Fast Fashion: The Expense of Cheap Clothes

While we are shopping and browsing online, it’s hard to picture the effort and production that goes behind what we buy or wear–from the hours of labour, the worker mistreatment, and the impact of it on our planet.

While we focus on how long shipping will take, we tend to miss or be oblivious to the reality and real harm of what's happening behind our clothes.

From the toxic dyes that pollute rivers, synthetic fabrics shed microplastics, and carbon emissions, to the real and traumatic abuse of the people that work in these factories. While our order is cheap, someone is heavily paying for it. 

Fast fashion is one of the biggest contributions to environmental damage. The industry is responsible for approximately 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of waste water. From resource extraction and energy-intensive manufacturing to logistics and waste management, every stage of the fast fashion life cycle contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating global warming.

One cotton shirt alone requires 2,700 litres, the equivalent of what one person drinks in two and a half years.

Besides the tragic impact on earth of fast fashion factories, the industry is solely built on and relies on the exploitation of workers. The industry employs approximately 75 million factory workers worldwide. 

Many of whom have no choice but to endure unsafe conditions, extremely low wages, and excessive working hours. It is estimated that less than 2% of them make a living wage. This leads to workers living below the poverty line. The European Parliament has even described the conditions of factory workers in Asia as “slave labour”. Many garment workers are working up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Many workers are taken advantage of and are living in poor conditions without access to healthcare, education, or basic necessities, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and with no chances of making a better life for themselves. 

We prioritize the cheap prices and fast shipping that we choose to ignore the impact it has behind the cute clothes. Every time we choose to be part of this cycle, we give into our temporary satisfaction at the expense of our planet and someone’s life.

When we consider buying a product we no longer just think about the price, quality, and how long it will last we must also ask ourselves if it’s worth someone’s life and dignity, or polluting the air we breathe and the water we drink.

We as the consumers hold the power to break this cycle. By taking a few extra moments to find more ethical brands, or support recycling and upcycling amongst second hand websites and charity shops we can shift the statistics and work towards a more fair and sustainable fashion industry. 

The fashion industry has become a toxic place where we no longer measure the true cost of our purchases in currency, but by the impact it has on the world around us.