Introduction
Currently, in the clothing industry there is a rapid increase in the sales of outfits that do not last long once purchased by consumers. Most apparel firms are continuously producing different attires to meet the dynamic taste of customers without taking into consideration the negative impacts the manufacturing brings to the environment and labor markets. Several reports have indicated that Fast Fashion has flooded the market, making it a challenge for other players in the sector to perform accordingly. Generally, the emergence of cheap, trendy clothes in the markets has diverse effects which make them unworthy of human consumption.
Understanding Fast Fashion
The term fast fashion refers to types of clothing that are cheap and trending in the apparel industry. The manufacturers sample the unique ideas from different cultures and celebrities that influence the people, and then convert them into clothes. They take the shortest duration possible to make the garments, thus making them meet the demands of consumers. The key reason for faster production is to compete and deliver the newest style that attracts most individuals. The norm encourages people to value popular attires that they discard and buy the emerging ones once they feel outdated. These aspects do not allow people to derive maximum utility from the products because they wear them for a short period.
History of Fast Fashion
In the past century, for an individual to have cloth, they had to source the required materials such as leather or wool and then prepare and weave to make the attires. The emergence of the industrial revolution resulted in the development of new technologies that made the process simple and quick. Engineering such as sewing machines facilitated the dress-making process, especially for the middle social classes in society. This led to the creation of shops that made garments to meet the needs of such a category of people in the community. The workshops had workers that were responsible for making the clothes for buyers. During the 1970s, young people developed the tendency to create new trends, which made the outfit style become a personal expression. After some decades, around the 2000s, low-cost fashion became popular, and numerous retailers in the industry, such as Zara, Topshop, and H&M, began to dominate the high street.
The rapid change and dominance of H&M, Zara, and other retailers in the market facilitated the rebranding of top fashions and produced them cheaply and quickly. The transformation made it easier for individuals to purchase the trending clothing brands whenever they are located. The streets, markets, and other buying points became flooded with the garments, and their low cost enabled the majority of people to access them irrespective of their quality and effect on the environment.
Reasons for Teens’ glamorizing of Fast Fashion
In the current world, teenagers face immense pressure that comes as a result of social media influence. These make youths have high expectations, which are hard to meet. The increasing use of online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tik Tok enables adolescents to access celebrities and models’ lives style that they admire (Bonilla et al., 2019). They are inspired by the dressing mode of the socialites and the types of attire they wear. Young adults value their public image, and thus they are motivated to dress the same as the influencers (Sorensen & Johnson, 2019). The three factors that prompt young people to acquire cheap clothes include price, trend, and popularity.
They need to have similar clothing prompt youths to purchase clothes in the retails that offer cheap and trendy clothing, thus promoting the sales of the fast fashion products. The low prices attract teenagers even though most of them are aware of the environmental and humanitarian impacts associated with the sector. Since the garments that influencers wear are expensive, teenagers are then forced to obtain the ones of low quality to meet their demands.
Another important reason for the continuous purchase of the products by the youth is trends. Generally, fast fashions are produced more rapidly in the market, and different manufacturers introduce a new style in the market. Teenagers usually have the urge to stay up-to-date and meet this need; they are forced to change with the sector, thus frequently buying clothes (Stringer et al., 2020). This makes adolescents have a large volume of attires, hence disposing them into the environment to have enough space to accommodate the new arrival. Lastly, social media continues to display new styles making them popular amongst the youths. Once the teenagers have seen such new fashions, they develop the need to impress their peers and show them how updated they are when it comes to clothing.
Impacts of Fast Fashion Industry
The emergence and rapid growth of the fast fashion industry pose a significant danger to people, animals, and the environment. Many retailers have been undertaking mass production of inexpensive clothes while ignoring the basic ethical issues that impact the lives of people in the world. Several negative effects of the sector in the economy make it not worth any person’s expenditures. Some of them include ecological damages, labor exploitation, and reduction in government expenditure.
Impacts of Fast Fashion on the Environment
Fast fashions have significant environmental impacts that pose threats to plants, animals, and human beings. First, clothing production happens quickly as the companies tend to introduce new trends in the market. Over manufacturing leads to excessive consumption making the consumers have excess outfits they do not intend to use. This results in the disposal of the used garments on land surfaces leading to land pollution (Bick et al., 2018). This is because most of the items cannot be donated or recycled. The continuous discarding of the used attires makes the planet full of products that take a long time to decompose.
