How Your Purchase Patterns Affect Fast Fashion and How to Slow It Down
Fashion is fast becoming a problem. The way we shop is a major element of the problem. Since clothes are cheap and easily accessible, it’s not difficult to fall into the fad of always wearing a new item. From promoting sustainable brands to purchasing second-hand clothing, there are many ways to contribute.
Fashion is the well-known word used to describe creating and producing clothes quickly and inexpensively to stay on top of the most recent fashions.
Although the ease of use and cost of fast fashion might be attractive, it is important to know the negative impacts, including the following impacts of fast fashion on the environment.
The average person living in Australia buys 27kg of brand-new clothing and textile products every year, more than twice the average for all of the world.
The majority of clothing (60 60 percent) is made of polyester and synthetic fibres made which are made from fossil fuels.
According to the latest Statistics that were released in the year 2015-16, Australians delivered 304 million clothes to the landfill. This amounts to about 30kg for each person, which is enough for 930,000 rubbish trucks!
Just 15% of the textile waste is reused in Australia. The rest is sent to a landfill or is burned. The second largest polluting industry globally is fashion. The first one is oil.
How Consumer Behavior Affects Fast Fashion
Each time you purchase clothes, you are contributing to the need for more clothing. The more clothing that is in high demand and the higher demand for them, factories will make and the more quickly they’ll make them.
There are many motives for buying habits that are a major factor in fast fashion:
1.) People usually want to look fashionable. When an upcoming fashion comes out, it is expected that people will purchase it as soon as they can. This causes a huge demand for clothing, which leads factories to produce more clothing faster.
2.) Most people wear a piece of clothing a couple of times before throwing it away. it. This could be due to a lack of enjoyment of the design or is no longer fitting them. In any case, it is the constant demand for new clothing since the old ones are constantly getting tossed out.
3.) Clothes are usually cheap, making it possible to purchase new clothes regularly. Many stores offer sales that allow you to buy clothes for a fraction of the price. This will encourage shoppers to buy new clothes, rather than using their old clothes until they wear out.
The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment:
The production of synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester releases toxic chemicals into the environment, which pollute the air, water, and soil.
The cultivation of cotton produces a rapid environmental impact. Cotton is a highly water-intensive crop that requires lots of fertilisers and pesticides to develop. The chemicals that are used can be absorbed into the waterways and pollute them.
The process of making clothes requires a significant amount of resources and energy. It requires a lot of water in order to color fabric, and all the energy required to run factories can result in greenhouse gas emissions.
What Effects Does Fast Fashion Have on Employees?
In many instances, employees at fast fashion manufacturing receive less than the minimum wage and typically are required to work for long hours in order to just survive. This could lead to unsafe or unhealthy conditions for workers as well as the widespread exploitation of workers.
When you shop at fast fashion stores, can are contributing to a system that abuses workers and damages the environment. There are a few ways you can reduce the impact of fast fashion:
Buy from brands that are ethical and employ their employees fairly, and give them real wages
Purchase second-hand clothing instead of brand new ones
Support local businesses that make sustainable clothing
Conclusion
In the end, understanding what your shopping habits contribute to the fashion industry is crucial. By paying attention to the brands you trust and the fabrics used in the clothes you buy, it will aid in slowing down the rapid fashion industry while making more environmentally sustainable choices.