THE COST OF FASHION By Jonathan Menendez
FPO
THE COST OF FASHION By Jonathan Menendez
Copyright © 2022 by Jonathan Menendez All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical and reviews.
Dedication For my family, friends and anyone who believes in eco sustainable living, taking care of the environment and equal humanitarian rights for all workers not matter where they are from.
The Cost of Fashion • 7
8 • The Cost of Fashion
CONTENTS Preface
11
Overproduction Social Media
Chapter 1 The current situation Clothing production Social media
12-13 14 15–17
Chapter 2 Cheap manufacturing Human rights violations Unsafe working conditions Child labor
18–19 20-22 23–25 26–27
36–37 38–41
Chapter 5 What is being done Spending habits Advocacy groups What is eco-sustainable? Alternatives to polyester
42–43 44–45 46 47 48–51
Bibliography Sources
Chapter 3 Microplastic pollution Greenhouse emissions Water pollution
Chapter 4
52–56
28–30 31 32–35
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10 • The Cost of Fashion
PREFACE
A lot of people don’t know what goes on behind the scenes in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is currently environmentally unsustainable. The biggest problem the fashion industry has is the environmental cost. Other issues with the fast fashion industry are sweatshops and horrible working conditions. Consumers are now buying more clothes than ever before. This is a result of the fast fashion industry mass-producing cheap trendy clothes. The drop in prices has allowed consumers to buy more clothes than ever before. The low production costs of clothes are an outcome of moving all manufacturing overseas. Workers’ rights are disregarded and are made to work in dangerous facilities with little pay. A lot of clothes are now being discarded as new trends and styles come out. A lot of these clothes become waste and end up in landfills. Clothing has become a disposable commodity where they are discarded when the newest trend comes out and with fast fashion, the amount of waste has increased exponentially.
12%
of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled (Beall)
Nowadays a lot of customers are not aware of the environmental impact and violation of human rights the fashion industry has. Spreading awareness of how unsustainable the industry has become is crucial to getting positive change started. Advocating for workers’ rights overseas is important to stop the exploitation of workers. This book is about exposing the negative side of the fashion industry.
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CHAPTER 01
FASHION UNCOVERED The current situation The fashion industry is at an all-time high in growth, sales, and prosperity. People are buying more clothes now than ever before. Fast fashion is now the dominant force in the fashion industry. Fast fashion is the rapid and cheap production of clothing that emulate trending styles and trends worn by celebrities and produced by high-end fashion. These clothes are sold at very affordable prices at mass-market retailers such as Zara and H&M. Despite their affordable cost, these cheaply made clothes come with 12 • The Cost of Fashion
a high hidden cost to the environment and humanitarian rights. Mass marketing has become an effective tool for reaching more customers than ever before because of social media marketing. Big mass-market retailers use social media influencer’s to market their new styles and trends to followers. The current situation with the fashion industry is that a lot of people are consuming cheaply made clothes without thinking about the humanitarian and environmental costs of these cheaply made clothing.
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97% of apparel sold in the U.S is made overseas (Sold In America)
Clothing production Currently, most of the production of clothes happens overseas in low-cost factories located in third-world areas of the world. A lot of these factories are accused of being sweatshops, or “a shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions”, (“Sweatshop”). These factories are in areas such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa. These sweatshops 14 • The Cost of Fashion
exist in these countries because of loose environmental and worker regulations. The cost of manufacturing is low because workers are paid incredibly low wages and long hours with no breaks. The production of clothes and textiles has a big impact on the environment. A lot of old and unused clothing ends up in landfills. Most of these clothes are made of a synthetic plastic fabric called polyester. Plastic that takes a long time to break down is not an environmentally safe material. This material has a big carbon footprint because it’s derived from petroleum. It’s estimated that “85% Of Our Clothes End Up In Landfills Or Burned”, (Portela) and that most of the clothes that are
bought are not recyclable because they are made with polyester, which is why they end up in landfills.