Second, the textile industries use water in the production process to make clothes, which in turn is removed as waste. The untreated byproduct contains different elements such as mercury, lead, and arsenic, hazardous to both human and aquatic life (Niinimäki et al., 2020). When the toxic water is channeled into rivers and oceans, they directly affect the animals and people who might use it. Apart from harming the lives of the animals, the substances have the ability to pollute seas and other water bodies they get into contact with. For example, about 22000 tons of untreated waste are dumped into waterways annually in Bangladesh. This makes it a challenge to the individuals and marine organisms that consume them directly.
Third, fast fashions are made from materials such as polyesters and nylon. When the clothes are washed, they produce microplastics and microfibers. These elements reach water bodies and are consumed by fish. If people eat such fishes with microfibers in their bodies, humans then have microplastics. Therefore, the availability of inexpensive garments is risking the lives of many individuals. The tiny plastic can cause severe and chronic diseases that can lead to the death of people. The research report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature indicated that about 35% of the microfibers in large water bodies come from the washing of synthetic clothes (Ă–zkan & GĂĽndoÄźdu, 2021). This shows that the industry plays a big role in contaminating water with non-biodegradable materials.
Fourth, the production process of synthetic materials such as nylon, polyester, and acrylic requires more energy making the companies use a large quantity of fossil fuels. During the manufacturing, the petroleum breaks down to release massive volatile particles and acids. When rainwater mixes with this matter, they form acidic rain that is harmful and cause destruction to the people around the manufacturing plants (Peters et al., 2021). The transportation of the tons of the garments the use of fuels leads to the production of excessive carbon, thus affecting the earth’s overall climate.
Fifth, massive deforestation leads to the extinction of rainforests across the world. People fell the trees and replaced them with wood-based fabrics plantations. The plants are preferred because they are used to provide materials used to manufacture fast fashion clothes. The practice has made over a thousand hectares of endangered species be felled annually to create enough space for the other trees (Suruj-Zaman et al., 2021). This has also impacted the surroundings because most water catchment areas are destroyed, making most rivers lose the volume of water flowing. In addition, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also increases due to a lack of enough healthy plants to absorb them.
Sixth, the production process in the textile industry involves the use of different chemicals in different stages. When the clothes are brought on the market for sales, most of them have the elements in them, making them a health hazard to consumers. The body absorbs such substances, which might cause deadly diseases. According to the campaign by Greenpeace Detox, over ten known synthetic compounds were identified in fast fashion garments that are directly linked to the disruption of body hormones and causing cancer. Similarly, some research studies indicate that when children wear pajamas, their urine contains elements in the cloth after several days, supposing they don them for one night (Rovira, & Domingo, 2019). These facts show how risky the sector has become and the dangers to which it is subjecting its consumers.
Moreover, the need to produce more products to meet the demands in the market has resulted in to direct use of animals’ fur. The practice endangers the lives of such creatures because some are being killed or shaved to the extreme to provide the necessary amount of leather and wool to produce the garments. Some reports indicate that a number of people have identified cats’ and dogs’ fur in the clothes. This shows that manufacturers have the tendency to access illegal materials rather than use the faux materials as supposed to be in the sector.
Impacts of Fast Fashion on Laborers
Exploitation of Workers
The fast fashion industry is linked to several malpractices that violate the rights of workers in the industry. First, most companies producing cheap clothes exploit their workers both in wages and working conditions. Despite the long hours spent in the factories, the majority of the laborers claim that their salaries are insignificant and cannot support their well-being (Chang, 2020). Moreover, the environment in which they work is unfavorable following the massive use of chemicals and other substances that can danger their lives. The failures of the sector to protect the status of their employees makes the industry unworthy of existence. It proves that the main aim of employers is to maximize their profits while neglecting the needs of workers.
Promotion of Child Labor
Generally, the textile industry does not require professional skills to be employed. This makes it a key target for non-skilled people such as children who want to meet their basic needs. When such individuals are given the opportunity to work, in most cases, the management underpays them irrespective of the hard work they perform in the facilities. Moreover, the sectors prefer using teenagers because they have limited knowledge about social welfare, which can make them demand increased wages (Zhang et al., 2021). When the young ones are employed to offer their services, their right to education is completely violated because they will spend most of their time working in the facilities.
Child labor is rising in developing countries where companies seek cheap and readily available workers. For example, most young girls are subjected to work in the Sumangali Scheme in India. The practice entails sending the majority of young adolescents from poor backgrounds to offer their services in the textile industries for over five years. The aim is to enable them to receive some minimum wages to support their families and obtain the amount of money needed to pay their dowry. The practice subject the ladies to horrible working conditions and continued suffering that affects their physical and mental health.
