Introduction
At a glance, the affordable clothes that are produced by fast fashion seem harmless, but they are far from it. The cheap price of clothes made by companies such as Forever 21 make up for these prices elsewhere, especially in their environmental affect. Many issues from textile waste, pollution, and over consumption of natural resources emerge from fast fashion.
Textile Waste
As many as 100 billion clothing pieces are produced each year, and they don't just stay in the closets of consumers (Thomas). The average person throws away 81 pounds of clothing a year, which end up in the landfill (Gilmore). An estimated 21 billion pounds of textile piles up in the United States landfill each year (Mcarthy). A lot of these clothes were in good condition before being disposed and could have been disposed in other ways. Some textile that are found in these dumps such as cotton and wool are biodegradable, but since they are packed tightly with other waste, will not have the chance to decompose. The clothes produced by fast fashion most often end up in the garbage.
Chemical Pollution
Other than just polluting our landfills, clothing production pollutes the air, water bodies, and soil. 1/5 of the industrial pollution that is responsible for polluting water is due to textile factories (Greer). The dye used in making clothing is not good for the environment, and it's common for factories around the world to dispose of the waste produced by dying garments into bodies of water. This makes the water undrinkable and unsuitable to house wildlife. Clothing factories also spew out toxins that go into our air. The fossil fuels used to power factories contribute to the greenhouse effect and worsen air quality. Three billion tons of soot have been produced by Chinese factories, making air unhealthy to breathe (Greer).
Use of Resources
Making clothing uses lots of resources. From growing or creating the materials used, to powering the factor the garment is made in, and other processes like dying the fabric, all these steps add up. To make one T-Shirt from start to finish, it takes 2,700 liters of water (National Geographic). On top of that, it takes water to transport the clothes to the consumer and to wash the clothes each time they are dirty. From when the cotton is grown to when you get rid of jeans, they use 3,782 liters of water (Scholastic). Water is one of the scarcest materials that we have on our planet. It's vital that we do all we can to preserve this material, as it's essential for all parts of life. With the average American buying 64 pieces of clothing each year (Josephson) and 80 billion pieces of clothing being produced each year(Environmental Impact), imagine how much water is used. Fast fashion retailers make tons of clothes each year and with them easily falling apart, it's important to buy as little as clothing as possible and not buy from these retailers to prevent the waste of our planets precious water.