Social media A lot of the success behind the fashion industry comes from the use of social media marketing to reach a large number of customers. Many big-name brands use social media platforms and celebrity endorsements to portray their clothing in a positive light. This makes their clothing look trendy and stylish. Social media marketing allows for a more personal engagement with customers by allowing them to comment and like/dislike the postings. The use of social media marketing has helped increase more demand for clothing. The increasing demand for clothing has put more pressure on brands to keep up with trends and keep the cost of clothes down for the consumer. The Cost of Fashion • 15
57%
of all discarded clothes end up in landfills (Le)
The demand for cheap trendy clothing is now higher than ever before. More clothes are now being bought than ever before. Fast fashion is the main reason for the rise of sales in the fashion industry. It has brought high-end fashion styles at affordable prices, but most customers overlook or do not realize the hidden environmental and humanitarian costs. In the early 2000s “people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long.”, (McFall-Johnsen) and a lot of the unworn clothing gets thrown away. Clothing has now become a cheap, disposable commodity. The current situation is that the industry uses fabrics that are not environmentally sustainable and are also made from fossil fuels. This means that the industry is responsible for a large amount of atmospheric pollution. Sweatshops are used, workers are underpaid, and their rights are disregarded. Despite all the negative aspects of this industry many of these brands use social media marketing to paint a positive and trendy picture of their brand to their followers.
16 • The Cost of Fashion
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CHAPTER 02
OVERSEAS SWEATSHOPS Cheap manufacturing The global market is highly competitive compared to previous periods. Overseas manufacturing of goods is a common practice in all industries because it’s cheaper to pay workers less in other countries where no minimum wage exists and where workers’ rights are nonexistent. These companies can get away with a lot more, such as making people work incredibly long hours with no overtime and work in hazardous conditions with 18 • The Cost of Fashion
little regard for their wellbeing. Many fashion brands are accused of using sweatshops to cheaply manufacture their products and many of these sweatshops are in developing countries. A lot of exploitation of workers happens in sweatshops. The workers are forced to work over 12-hour shifts per day and often without a break. These factories will let go of any workers who refuse to work overtime and tell them that the door is open to leaving if they don’t like their job.
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20 • The Cost of Fashion
Human rights violations Basic rights such as maternity leave are denied in these factories. Most garment sweatshop workers are women and are subject to gender-based discrimination. It is estimated that “more than 70% of garment workers in China are women, in Bangladesh the share is 85%, and in Cambodia as high as 90%”, (“Exploitation or Emancipation”) and they are paid less than male workers and forced to be more docile to get them to be more obedient. It’s a cultural stereotype in some parts of the world where that woman must adhere to what is demanded of them. They are demanded to be more docile and passive and therefore women are in high demand in the textile and garment workforce. Pregnant and married women face more discrimination when it comes to looking for jobs in garment and textile factories. A lot of garment factories will ask applicants if they are married, pregnant and if they plan on having kids. These kinds of inappropriate questions are not necessary and most normal workplaces wouldn’t ask those kinds of questions to applicants.
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These kinds of questions are used to weed out undesirable applicants. Garment and textile factories don’t want workers with any other kind of responsibility outside of the workplace such as taking care of a kid to get in the way of working. Some workplaces make hired employees sign a document stating that they will not get pregnant during their employment. Unfortunately, women are also subject to “Compulsory testing during the recruitment phase are all too common. Pregnant women or those who refuse to be tested are simply not hired.”, (“Gender: Women Workers Mistreated”) and women are denied employment based on their pregnancy status. Being pregnant in the workplace is seen as a big liability for garment and textile factories, but some applicants are desperate for work and will lie and try to hide their pregnancy. Pregnant women who do end 22 • The Cost of Fashion
up finding work face harassment in the workplace and are forced to work on difficult tasks with disregard for their pregnancy status. This is the reality for many women who work in these sweatshops. They do not have protection from workplace regulations and laws protecting against hiring discrimination. In most of the developed world, applicants and workers have laws and regulations protecting
$89
million is the productivity cost of sexual harassment (Hogan)
them from workplace harassment, abuse, and discrimination. These are big issues many retail shoppers are not aware of when they purchase clothing from fashion brands, and these are issues that are also kept secret by these big brands.
