How Fast Fashion Affects the Environment

In all the hours people spend in retail malls, dressing rooms, online shopping, and scrolling through Pinterest, they almost never consider the conscientiousness of their fashion decisions. It is hard to realize the effect fast fashion has on the environment, but it’s surprisingly easy to be conscientious and look good once you do.

Human activity has always had a dramatic impact on the planet and its animals. Everything from vehicles polluting the air to the pounds of plastic in landfills is harmful to the environment. But one extremely under-discussed consequence of mankind is the effect the fashion industry has on ecosystems and their animals. Fast fashion slaughters, kills, and tortures endangered animals; destroys important ecosystems and overuses valuable resources; and contributes to a vast percentage of air, ocean, and land pollution. And yet, its impact is rarely discussed anywhere in the media or news. Most people do not realize the effect their shopping habits have on the environment, which is why it is important to understand the influence that purchasing mass-produced textiles has on the creatures of this earth, and what you can do to limit these effects.

Every year, billions of creatures are trapped and skinned to produce trendy clothing and textiles. For example, leather products contribute to the hunting and killing of reptiles, kangaroos, ostriches, beavers, wild cats, bears, antelopes, and seals. Approximately 159 million animals are slaughtered each year to produce leather. In most cases, these animals suffer immensely during the process of being converted to chic fabrics. Oftentimes, they are trapped in cages and even skinned alive. Other fabrics that are also made at the expense of animals include wool, cashmere, mohair, fur, silk, goose down, and down feathers. Some of the most commonly produced materials are also the most unethical. Take wool for example. Wool is produced mainly by sheep but can also include goats, rabbits, camelids, and muskox. Since these animals are typically bred to produce wool, if they are incapable of production they are brutally slaughtered. And the ones who can produce to meet the needs of the ever-growing wool industry are immensely mistreated. They are often subject to painful treatments, exposed to dangerous substances, and live in miserable conditions. They are forced to walk long, excruciating distances, live in overcrowded areas and commonly die prematurely due to exhaustion dehydration, starvation, infection, injury, and neglect. And this is only a few examples of the price animals pay for people to simply look stylish.

Fast fashion does not only result in the brutal murder of millions of animals every year, but it also indirectly affects all species through the usage of valuable resources including land, water, and trees. In order to mass produce clothing fads, companies need space―land for factories, stores, production, and growth. But where exactly does this room come from? Every year, species are pushed out of their homes to make room for the evergrowing clothing industry. Animals are being shoved into small spaces and crowded into a minuscule percentage of the earth's surface with no room to roam freely. But it does not end there. The fashion industry contributes to one-tenth of all industrially used water yearly. That means that for every cotton shirt hung up on the racks of corporate stores, 10,000 liters of water are drawn on. Water is the most important resource for both humans and animals alike, and it is being wasted by corporate companies to make a pretty penny off of people’s ignorance. Water is only the first of many resources being exploited by the fashion industry. For example, the primary fibers used to produce clothing are viscose and rayon. In order to make these materials, pulp or bleached wood pulp has to be dissolved. This means that the stylish clothing hanging in closets, sold in stores, and being worn on outings is contributing to extreme deforestation. Over 150 million trees are logged each year to accommodate the demands of the fashion industry. This not only destroys valuable habitats and manipulates the natural balance of ecosystems, but it also impacts climate change, as carbon is stored in trees. And just to be even more destructive and wasteful, fashion companies do not even use 15% of the materials they mass produce. They merely end up as scraps on the factory floor. Eventually, these scraps are improperly disposed of and end up in landfills and oceans.

In fact, the improper disposal of clothing and textiles is becoming a serious threat to ocean and land ecosystems. An exuberant 57% of clothing ends up in these landfills. This is approximately 100 billion total textiles. According to sources, every second a full garbage truck's worth of clothing ends up in landfills and oceans. And the materials that most clothing is made of can be very harmful to oceanic environments, such as synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers make up 64.2% of all clothing produced, and they make up 35% of what are known as microplastics in the ocean. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic characterized by being 5 millimeters or less. Once they are in the ocean, they are nearly impossible to remove. It is estimated that around 500,000 tons of microplastics are deposited into the ocean each year, intoxicating marine animals, terrestrial plants, and soil systems. A common misconception is that this problem can be avoided when you dispose of your clothing properly, like to a thrift store or charity. However, these microplastics can reach oceans far more easily than people realize. In fact, most microplastics reach the ocean through washing machines. When the water from a washing machine is deposited in the ocean, it carries with it thousands of microplastics from textiles made of synthetic fibers. Such a standard household appliance is a primary cause of the destruction of oceanic ecosystems. This is why it is not just important to dispose of clothing properly, but it is equally as important to simply not purchase clothing materials made from synthetic fibers. It is not only aquatic environments that are suffering the consequences of the fast fashion industry, but also the aerial. The production of clothing has a heavy impact on the atmosphere. It contributes greatly to climate change and air pollution. This year, the World Economic Forum identified the fashion industry as the third largest polluting industry, contributing to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Although these statistics degrade the ethics of humans and make it seem like a problem has been created that is impossible to destroy, a few aspiring, caring designers are taking steps to rise to the top of the fashion industry without leaving a trail of lost species behind them. The industry is called eco-fashion. There are many different aspects to eco-fashion, all of which are a way of reducing carbon footprints. Up-and-coming jean companies are producing 100% cotton jeans using pre-industrial revolution methods to completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels, thus having no environmental impact. Other companies are taking upcycling to a whole new level by creating entire clothing lines made solely from recycled materials such as polyester. Shredding plastic that would otherwise end up in the ocean and converting it to yarn has also been made possible. Even high-end brands such as Gucci have hopped on the eco-friendly train and started producing biodegradable sunglasses and shoes. Other companies have taken a vow to better the clothing industry for the animals involved. Many are choosing to use materials other than furs, leathers, and coats. All of this and more is beyond possible. Changing the way things have been done for hundreds of years certainly will not be easy, but it can be done. More and more people are waking up and realizing the mistakes within the industrial world. Change is possible. With these solutions, hopefully, it is coming.

Most people do not consider the impact their everyday actions might have on the world. They do not realize that everything from the car they drive to the clothes they wear might have a detrimental effect on habitats and animals. The fast fashion industry contributes to excessive animal cruelty, resource consumption, pollution, and climate change. Ecosystems are being destroyed. Air and oceans are being intoxicated, and animals are tortured and killed every day. It is time to speak up for the animals that suffer because of human desires and say “enough is enough”. It is time to change the way the world is run before it is too late for everyone on earth.

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Author Kiley Hart is a seventeen year old STEM student from a small town in Idaho. She has had a passion for writing since she was young. She was published for the first time in a poetry book when she was in 3rd grade and won a state wide writing contest in the 5th grade. Kiley likes to always keep herself busy, taking a full load of AP classes, playing volleyball year round, and working a part time job since she was a freshmen in high school. She enjoys every chance she has to combine her passion for writing with her passion for STEM and conservationism.

References:

• “Animals Used for Clothing & Fashion | Ethical Fashion.” Common Objective

• Assoune, Alex. “How Does Fast Fashion Affect Animals.” Panaprium

• Dissanayake, Pavani D. “Effects of Microplastics on the Terrestrial Environment: A Critical Review.” Science Direct, Elsevier Inc

• “The Impact of Fast Fashion On the Environment — PSCI.” PSCI Princeton

• Jones, Lucy. “5 fashion materials you didn't realise were bad for wildlife.” BBC Earth,

• Veller, Polina. “Fashion Industry Environmental, Waste, and Recycle Statistics.” EDGE