The Fast fashion industry makes trendy clothes at a rapid speed with affordable prices. Brands like Shein and Fashion Nova are some of the most popular online websites with a main goal to put up the freshest and most popular trends in the market while hiding a sad reality to many consumers.
Fast fashion is known for being one of the leading causes of climate change. This is because for a company to minimize production costs the pieces are usually made with non-biodegradable fabrics that are fully processed with harsh chemicals that most likely ends in landfills or our oceans after only being warned once or twice.
The average American throws away 80 pounds of clothes each year. In the past 15 years the consumption of clothes has doubled. Fast fashion companies design clothes to fall apart easily forcing the consumer to buy more clothes. This is known as ‘planned obsolescence’.
Most fashion facilities are located outside of the United States in developing countries where the wages are low and workers rights are limited or even unheard of. Employees usually work with no ventilation and usually breath under toxic substances. Workers, who are mostly children, are also paid under the living wages and face verbal and physical abuse. Accidents such as fires and injuries, are very frequent occurrences on textile production sites.The collapse of the Rana Plaza was a great eye opener for everyone in 2013, It killed 1,134 garment workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A way to avoid fast fashion is reusing old clothes to make new ones. Reducing your waste and or shopping second hand. Online stores such as https://www.thredup.com/ and https://www.depop.com/ are great second hand online stores that provide trendy clothes half the price. for Not only is it better for the ecosystem but it’s also putting an end to human cruelty in the fashion industry.