Fast Fashion

The ‘fast fashion’ industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, second only to oil. With clothes being so cheap nowadays, it’s easy to fall into the trap of buying outfits that you’ll only wear a few times before getting bored. But this attitude of treating fashion as disposable does come at an environmental cost. They hide it well, but fast fashion companies are responsible for shockingly high carbon emissions, waste water production and huge amounts of landfill waste. So, what can we do? Changing our shopping habits can make a difference. Buying more clothes second-hand from charity shops, car boot sales or websites like eBay and Depop can prevent perfectly good clothes from being thrown away. You can get rid of your old clothes in this way too, or why not try a clothes swap with friends? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure! If you are hitting the high street, look out for shops that use eco-friendly, biodegradable materials like organic cotton, linen and hemp. Synthetics, on the other hand, are the fast fashion industry’s worst culprits. These can include polyester, nylon and acrylic, all of which need a lot of oil to produce and are not biodegradable. As with many ‘green’ products, you will usually pay more for eco-friendly fashion, but the clothes you buy will undoubtedly last a lot longer. Forking out more money for high-quality, sustainable items that you’ll get lots of wear out of – and don’t harm the planet – seems like a fair deal.