Similarly, in Uzbekistan, child labor is common, especially during summer when farmers are harvesting cotton. Previously children used to be mobilized and removed from schools to assist in picking up the raw materials. Such activity violates the right to education and makes the young ones face some harsh working experiences in the scorching sunshine. Even though the government is working towards eliminating the practice, it is still common in other regions. The increasing demand for labor is facilitated by the need for cotton growers to meet the target required by the respective firms.
Overworking
The fast fashion industry faces an increasing demand to meet the changing trends over a short period. This aspect makes the companies forcefully overwork the employees to enable them to meet the intended market target. Most laborers perform extra work without constructive reward from the firm (Wang et al., 2020). They are not offered overtime pay, yet they actively participate in producing the clothes past the normal working time. Employees are subjected to harsh conditions by the supervisors who are there to ensure everyone meets the estimated target. The practice exhausts the workers and interferes with their normal body functions since they drain more energy than required. Sometimes, even basic opportunities such as short breaks are limited to allow the firm to reach the expected demand.
Increasing Assaults
The demanding nature of the fast fashion industry is escalating the rate of assaults amongst the factory workers. When employees fail to meet the given targets, their respective supervisors verbally or even physically abuse them. Some have even experienced sexual violence as a form of punishment because they fail to deliver the expected output for the firm. The behaviors pose health issues such as mental problems to the victims. Therefore, the sector is not appropriate and thus should not be promoted because it makes many workers undergo unbearable conditions for the company’s gain.
Restriction of Unions
In every industry, workers are allowed to form organizations that are responsible for fighting for their rights, such as wages, better working conditions, and overtime pay. However, in the fast fashion industry, most firms have restricted their garment workers from forming and joining unions that can enable them to make a strong collective bargaining front. Most governments in export countries where the industries are situated do not have effective or limit the creation of such policies that grant employees the opportunity to work as a team towards seeking their rights. For instance, in Bangladesh, where there are over 4000 firms manufacturing fast fashion garments, about 90% of the companies have restricted their employees from being unionized (Ashraf & Prentice, 2019). Managers and factory owners frequently threaten individuals who propose the idea by being fired or physically confronting the platforms. The practice hinders workers from being able to defend themselves, thus remaining victims of continuous exploitation in the sector at the expense of few persons who benefit from their hard labor.
Unsafe Working Conditions
Fast fashion industries have failed to provide a reliable working environment that protects the lives of workers. There are several accidents that have occurred amongst most of the known manufacturing firms killing a large number of employees. For example, the case of Rana Plaza, which collapsed in 2013, killing over 1100 employees, indicates how the individuals work in an unsafe environment that puts their lives at high risk (Schuessler et al., 2019). In most cases, the building where garment workers operate has limited ventilation, thus making them breathe some of the toxic substances used in the production process. Furthermore, some of the sites are prone to fire and other injuries that risk the lives of staff members.
Coercing consumers
The constantly changing trend applies massive pressure on the customers because they are made to believe they are falling behind the emerging styles. This practice makes consumers shop more frequently to be at par with the new designs in the market. It has increased the level of dissatisfaction amongst buyers, thus forcing them to spend excessively on the apparel to meet their satisfaction. Many clients find themselves overbuying clothes, making them discard the ones they already own.
Impacts of Fast Fashion on the Economy
Economic Growth
Cheap clothing has become a normal way of life in most countries. The majority of people prefer spending less money to acquire the garments irrespective of their quality. This has led to increase in the purchasing power of consumers around the world. The business is responsible for massive growth in the retail sector thus generating high gross domestic product (GDP) for the country. Currently the overall impact of the apparel in the economy is about 4.5% with a projection of over 5.9 in the future (Fares & Lebbar, 2019). This statistics implies that fast fashion generates good income for the nation and therefore if their negative impacts are managed effectively, it will form reliable source of revenue for the governments.
Increasing Unemployment Rates
Generally, the demand for goods in the market increases the need for laborers to provide production services. Following the presence of cheap and low-quality garments in the market, the demand for locally produced attires has declined, forcing the industries to lower their manufacturing limits. This makes the firms lower the number of employees in the sector causing a massive rate of unemployment in the country (Pandit et al., 2019). Similarly, the stores that used to sell second-hand clothes face extreme competition from inexpensive products, reducing the number of workers in those retail shops. With the increasing trend, fast fashion is a threat to the growth of the economy.