Unsafe working conditions The working conditions garment and textile workers must work is very terrible and dangerous to be in. Many work in old crumbling buildings on the verge of collapse. A lot of workers are exposed to toxic and hazardous chemicals. In the United States, we have organizations such as OSHA also known as the Occupation Safety and Health Administration which sets and enforces safe workplace standards. Unfortunately, most third-world countries do not have an organization like OSHA and are forced to work in dangerous workplace
180
to 60 hrs of over time are done by garment factory workers (Exploitation or emancipation)
conditions without being aware of the danger. If workers refuse to do an obviously dangerous task, they face retaliation such as being fired or a cut in hours and pay. Unfortunately, workers’ lives are put in danger because they work in old, unsafe buildings. These buildings would not pass safety inspections. Bangladesh is a South Asian country that is known for hosting many sweatshops for different brands and many reports have come out of buildings collapsing and killing numerous people.
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24 • The Cost of Fashion
for the building. The building had upper floors illegally constructed to house garment factories “employing several thousand workers”, (Yardley), and “Large power generators placed on these upper floors, necessary because of regular power failures, would shake the poorly constructed building”, (Yardley) but the owner knew the dangerous risks and still allowed workers into the building.
These kinds of incidents are very unlikely to happen here in the U.S.A or any other developed country but sadly in Bangladesh there a looser building codes and the use of substandard materials. In 2013, one of the deadliest disasters in the history of the garment industry occurred “killing more than 1,000 workers”, (Yardley) in a factory building outside Dhaka Bangladesh. It was a tragedy waiting to happen because flaws in the structure of the building were ignored. On the day before the collapse “cracks appeared in the building, shaking the structure enough that many workers fled. An engineer who had been called to inspect the structure warned that it was unsafe.”, (Yardley) but these signs were ignored, and workers were ordered to return the next morning. On the next day, the building collapsed claiming the lives of 1000 people.
Factory owners can get away with building these poorly constructed because of the corruption and bribery of local and national governments in these countries. A lot of fashion brands will try to increase their profit margins by cutting down manufacturing costs. Almost all the world’s big-name brands have their clothes made in these sweatshops because it’s a lot cheaper to have them made in these countries where workers are paid less, and everything involved with the process of manufacturing is unregulated and cheaper. To make matters worse, children are used in some garment factories. Child labor laws don’t exist in some third-world countries and are loosely enforced in others. Child labor has been used illegally across the world for decades. It’s estimated that 1 in 7 children are affected by child labor. Child labor is wrong because it deprives them of the right to education, proper care, and the right to have a normal childhood.
It was all greed and the pursuit of profit at the expense of workers’ lives and rights. Greed drove the factory owner, Mr. Rana, to bribe local officials into granting him construction approvals The Cost of Fashion • 25
160 M children are still engaged in activities that deprive them of their childhood (Barata)
Child labor
and the environment. The cost to run and operate these factories is low because of no building and environmental regulations and a lot of corruption happens in local governments because bribery is accepted to get past all kinds of safety regulations. The abuse and exploitation of factory workers is not common knowledge among shoppers, but the question is would people pay more for ethically sourced clothes where workers are paid a fair wage. The answer is yes, customers are willing to pay a little
Children are pursued for employment because of “their smaller hands, children are particularly suited for tasks requiring precision and delicacy, such as cotton picking or sewing”, (Baruta) and are at more risk of being exploited than adults. Some ways children are exploited in the workforce is that they are significantly underpaid below the local minimum wage and forced to work in dangerous workplace conditions. Extreme poverty is the direct cause of child labor. Families that live below the poverty line will put their children to work in an act of desperation just to make ends meet. It’s a vicious trap where children are not provided the means and opportunities to escape their situation. These workplace conditions exist out of a demand for cheap labor to make high profits off of producing clothes. Companies want to save on production costs and save on labor to bring competitive prices to customers who demand cheap, trendy affordable fashion. For factory owners the competition is tough, and they have room to bargain how much to charge clients. Instead of the cost of clothes falling onto the consumer, the cost is instead moved on to workers’ rights
26 • The Cost of Fashion
8.4 M more child workers have worked in last four years (Barata)
more for clothes that provide a fair wage and a safe workplace for employees. If customers are made aware of which brands use ethically sourced clothes, they would most likely support the ethical option.
