Now we all love a bargain, and we all love to look our best – especially now when we are finally able to embrace socially again! Oftentimes looking our best involves buying something new to wear – be it a top or new shoes of some gloves to ward off the winter chills. And who doesn’t love to get a bargain? So we trek to the shops and buy some inexpensive products from a big brand retailer. These products usually fall into the category of “fast Fashion”. Fast fashion is defined as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trend. “ Fast fashion is usually cheap and not intended for use beyond one or two seasons – but is it really that cheap if it comes at a huge cost to the environment?
There are reasons why we need to consider far more carefully the clothes we buy and how we dispose of them after use.
40% of the world’s arable land is given over to growing cotton. Not only is this land necessary for growing food for the current population of the planet, but it is also vital to feed the additional two billion population growth expected by 2050. The natural resources of the earth are already under huge stress- over production of cotton is adding significantly to this. The plant uses a lot of water at both the production and dyeing stages – water that is needed elsewhere for health and wellbeing.
Huge quantities of unsold and unwanted clothing is often dumped in developing countries, undermining the indigenous cotton and clothing industry in these regions.
Very little responsibility is taken by the retailer or us, the customer, for the working conditions of those involved in the production of the garment, or whether or not farmers are getting a fair price for their investment and labour. In fact fast fashion retailers put unsustainable pressure on the supply chain to produce as cheaply as possible, which encourages suppliers to cut corners and drive hard negotiations down the line.
We have all seen the images of appalling working conditions of garment factory workers in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, China, etc. Every time we buy an unnecessary piece of clothing we are supporting this unjust and unsustainable system.
Clothes production is a greedy water and energy user too – all those sowing machines running 24 / 7 to satisfy western demands for ever cheaper, ever faster fashion is having a massively detrimental impact on the environment. Pakistan and India are heavily dependent on oil and coal while Bangladesh depends mostly on methane-rich natural gas.
Some countries are very dependent of their cotton and garment exports – around two thirds of Pakistan’s exports are made up of cotton textile products, so diversifying to other crops will be complicated and require investment. It is not easy to change direction after years of investing in the cotton industry. However, all markets are ultimately driven by customers. If we stop buying as many clothes as we currently buy, the system will adapt to our changing needs and start to produce something else that the market needs, such as more food.
So – is there a hole in your jumper? Try darning it – there are lots of videos on YouTube to show you how. Feel like buying something new? Try online market places, charity shops or swop shops. Giving clothes a second life has a double positive impact for the environment – you are not funding the production of a new piece of clothing and you are saving on landfill.
