A teenage girl is depicted holding up a shirt with a tag that reads “Made with blood, sweat and tears.” In recent years, buying from fast fashion brands like SHEIN became very common among the younger generation. “The manufacturing and consumption of fast fashion, which, according to the Britannica Encyclopedia, is a term describing the rapid production of inexpensive, low-quality clothing, has consequences on both the environment and industry employees,” Variety Editor Adah Hamman wrote. Illustration by Sylvia Robinson
Shopping from brands like Shein, Zara, and H&M has a negative impact on the people who work for them and the environment.
Picture this: it’s 8:30 a.m., and Clarke Central High School students are milling about in the E.B. Mell Auditorium Lobby. Two girls sit at the foot of the staircase, looking at their phones and waiting for the bell to ring. Suddenly, one of them squeals. Her friend looks at her, raising her eyebrows. “What?”
“My SHEIN package just arrived.”
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as buying from brands like SHEIN, Zara and H&M has become increasingly popular in the past decade, with marketing company Uniform Market estimating that the industry will be worth almost $300 billion by 2032.
However, the manufacturing and consumption of fast fashion, which, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is a term describing the rapid production of inexpensive, low-quality clothing, has consequences for both the environment and employees.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating waste and pollution, clothing utilization— which is the number of times that someone wears an item— has decreased by almost 40% from 2000 to 2015. Once a clothing article goes “out of style,” consumers throw it away and move on to the next thing, unaware of how they may be contributing to phenomena like climate change.
These discarded pieces of clothing end up in landfills, many of which are composed of synthetic fibers like polyester or nylon. They are then scheduled for incineration and, when burned, release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
An infographic shows five facts about the impact of the fast fashion industry. Between air pollution and waste, the fashion industry has harmed the environment and economy. “Once a clothing article goes ‘out of style,’ consumers throw it away and move on to the next thing, unaware of how they may be contributing to phenomena like climate change,” Variety Editor Adah Hamman wrote. Graphic by Lea D’Angelo
In addition to its detrimental environmental impact, the fast fashion industry also has social ramifications.
“I would say (that) one of the biggest impacts (of the fast fashion industry is) towards marginalized communities,” University of Georgia senior Harini Tirumala, the President of Fair Fashion, a student-run organization at UGA that aims to promote sustainable fashion consumption in the community, said. “A lot of the people who work in fast fashion industries are usually being paid very minimal wages. (They’re) subjected to abuses and labor standard laws, and it’s usually specifically women of color.”
Most people working in the fast fashion industry live in low-to-middle-income countries due to decreased labor costs that allow brands to maximize profit. According to a study from Oxfam, a non-governmental agency, 100% of garment workers in Bangladesh earn below the living wage as defined by the Global Living Wage Coalition.
“A lot of the people who work in fast fashion industries are usually being paid very minimal wages. (They’re) subjected to abuses and labor standard laws, and it’s usually specifically women of color.”
— Harini Tirumala,
UGA senior and president of Fast Fashion
Due to the harmful effects of the fast fashion industry, consumers should consider shopping outside it.
One option: thrift stores offer a wide variety of clothing, and their prices are comparable to those of fast fashion brands, while purchases can be both stylish and environmentally friendly.
People who have an excess of clothing already should consider donating unneeded garments to charities like Habitat for Humanity or The Salvation Army, organizations which will ensure the clothes go to good use.
In essence, it’s possible to save money and shop sustainably.