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CHAPTER 03
WORLD WIDE POLLUTION Micro-plastic pollution The rivers, oceans, and the environment are slowly being destroyed by consumers hunger for the latest fashion trends. Pollution is a big problem for the environment and oceans. It affects the ocean, the air we breathe,and the environment which also affects all life on earth. The fashion industry is a big contributor to global pollution. Most of the pollution comes from greenhouse gas emissions emitted by textile and garment factories. Dyes used to treat and color fabrics pollute the water making it undrinkable and unusable by local populations. Microscopic 28 • The Cost of Fashion
pollution known as micro-plastics fill the oceans and air with unknown effects on the human body and environment. These microscopic particles come from the washing of clothes that contain synthetic fabrics derived from plastic. The environment is being treated like dirty laundry because the consumption of clothing is reaching levels that are unsustainable and most of the clothes people buy cannot be recycled because the fabrics, use singleuse only. The unsustainability of the fashion industry is a big problem because of the amount of pollution that is created and the huge contribution to global warming it has.
FPO
The Cost of Fashion • 29
Micro-plastics are polluting all the rivers and oceans of the world. It’s estimated that “Over a third (35 percent) of all microplastics released into the world’s oceans are from synthetic textiles.”, (Lissaman) and the most popular synthetic textile is polyester. All synthetic textiles are made from plastic, and it’s derived from oil. Being made from oil means they are not biodegradable and take hundreds of years to decompose. Micro-plastics are the microscopic plastic particles that rub off plastic products and are “less than 1mm in diameter”, (Lissaman) and our entering marine habitats and ending up inside all marine life. They have also been detected in all forms of animal and plant life too. The micro-plastics travel up the food system and eventually end up in the food we eat.
30 • The Cost of Fashion
They also end up in our drinking water. Micro-plastics from clothes come from the washing and rinsing of clothes made up of synthetic plastic-based materials. The effects of micro-plastics are still not fully known and research is being done but micro-plastics contain harmful chemicals. These chemicals include BPA which can interfere with our hormonal system and DEHP which can cause cancer. The use of non-biodegradable plastics in clothing has created a potential future big problem for the environment and humanity because the long-lasting effects are still not known.
Greenhouse emissions The manufacturing of clothes is responsible for about 10 % of all global carbon emissions. According to the article How Much Do Our Wardrobes Cost to the Environment a pair of jeans consumes about 3,781 liters of water during the production phase. Shoppers are not aware of the environmental cost that comes with every piece of apparel that is purchased but there is another hidden cost to the environment every time clothes are washed. Clothing that contains synthetic fabrics releases micro-plastics into the water from washing. Global carbon emissions contain carbon dioxide which heats the earth but microplastics “Microfibers cannot be extracted from the water and they can spread throughout the food chain.”, (“How Much Do Our Wardrobes Cost”) and the exact effects of it being in the environment and food chain are unknown. Action to make fashion more environmentally friendly is crucial for the survival of the planet. When it comes to the global impact of producing clothes global greenhouse emissions and wastewater are other big contributors to global warming and pollution. It’s estimated that the fashion industry accounts for more pollution than
$93 B cubic liters of water is used by the fashion industry (How much do our clothes cost)
“both aviation and shipping combined”, (Ro). The use of crude oil in the production of synthetic fabrics is responsible for about 40 percent of the fashion industry’s greenhouse emissions in 2014. One of the main reasons for polyester fabric’s popularity in the fashion industry is its durability. It’s also popular because of its anti-wrinkle properties, dries quickly, and can hold its form better than other fabrics such as linen. The physical properties of polyester have outweighed its environmental cost in the eyes of fashion brands. Clothing made from polyester can last a very long time but creating the fabric requires high amounts of energy. It’s estimated that the production of polyester emits nearly three times more carbon dioxide than cotton. A lot of factories in developing countries rely on electricity that is provided by power plants that use coal.
