Effects of fast fashion on environment
Fast fashion is a promising industry. With the increase in people's welfare, Amaka will no longer have financial constraints to have the best fashion. Every year the media is always busy with people lining up in new fashions. But no one talks about the effects of fast fashion on environment.
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| Effects of fast fashion on environment |
Why fast fashion is good for the economy?
Massive clothing production will reduce production costs. This means more profit and greater opportunities for expansion in other regions and even in other countries.
This growth presents opportunities to create new jobs in various countries. Famous brands in the world are starting to create supply chains in various countries. The goal is to reduce transportation costs. and the beneficiaries are countries that partner with the brand.
In practice, the fashion industry in developing countries applies a strict work system. The goal is to increase the production of certain types of fashion. The problem is what about the unsold models or trends? Is he being recycled, thrown away or donated?
How bad is the fashion industry for the environment?
Behind the lucrative fast fashion business, it has a significant environmental impact. Customers are encouraged to always update their fashion. This causes a lot of clothes to be thrown in the trash because they are considered not according to the trend.
Quoted from the Los Angles Times, producers have an interesting fact if their fashion products are not sold.
- Stefano Ricci burned his unsold products because he didn't want to reduce the selling value of his products
- Hennes & Mauritz report their inventory items are $ 4.3 billion and growing. This shows that production is more than sold.
- Burberry destroyed $ 38 million worth of unsold goods in 2018 but immediately abandoned the practice after being questioned by investors.
What are the negative effects of fast fashion?
The fashion industry is an industry that never dies. Even though simple and multifunctional fashion began to develop, the welfare of the people still led them to experience a more challenging lifestyle
The United Nations Environment Program notes that one garbage truck worth of textiles is dumped or burned every second. Fashion industry contributes at least 10% of GHG emissions; energy consumption from aviation and shipping.
Also read: Carbon footprint of different foods
How do you avoid fast fashion?
Young people (aged 20s to 30s) seem to pay more attention to this waste than people in their 50s. As many as 48% of Americans are willing to change their fast fashion habits to become sustainable fashion.
People are starting to be interested in used fashion that is still suitable for use. There are used fashion buying and selling sites like Poshmark which have grown in popularity in the last decade. There is another site Thred Up reports that it has received 100,000 items of women's and children's clothing every day.
Activities to reduce consumerism are getting more and more support from environmental activists. People finally realize how dangerous their fashion is to this planet.
Sustainable fashion
This deconsumerism movement is certainly not liked by clothing manufacturers. Some producers have accused that the deconsumerism movement will cause job losses and can even cause other social problems.
Therefore, some companies prefer to maintain a culture of fast fashion but continue to innovate in order to reduce the impact of climate change.
- H&M took the initiative to use solar panels and renewable energy and considered the use of non-conventional materials such as fashion made from orange peel or pineapple leaves. They say that 70% of the biggest environmental impact is in the production process. so the company will learn new techniques that can absorb Green house gasses. The idea is to give a discount to buyers who are willing to give up unused clothing.
- Forever 21 Inc. have also considered using recycled products as their products are starting to fall out of favor with young people who are starting to have environmental awareness.
- Adidas makes specific shoe designs according to customer orders. The goal is for customers to store and use it more often.
- Raph Lauren stated that she will be fully using sustainable ingredients by 2025
Conclusion
The fast fashion industry has indeed created a trigger for good economic growth and created new jobs. However, the practice of disposal and burning of unsold fashion products has received a lot of opposition from various parties. It is a negative effects of fast fashion on environment.
Millennials are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of each of their fashion products. This is indicated by the culture of wearing secondhand fashion which is popular on the internet. Fashion manufacturers responded positively to this change in behavior by applying environmentally friendly raw materials.
So that in the future we can be productive in economic terms and remain in harmony with the environment we live in. What do you think, do you agree with the use of used fashion? Or do you prefer fashion production from environmentally friendly materials? Write your opinion in the comments column.
Also read: Average human carbon footprint
Source:
bloomberg.com
latimes.com