speaking, disposable culture in fast fashion creates more bad habits for the consumers. There is this temptation to buy new things because we are living in the consumer era where cheap prices and dropping sales is an invitation to erase the guilt of splurging for the sake of #OOTD. People, especially teens, reward themselves through acquiring material possessions and are prone to making compulsive shopping due to influence. I’m talking about those massive hauls that we see from our favorite YouTubers and artists in social media.

Sometimes, we also shop when we’re stressed or we browse online to find what trendy clothes we can add to cart. Though this can boost our dopamine, we have to remind ourselves that such excitement fades very quickly after buying. According to Olena Rudenko in her Share Cloth blog, fast fashion is twisting our sense of value. Low-price items are equal to low quality and value to the customers. Our brain is subconsciously controlled by these items that we will soon dispose of in time to make a space for the new ones to come. And the cycle goes on.

As Livia Firth, an ethical fashion advocate, said, “Fast fashion is like fast food. After the sugar rush it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

Personally, I have never bought anything from the brands mentioned above nor do I often shop in malls. To lessen my impact on our environment I have resorted to the alteration and hand-me-down system to avoid throwing out clothes. By giving it to someone who would appreciate it more we can lessen our rate of consumption. I basically survive in thrifting and repurposing old clothes when needed. As I’ve been self-educating myself in the world of fashion and sustainability throughout the years, I see clothes differently now. It must pass the criteria and ask myself if I really need it. I look at it the way I check the nutritional facts and ingredients in food labels. The true cost of fast fashion isn’t just in our pockets, it’s literally in the world around us.