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Water pollution Water pollution from the production of textiles and clothes is another big problem in the fashion industry. Heavy metals and toxic chemicals release into rivers and eventually make it into the ocean . The problem is many factories neglect to treat and clean the wastewater before it makes into rivers and major water sources. It costs a lot of money to treat and clean the water before it goes back into rivers. All the countries that host these factories and sweatshops do not have agencies like the Environmental
32 • The Cost of Fashion
Protection Agency which “evaluates new and existing chemicals and their risks, and finds ways to prevent or reduce pollution before it gets into the environment.”, (“About the Office of Chemical”) but many companies do not want to pay the higher costs of cleaning wastewater and building water cleaning facilities. They are more interested in profit than being environmentally sustainable and friendly. The toxicity of the chemicals and metals released into open waters is very hazardous to all life. According to the video India: How our clothes cause water pollution a 2020 study of Indian rivers revealed that the waters were polluted with carcinogenic metals such as copper, zinc, and lead. This is a very alarming discovery because the wildlife in the river is being poisoned and can have long-term effects on the
72
toxic chemicals are used in textile dying (Regan)
inhabitants who depend on the river. It’s not just toxic metals entering the water but dyes, salts, and carcinogenic chemicals. All these metals and chemicals enter the food chain and eventually are ingested by people. India has set up some regulations when it comes to water waste by requiring all manufacturers to set up wastewater treatment plants according to the video
India: How our clothes cause water pollution but many manufacturers who cannot afford to do it dispose of wastewater illegally. More enforcement and regulation are needed to put an end to the polluting of rivers. Many rivers are now so polluted that the water is no longer transparent like regular water but instead is opaque like tar. The river that runs through Dhaka is said to have turned a “ “pitch-black color” due to the sludge and sewage produced by textile dyeing and processing factories.”, (Regan) and dyeing clothes is one of the most polluting processes when creating clothes. Finishing is another polluting process were “chemicals or treatments are applied to the fabric to give it the desired look or feel -- such as bleaching, softening or making the garment water-resistant or anti-wrinkle.”, (Regan) and the harsh chemicals used also end up in wastewater.
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The wildlife in polluted bodies of water is dying off because the sunlight is being blocked by the opaque pollutants in the water. Once in the water, the chemicals used to dye clothes are difficult to remove. A lot of rivers in Asia have been stripped of life thanks to pollution. The Jian River in China for example has been a rust-red color since 2011 because of wastewater pollution. We must stop polluting the air and water because the harsh pollutants that are thrown away make it into the food chain and will eventually affect local populations of people. Everyone must contribute to making the fashion industry more sustainable and people can start by making small changes in their daily routines. These changes include buying secondhand clothing, donating clothing, using non-abrasive detergents when washing clothes and buying only what you need to wear.
1/5
of all industrial water pollution is made by the fashion industry (Regan)
34 • The Cost of Fashion
The Cost of Fashion • 35
CHAPTER 04
UNSUSTAINABLE OVERPRODUCTION Overproduction Most fast fashion and luxury fashion brands have been accused of using sweatshops for years. Fast fashion brands such as H&M, Forever 21, and Asos have all been accused of using sweatshops in their manufacturing but high-end fashion is also using sweatshops in their production pipeline. Another big problem within the industry is overproduction.
36 • The Cost of Fashion
It’s common practice to overproduce because “it is both cheaper and logistically easier for retailers to order too much and deal with the excess later.”, (Lopez) to have enough to sell and make a profit. People consume more than “400% of the amount of clothes we consumed two decades ago”, (Lopez) which shows that half of the blame for the overproduction of clothes is because the demand for new trendy clothing has increased. Marketing has also become more targeted and is increasing the demand for more clothes.
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Social media Social media marketing has become a big contributor to the increased demand for new clothes. With social media marketing, fashion brands have new brand touch points to access potential customers. Many brands have social media accounts but some use brand influencer’s to promote their products. These social media influencer’s will make postings that loyal followers will comment on and listen to. The rise of fast fashion can owe part of its success to the rise of social media. Fashion brands know that the most popular social media influencer’s will have millions of followers who will listen to what the influencer has to say about any specific product, and they will pay and use popular social media influencer’s as promoters of their brand.
