Fast Fasion Rant

Hello Spacehey,

I wanted to ramble about the issues with fast fashion, since I see way too many “alternative” people purchasing clothes and accessories from places like SHEIN.

Disclaimer: I'm using SHEIN as an example because it is very well known and commonly bought from. Other fast fashion companies include H&M, Zara, ROMWE, Temu, Fashion Nova, Forever 21, Hot Topic, and many others. Feel free to ask if a certain brand is fast fashion, because there are a lot people don't realize!

Disclaimer #2: buying fast fashion clothing items SECONDHAND is NOT problematic. This way you aren't supporting the company, you're only reusing clothing!

I’m dividing this into 3 parts, my explanation, alternatives to buying fast fashion, and sources.

The Issue:

I’m mainly going to be talking about the environmental impacts, because it seems everyone already knows about the cruel labor practices, and those who continue to purchase from these companies anyway just don’t care enough. This is something that will affect you too. The combination of pollution, carbon emissions, and water use from fast fashion companies greatly contribute to the many environmental issues we are facing today. The rapid overconsumption and disposal of these products allows the industry to grow and produce more. By buying mass-produced clothes with synthetic fibers, you are contributing to the pollution of our earth (polyester doesn’t break down guys), as well as helping us use up our non-renewable resources. Fast fashion is easily avoidable and I highly dislike the people who blame their consumption of it on cost. I’m in a low-income family and don’t have easy access to thrift stores, and I have never once thought about buying from SHEIN. 

Alternatives:

Buy your clothes secondhand. We have enough clothes in the world to dress the next 6 generations. If thrifting is available to you, it is cheaper than SHEIN, and wow reduce reuse recycle! Most of my clothes were gifted to me by friends, deadass. If you want cooler clothes you can DIY your own out of thrifted pieces, or if you have a bit of money, you can buy from crafty etsy or depop sellers (depop is also pretty inexpensive depending on where you live). I don’t wanna hear “I can’t do DIY, I’m disabled,” girl me too, you’ve got other options as well but I think y’all are expecting some extravagant ahh stuff. Most of the clothes I’ve DIY’d have literally only needed pieces of clothing and scissors. I can give you a pinterest board if you want. I believe in you.

Ps: the alt subcultures are literally about individuality. Don’t buy into “trending” alternative clothes, that's just some bs. Overconsumption isn’t very punk of you diva

Sources/statistics:

“If half the items bought in the UK were second hand it would save 12.5 BILLION kilograms of CO2 created by making new clothes from entering the atmosphere. This is the equivalent of 261,000 flights from London Heathrow to Athens or a plane flying around the world more than 17,000 times.” (Oxfam)

"A more responsible consumption pattern—keeping products in use and moderating acquisition of new items—would increase retention of their value, slow the flow of resources, and reduce waste, promoting greater sustainability." (Bocken et al., 2016) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2019.101950

“The industry is responsible for 4.0% to 8.6% of the world’s global greenhouse gas footprint — greater than the footprints of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined — according to consulting firm McKinsey. Fashion also comprises up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output, more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.” (Kaplan 2023) www.practicalecommerce.com/can-fast-fashion-ever-be-sustainable 

“Fast fashion is the second-largest polluter of clean water after agriculture globally. The fashion industry accounts for 17-20% of the world's wastewater.” (World Bank)

“100 billion cubic meters of water is required annually for farming and manufacturing processes, in order to make clothing and textile products.” (UNECE)