Fast Fashion

J’adore fashion. Fashion is a certain style of dressing up that is ‘stylish’ during a particular time. Fashion evolves as time progresses. Everyone has a different style and there are five main types of fashion: 

1. Haute Couture Fashion

2. Luxury Fashion

3. Ready-to-Wear Fashion

4. Fast Fashion

5. Economy Fashion

I’m going to be talking about fast fashion. Fast Fashion is a pretty self-explanatory concept. The change in fashion is fast which means the production rate is fast. This in turn means delivery is faster and clothes get discarded faster. Now is this bad? Yes, Fast fashion damages the environment as it is one of the highest polluting industries in the world. It is a $2.5 trillion sector. Due to their short term quality and it quickly going out-of-style, people tend to throw the clothes away quicker, which in turn makes more clothes pile up in landfills, causing pollution. Fast Fashion uses synthetic fabrics such as polyester. Polyester is made through fossil fuels and a large amount of water and energy. Fast fashion clothes use synthetic dyes. They are harmful to the skin and also pollute the environment. The residue from dyes are discarded into the soil. The dye gets absorbed through the soil and manages to get into the water table contaminating water supplies to people and agriculture. 

But why do people love fast fashion so much? Fast Fashion is cheaper, has faster shipping methods and production. Many younger people get attracted to this style because it is more affordable and has a stylish appearance.  In the late 1900’s and 2000’s, fast fashion was at its peak. Many fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M, Topshop, were getting profit after profit. Their secret was simple. They took styles from top-fashion brands and replicated them but manufactured them faster and decreased the cost. Many influencers on Instagram and TikTok also take advantage of this and wear fast fashion brands to try to attract views and gain publicity. However, fast fashion is not all that bad. It practically revolutionised the clothing economy by being responsible for its economic growth. The clothing and footwear industry plays a massive role in the global economy.

Fast Fashion is not necessarily all bad but it definitely should be reduced. We need to reduce endorsing fast fashion. It is damaging our planet and is one of the largest polluting industries. Fast Fashion Industries are growing and slowly but surely damaging our planet. We only have one world and it is our duty to take care of it.