38 • The Cost of Fashion
25%
of all online purchases are returned across all industries (Cernansky)
Fashion brands love to paint the picture to customers that they are trendy, progressive, and needed to be in style in order to be popular. Both fast fashion and high-end
luxury use targeted marketing to build demand for their products and then they destroy any excess overproduced items. High-end fashion is notorious for destroying any unsold inventory to preserve the perceived image of exclusivity. This is also done to make sure these products don’t trickle down to outlets or secondhand stores. Making luxury items rare keeps their desirability and status as a luxury item that customers will buy to show off their wealth. Unfortunately, “It is also often cheaper, and legal in the US, to destroy excess product rather than spend resources finding ways to re purpose for recycle it”, (Cernansky) and fashion brands are all about making money first.
million worth of unsold clothing and beauty products”, (Weinberg) which is a huge loss of potential sales, but these items were getting near the end of the season and they would rather preserve their luxury image then have customers figure out they can get their products on sale later on. Another reason for the rising demand for clothes is new emerging markets where countries’ middle and upper classes are growing. As more countries develop economically the demand for trendy clothing rises and to meet that demand fashions brands must produce more clothing. According to the video True Cost Of Fashion global clothing sales are expected to triple by 2050.
They are businesses that only think about profit and will try to cut off unnecessary costs whenever possible. It’s estimated that in 2018 Burberry was “burning $38 The Cost of Fashion • 39
40 • The Cost of Fashion
That means the world will see a huge increase in pollution and clothing waste. To keep costs down in manufacturing fashion brands are releasing more clothing of lower quality than ever before. Another problem the fashion industry has when it comes to not being sustainable is returns tied to on line sales. Returned items can be tricky to resell depending on the condition it was returned and whether the item is still in season. The problem is a lot of the items that are returned are not resalable and recyclable because they are made of materials such as polyester. Some businesses don’t have “the necessary infrastructure or technological capacity”, (Cernansky) to resell returned items. The last thing fashion brands want you to do is spend less on clothing. A new trend that is becoming popular with some fashion brands is their pledge to become more environmentally sustainable. More news is now being accessible because of smartphones and the internet. People can find out about the bad practices the fashion industry has been accused of through the internet, news, and social media. It’s one main reason why a lot of companies are trying to align with eco-conscious values in order to not lose their valued customers. Some of these brands that have vowed to be more eco-conscious include Levi’s, Adidas, and Patagonia to name a few. Protecting the environment has now become a moral obligation for many customers and they are more likely to shop at a fashion brand that aligns and stands with their beliefs.
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CHAPTER 05
OVERSEAS SWEATSHOPS What is being done Many positive things can be done to help combat the use of sweatshops and the destruction of the environment. One way to start is to spread the word out on social media that you will not continue to shop for a brand that treats its workers so unfairly. Fashion brands don’t want to lose their customers and tarnish their brand image. Demanding that brands change how they source their clothing and how environmentally sustainable they are is important to make change happen. One person can’t do it alone but if more people began speaking their voices on
42 • The Cost of Fashion
these important issues, then more fashion brands would realize that customers do care and that they need to change their practices to not lose valuable customers. One way to help with the cause is to only buy clothes from fashion brands that have pledged to be eco-friendly and sustainable. Research the fashion brands you shop at to see if they use child labor and sweatshops. Donating clothing old and unused clothing instead of throwing it away is another great way to combat the dumping of unused clothes into the atmosphere. It also prolongs the life of the used clothing because customers who buy used clothing will end up using it more and prevent it from ending up in landfills.
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44 • The Cost of Fashion
Spending habits Many people are now shopping at thrift stores and discount clothing stores such as T.J Maxx to find good deals and get into second-hand clothing consumption. Changing spending habits can go a long way toward becoming a sustainable shopper because assessing your closet and keeping your wardrobe smaller with the items you like the most. Donating instead of throwing away unwanted clothing is also important to keeping the carbon footprint down because shopping for second hand clothing will prevent the clothes form ending up in landfills. Keeping the environment clean and free of pollutants will help combat global warming and habitat destruction. According to the video Here are 7 eye-opening facts about how fashion harms the environment one garbage truck full of textiles is burned or sent to landfills about every second. This alarming statistic show just how pollutant the fashion industry has become and if everybody put more effort into recycling clothes and buying from eco-sustainable fashion brands then greenhouse emissions from the fashion industry would not be very high.
