According to Princeton Students Climate Initiative, the fashion industry accounts for 1 tenth of global water usage. But fast fashion…what is it? Well, it all ties back to the consumer mindset that we’ve talked about in a couple of our previous episodes, such as episode 35, and episode 3, along with some others in-between. For those who don’t know, the consumer mindset is the idea of “the newer the better”, and is a result of the social stigma regarding anything viewed as old. This stigma, often leads the average person with sufficient money - or sometimes with insufficient money - to feel obliged to purchase newer products such as clothes or phones, even if not necessary. This can often be traced back to profit-driven companies that have obligation - and personal interest - to grow their profits, which requires constant sales of their products. // However, to achieve a point of constant sales, and maintain constant growth, they can’t market and sell the same design all the time, forcing them to create a constant stream of new, seasonal products and designs, that they then advertise as the seasonal fashion trends, luring people into purchasing their products as a result of the societal stigma against falling behind the current trend. But what are the problems that this entails?
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Hello listeners, and welcome to Fighting Failure, the podcast where we discuss solutions to the climate crisis. This is season 3; material world, episode 36 where we will be talking about fast fashion. I’ll be your host for this episode, Hisham Kanaan.
And I’m your co-host Oscar Archibald
Let’s move on to the problems
High use of water. Like mentioned 1/10 of water used globally is used by the fashion industry, or in cleaning the products put out by the fashion industry. In perspective, this is 3000 litres of water for one cotton shirt.
20% of wastewater is attributed to this industry
https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/7/20/the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-the-environment
Toxic chemicals used to process/dye the textiles, and as a result of runoff and leakage (or just genuine lack of care for the environment), a lot of these chemicals post usage are released into the ocean or other surrounding bodies of water…
Of course factory production. (Sweat shops also not good).
Approximately 35% of all micro-plastics can be traced back to textile waste, as a result of synthetic materials…
Synth. textiles are also composed of hydrocarbons. Same as oil. Same as plastic. That’s what we choose to wear…
https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/7/20/the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-the-environment
Incineration of old clothes. Over 3million tonnes of clothes are incinerated every year, and about 2.5 are reused (or left to the ocean/dump).
https://www.greenamerica.org/unraveling-fashion-industry/what-really-happens-unwanted-clothes
Unsustainable growth of natural resources such as cotton (of course still better than synthetics such as polyester/nylon). Pesticides, fertilizers…contamination/eutrophication.
Supply chains…
[music]
You’re listen to Fighting Failure.
This is episode 36, all about fast fashion.
Season 3 is entitled Material World, and we’re talking about Waste and Consumerism.