What can we do to prevent fast fashion?

Many influencers on many social media platforms have intentionally or unintentionally promoted fast fashion products while reviewing their preferred fashion choices, and this somehow increased the popularity of fast fashion brands. Fast fashion is quickly entering the fashion business, which is alarming because it does significant harm to both people and the environment. Therefore, we as consumers who are indirectly involved in it must take action to stop the growth of fast fashion so that we will not be a part of damaging the living creatures as it may eventually have an impact on us in the future.

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What can we do to stop Fast Fashion?

Buy less

This can be accomplished by going through your old wardrobe and attempting to rediscover your passion for the clothing you once possessed, such as via "Do It Yourself" (DIY) styling. You can watch a number of videos to obtain inspiration on how to change up your wardrobe and make it appear better and more beautiful.

Choose high-quality

Avoid using textiles like rayon and polyester since they are short-lived. Instead, opt for durable, soft, and breathable materials like cotton, linen, and leather because they last longer. Looking for the tag or asking the retailer will let you know what the product is made of.

Buy second-hand

Visiting thrift or charity stores is a great way to lessen the effect of fast fashion. If you are unable to visit physical stores, many may post their available stock on their website for online buying. Additionally, you might trade clothes with friends or look up nearby clothing swap events. This is an affordable and environmentally friendly way for refreshing your wardrobe.

Make it last

This means that we should take good care of our clothing by following the care instructions that are typically included on the tag, wearing it until it is completely worn out, fixing it if possible, and then responsibly discarding it when it has served its purpose.

Why is Fast Fashion unacceptable?

Cause pollution

The environmental effects of fast fashion are significant. Environmental corners are more likely to be cut as a result of the drive to decrease costs and accelerate production. The use of inexpensive, hazardous textile dyes, a byproduct of fast fashion, makes it one of the worst worldwide pollutants of pure water, right up there with agriculture. Greenpeace has been putting pressure on manufacturers to get rid of hazardous chemicals from their supply chains through its campaigns for "detoxing" fashion over the years.

Harm the environment

The influence of rapid fashion is further increased by cheap textiles. One of the most often used fabrics is polyester. It comes from fossil fuels, contributes to global warming, and when cleaned, can release tiny fibres that increase the amount of plastic in our oceans. The scale required by quick fashion, however, can make even "natural" fibres problematic. Pesticides and a lot of water are needed to grow conventional cotton in underdeveloped nations. As a result, there are increased dangers of drought, high stress on water basins, and resource competition between businesses and local populations.

Worker exploitation

Fast fashion has a human cost in addition to environmental costs. Fast fashion has an influence on garment workers who are deprived of basic human rights, labour in hazardous conditions, and earn inadequate wages. The documentary "The True Cost" brought attention to the suffering of farmers farther down the supply chain who may operate with harmful chemicals and cruel practices that can have severe effects on their physical and mental health.

Prediction

A significant source of greenhouse gas emissions is fast fashion. By 2050, the total global carbon emissions from our apparel might reach 26% if the demand for fast fashion keeps growing at its current rate. To put this into perspective, we currently emit 10% more carbon dioxide from producing apparel globally than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. 220 million tonnes of CO2 are produced by cotton farming alone. The carbon footprint of clothing is therefore predicted to more than double in just 32 years (or even increase if the fast fashion business continues to dominate clothing consumption)

Final Thoughts

The question everyone had been asking is will fast fashion ever end? The answer to that is yes. Data indicates that as our awareness of the environment grows, so does our desire to purchase sustainable goods. Customers have forced businesses to assess their work policies and contributions to the environment crisis. According to a 2015 survey, 66% of consumers worldwide were willing to spend more for garments that was made with more sustainable materials. But it's difficult to tell whether that's actually taking place on a large scale, especially given the continued dominance of fast-fashion businesses.