Increased Importation
There is an increase in the amount of apparel imports in the country. Most retail sectors have adopted the trend of procuring cheap clothing from other countries due to their low cost (Bukhari et al., 2018). This has led to the rise of fast fashions in the local markets because most wholesalers want to remain competitive in the industry; therefore, they purchase the products in demand from producers outside the country. The practice poses a threat to the balance of payment which can affect the welfare of the economy. Increased imports are harmful to the economy because they paralyze the local industries.
Importance of Fast Fashion
Despite the negative impacts of fast fashions on the economy, environment, and industrial workers, the sector greatly influences people’s lives, especially the low-income earners. First, the cheap attires enable people to have the opportunity to wear decent clothing that satisfy their human needs. They save people from the huge cost associated with local garments and secondhand clothes. Therefore, the sector is significant and makes life simple for the majority of individuals.
Similarly, the industry and the retail sectors create massive job opportunities for a large number of people across the world. Generally, working in the textile industry does not require professional skills, thus allowing non-skilled laborers to secure work in the facilities (Fullin, 2021). When individuals have a source of income, they have the ability to palm and make their lives more comfortable than if they have no income at all. Therefore, the business is effective in enabling many communities, especially those that produce the raw materials, work in the manufacturing plants, and other persons along the supply chain, such as transporters, to meet their basic needs.
The fast fashion industry has also led to an increase in the retail sector in the country. The increasing demands for cheap clothes have prompted the start of many small business units to deliver the products to shoppers’ locations. This makes it easier for the government to collect more taxes necessary for its expenditure. In addition, the wholesalers create employment opportunities for the majority of youths, thus making them improve their living standards.
Young adults have the tendency to look trendy and smart based on emerging fashions. Having inexpensive attires allows them to attain their clothing desire irrespective of the budget constraints they may face. The availability of such items makes it easier for them to live their standards without involving in unlawful activities to raise the huge amount required to buy luxury and secondhand apparel. Furthermore, it facilitates the ability of the people to follow the latest styles in the market.
Solutions to Fast Fashion
Generally, consumers and governments have the ability to minimize the devastating impacts of the fast fashion industry across the world. There are several practices that can be adopted by both authorities and consumers to effectively revive the environment and save employees from the constant exploitation they are facing in the sector. Some of the measures include restrictive policies, responsible purchasing of clothing, consuming locally manufactured attires, and other relevant approaches.
Restrictive Policies
Governments, especially in countries where textile industries are established, should adopt strict measures to save garment workers from exploitation by the company owners. For instance, there should be a law that dictates the minimum amount of wages employees should receive on a monthly basis. Moreover, the authority should make it a must for the workers to have a union body that negotiates on their behalves in case of issues such as poor working conditions and gross misconduct of the managers. Such policies will enable the sector to reform and thus lower the evil encounters workers face in the settings.
Responsible Purchasing
Consumers should buy the product of high quality to prevent the introduction of cheap attires in the clothing industry. If people limit the purchasing of inexpensive garments, the demand will automatically drop, thus lowering production. Similarly, customers should consider buying environmentally friendly fabrics that do not affect the ecosystem (Blasi et al., 2020). The approach will minimize the over manufacturing of the attires of low standards.
Buying Less of the Products
People should practice buying only the clothes they need. The over-purchasing of fast fashion has contributed to the huge disposal of clothes in the environment; therefore, to be able to minimize the rapid discard. Individuals should lower the number of garments they procure from the stores to enhance sustainability (Neumann et al., 2020). The minimalism approach is effective because it enables buyers to focus on having the items if they must have them but not being influenced by the social trend.
Consuming Locally Made Items
When people buy locally made attires, they promote the sector and lower the import rate of the fast fashion garments. Most of the clothing produced within the country is of high quality and poses less risk to workers in the industry and environment; thus is worth consumption. Embracing homemade clothing is significant in lowering the massive introduction of cheap items in the market.
Conclusion
The emergence of the fast fashion industry has negatively impacted the environment, laborers consumers. The consequences of cheap, trendy garments in the lives of people and animals across the globe have made the sector unsustainable and less worthy. It has promoted child labor, exploitation of company employees, and emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, increasing global warming. Despite the ravaging side effects of the business, it has allowed low-income earners to access affordable clothing, thus improving their living standards. There are job opportunities that the industry has created to accommodate non-skilled workers. Some of the solutions to curb the problems associated with fast fashion include developing protective policies to cover employees and child abuse. In addition, consumers should value and purchase locally produced attires or minimizes the excessive buying of fast fashion garments. The practices, when applied, have the potential to transform the sector effectively.
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