10%
percent of all global carbon emissions is made by the fashion industry (How much do our clothes cost)
The Cost of Fashion • 45
Advocacy groups Advocacy groups exist that encourage secondhand clothing shopping and sustainable manufacturing of clothing. According to the article UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion addresses, damage of fast fashion the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion was created to halt the destructive practices of the fashion industry. The alliance is “improving collaboration among UN agencies by analyzing their efforts in making fashion sustainable, identifying solutions and gaps in their actions, and presenting these findings to governments to trigger policy.”, (“UN Environment”) and it’s a global effort
46 • The Cost of Fashion
because the UN recognizes the importance of fixing the destructive practices of the fashion industry. The world must act now to stop the self-destructing practices of the fashion industry. The environment cannot handle any more pollution. Rivers are becoming uninhabitable and excess greenhouse emissions are accelerating global warming polar ice cap melting. Clothing is being produced cheaply at the cost of workers’ rights and the environment. The fashion industry must make big changes for the survival of the planet. Workers deserve to work in an environment where they feel safe and are treated fairly.
What is eco-sustainable? The word eco-sustainable is a popular word that is being used a lot nowadays by people and fashion brands but does the average customer know the true meaning behind the word. According to the article What is Sustainable and Ethical Fashion it means that the approach to sourcing the required resources, manufacturing, and making clothes that both benefit the industry and society but at the same time has a low impact on the environment. Finding a middle ground to where the industry can cultivate profits but at the same time protect the environment is very important. Being eco-sustainable also means that clothes are “created and consumed in a
way that can be, quite literally, sustained, while protecting both the environment and those producing garments.”, (Chan) and it includes textile and garment factory workers too. Consumers need to educate themselves on what it means to be eco-sustainable. Being educated in what being eco-sustainable means will help consumers make smarter and more eco-conscious buying choices. Big fashion brands switching to biodegradable plant-based fabrics is one great solution to putting a stop to micro-plastic pollution. The main benefit of biodegradable fabrics is that they break down into harmless substances that do not pollute the environment, unlike oil-based plastic. The Cost of Fashion • 47
Alternatives to polyester Biodegradable is the ability to break down things through decomposition using bacteria or fungi. Fabrics made of hemp, abaca, bamboo, lyocell are biodegradable and can be used as an alternative to polyester. These alternative fabrics are made from natural resources and can decompose within a normal time range. Polyester takes a long time to decompose and in the meantime the pollution of plastic waste is building up in the environment. Hemp fabric is a natural fabric created from the cannabis plant. Hemp fabric is said to be “stronger, more absorbent, more durable, and better insulating than cotton.”, (“Hemp Rope”) and it’s said to become “softer overtime, making it even easier to biodegrade.”, (Hirsh) which
25%
of all chemical pesticides used in American crops is used for growing cotton (Hemp Rope)
48 • The Cost of Fashion
makes it easier to decompose back into the environment. Cotton is another great choice that is already being heavily used in the fashion industry and there are “more than 220,000 organic cotton farms around the world, with at least 60 of those producing cotton in the U.S.”, (Hirsh), and is considered good for the environment because it can decompose quickly. Abaca is another organic and sustainable fabric that is made of leaf fiber that comes from the Abaca plant. This plant is found in the Philippines and the fabrics “is as strong as polyester”, (Hirsh) but can decompose in two months, unlike polyester which takes hundreds of years. The fashion brands that are becoming more eco-friendly include Tom’s shoes, Levi’s, Patagonia, and Adidas to name a few. These brands are using recycled materials in the production of their products. Part of the switch to these sustainable practices has to do with the customers becoming more social activist and is aware of what’s going on in the world thanks to the internet and social media. Patagonia materials are “87% recycled in their most recent clothing line”, ( Berry) which is a big milestone for a fashion brand and Patagonia is an industry leader when it comes to winter and mountain outerwear. Levi’s is another big fashion brand that has committed to being ecosustainable. The company is committed to sustainability-created jeans by reducing their use of water by 80 percent.
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Making jeans takes a lot of water to do because to create the different washes the jeans are put into washers to give them a faded and rustic look to them. Levi’s has become the industry leader in creating jeans that consume less water. A lot of fashion brands are pledging to be more Eco-sustainable.
