Top 5 Ways Fast Fashion Contributes To Climate Change
Our thirst for fast fashion is a major cause of climate change, and the global fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. From manufacturing throw-away fashion and low-quality products to offering customers limitless free returns and using a significant amount of plastic packaging to do so, something needs to change!
As a sustainable fashion brand, we are on a mission to provide customers with green, eco-friendly alternatives to fast fashion. Yet, many designers worldwide still turn a blind eye when it comes to protecting Mother Nature. So, let’s take a look at 5 ways the fast fashion industry is still contributing to climate change.
1. Free Returns & Plastic Packaging
While the global pandemic certainly caught most retailers off-guard, it did trigger a dramatic increase in online shopping. In fact, consumers spent $861.12 billion online with U.S. merchants in 2020, a massive 44% increase from 2019, the highest annual e-commerce growth in two decades. Of course, this helped to keep clothing brands in business during such uncertain times, but this caused a sharp rise in plastic packaging supplies. When the fashion industry uses plastic bags, stickers, labels, and protective wrapping, this can be extremely wasteful and considerably impacts the environment. Since plastic is not biodegradable, it will likely end up in landfill sites, which can then be dumped into the ocean, killing marine animals or contaminating fish via micro-plastics.
As a sustainable fashion brand, we are mindful when it comes to waste and make every effort to reuse fabric scraps, and always choose 100% recycled materials for our packaging needs.
2. Harsh Chemicals & Dyes
To manufacture garments rapidly, many fast fashion companies don’t invest time or energy into developing sustainable processes. So, rather than use eco-friendly and natural fabric dyes, they contribute to water pollution by using toxic and chemical dyes on synthetic materials such as polyester. This poses a severe risk to our health, and when you consider that around 9 trillion liters of water are used every single year to dye and manufacture fast fashion, it’s clear that we can’t keep churning out clothes like this. The more we buy, and the more wasteful we become as consumers, the more we all are contributing to climate change!
Wastewater containing toxic substances such as lead, mercury, and arsenic can cause harm to marine life and poison anyone who relies on this water source to live. When water becomes contaminated, a lot of energy is needed to treat it, leading to more carbon emissions. At Fite Fashion, we only use natural materials and avoid sourcing fabrics that have been treated with harsh chemical dyes.
3. Logistical Nightmares
Consumers now expect to be able to buy something online and receive it the very next day, which creates a challenge for sustainable fashion brands. Offering fast delivery locally, country-wide, or internationally will mean increasing your carbon footprint, yet fail to do so could mean losing out on potential customers.
According to recent data, the global apparel and footwear industry produced more greenhouse gases than France, Germany, and the UK combined in 2018, and this figure could rise to 2.7 billion tonnes a year by 2030. Sustainable fashion brands must work hard to avoid unnecessary shipping and commuting to bring this figure down before style, and new season must-have items cost us our future.
4. Deforestation
The next time you head out to buy another white t-shirt or little black dress, consider a sustainable fashion brand that offers environmentally friendly materials. The fast fashion industry is highly destructive, and the production of synthetic materials means large-scale deforestation. Fabrics derived from plant pulp or rubber, viscose, and lyocell often undergo chemically intensive manufacturing and require a huge amount of plants and trees to produce. Even cotton can be a culprit for deforestation, so the next time you’re in the market for a new outfit, look out for silk and wool blends, Tencel, cupro, and other eco-friendly materials. At Fite Fashion, we use cupro, a fabric created using leftover waste from the cotton industry. In doing this, we aim to minimize waste and reuse fabrics and materials that are a byproduct of the fashion industry. Cupro is breathable and as soft as silk on the skin.
5. Supply Chain Misconduct
Many brands claiming to be sustainable fashion brands fail to do their homework in regards to their suppliers. To attract environmentally conscious fashionistas, they minimize waste, offer eco-friendly packaging, and don’t use animal products, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that their supply chain is eco-conscious too.
While a brand can be actively minimizing its carbon footprint, the manufacturer they work with could be using chemical dyes, plastic packaging and be involved in large-scale deforestation. It is really down to the consumer to become more conscious of how they shop online and search for genuinely sustainable fashion brands who do everything they can to protect the planet and its inhabitants. A dramatic shift in consumer behavior will hopefully pressure the fashion industry to do more to regulate the industry and reduce its impact on climate change.
Read more about Fite Fashion’s commitment to sustainability and check out our list of sustainable practices.