50 • The Cost of Fashion
There are a lot of things that can be done to stop the damage to the environment, the violation of humanitarian and worker rights. Many things are being done to stop the negative actions in the fashion industry. The environment is being polluted by greenhouse emissions, wastewater entering rivers and oceans. Advocacy groups exist that support secondhand clothing shopping, and eco-sustainable manufacturing of clothes. The movement is growing, and more people are supporting eco-friendly causes, fashion brands that
20%
of waste water worldwide comes from fabric dying (How much do our clothes cost)
practice sustainable clothing manufacturing, and fair treatment of factory workers. Everyone must play their part and that includes both consumers and the producers such as factory owners and fashion brands. The fashion industry can grow and at the same time protect the environment and put a stop to pollution. More advocacy needs to happen to make a change and customers have the power to spend their money with Eco-sustainable fashion brands.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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“Exploitation or Emancipation? Women Workers in the Garment Industry.” Fashion Revolution, Fashion Revolution, 26 Mar. 2015, https://www.fashionrevolution.org/ exploitation-or-emancipation-women-workers-in-the-garment-industry/ “Gender: Women Workers Mistreated.” Clean Clothes Campaign, Clean Clothes Campaign, 29 Apr. 2013, https://cleanclothes.org/issues/gender#:~:text=Compulsory%20testing%20 during%20the%20recruitment,defects%20and%20other%20childcare%20issues.com Yardley, Jim. “Report on Deadly Factory Collapse in Bangladesh Finds Widespread Blame.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 May 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/ world/asia/report-on-bangladesh-building-collapse-finds-widespread-blame Baruta, Chiara. “The Detrimental Effects of Fast-Fashion on Children’s Rights.” Humanium, Humanium, 21 Sept. 2021, https://www.humanium.org/ en/the-detrimental-effects-of-fast-fashion-on-childrens-rights/ Lissaman, Claire. “Fashion’s Impact on the World’s Oceans.” Common Objective, Common Objective, 14 Nov. 2021, https://www.commonobjective.co/article/ microfibres-what-to-know-and-do-beatplasticpollution#:~:text=The%20fashion%20 industry%20is%20a,oceans%20are%20from%20synthetic%20textiles. Ro, Christine. “Can Fashion Ever Be Sustainable?” BBC Future, BBC, 29 Mar. 2022, https://www. bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate “India: How our clothes cause water pollution.” YouTube, uploaded by DW Planet A, 2 April 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaHmxZhea3M Regan, Helen. “Asian Rivers Are Turning Black. and Our Colorful Closets Are to Blame .” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Sept. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/ style/article/dyeing-pollution-fashion-intl-hnk-dst-sept/index.html Lopez, Manuel. “FASHION’S PROBLEM WITH OVERPRODUCTION.” You Are Being Redirected..., Fashion Innovation, 16 Oct. 2021, https://fashinnovation.nyc/ fashion-overproduction/#:~:text=It’s%20overproduction.&text=On%20the%20 contrary%2C%20it’s%20about,as%20well%20as%20financial%20gain.com Cernansky, Rachel. “Why Destroying Products Is Still an ‘Everest of a Problem’ for Fashion.” Vogue Business, Vogue Business, 18 Oct. 2021, https://www.voguebusiness.com/ sustainability/why-destroying-products-is-still-an-everest-of-a-problem-for-fashion/ Weinberg, Lindsay. “Burberry Receives Backlash for Burning $38 Million of Unsold Products.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 July 2018, https://www.hollywoodreporter. com/lifestyle/style/burberry-receives-backlash-burning-38-million-unsold-products-1129922/ “The true cost of fast fashion | The Economist.” Youtube, uploaded by The Economist, 29 November 2018, www.youtube.com /watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts&t=112s. World Economic Forum. “Here are 7 eye-opening facts about how fashion harms the environment.” Uploaded by facebook.com, 30 April 2019, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=798634890510096 The Cost of Fashion • 53
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THE COST OF FASHION
By Jonathan Menendez
Today the fashion industry relies heavily on cheap overseas manufacturing and labor to produce its products. The increased demand for cheap stylish clothes has the made the situation even worse. Human rights are being violated and the environment is being damaged and neglected by pollution. Explore the bad side of the fashion industry and discover what is wrong with it.
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