What is Fast-Fashion?
Over the last 20 years, there has been a significant drop in clothing prices, accompanied by a decrease in quality. This has made the ‘trend-cycle’ quicker as everyone can afford to purchase every new trend. Because everyone is wearing the same style items, it means trends becomes ‘unfashionable’ faster. The low prices, and societal pressure to keep up with the cycle have led to over-consumption and the vastly growing ‘fast-fashion’ industry has emerged. The purchase of clothing rose by 20% between 2012 and 2016, and is expected to rise 63% by 2030.
The Environmental Issues caused by the Fast-Fashion Industry
Due to the trend-cycle becoming quicker, the amount of textiles disposed of in household waste has risen to 921,000 tonnes. This is a major issue as the vast majority of fibres used are not biodegradable; instead of being recycled, 87% are incinerated or disposed of in landfill. Experts have estimated that the fashion industry is the cause of around 10% of all carbon emissions. The increase in production of garments to keep up with the trend-cycle has led to a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The fashion industry’s textile production has caused emissions equivalent to whole countries, such as France and the UK. As well as atmospheric pollution, the ocean is also being affected; The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently published in a report that the amount of non-biodegradable microfibers found in the ocean each year was equivalent to over 50 billion plastic bottles.
What Needs to be Done?
In 2019, the Environmental Agency issued a report with 18 recommendations to the UK government of ideas that should be implemented into the legal system, in order to counter the fashion industry’s environmental footprint. One recommendation was a ban on incinerating or disposing of clothes in landfill if they can be recycled. This would stop so many clothes from being incinerated and stop the mass production of textiles because clothing would be re-worked into new items instead. Another recommendation was that fashion retailers should be required to have a Sustainable Clothing Action Plan membership, run by the organisation WRAP. The plan’s goal is to reduce the environmental damage done by the fashion industry, but is currently only a voluntary membership, with 11 retailers taking part. If the government were to make this mandatory, it would force fashion brands into taking accountability and action to help save the environment. The government rejected all of the report’s recommendations.
In Sweden, they recently introduced a chemical tax on clothes, in France they recently passed an anti-waste law and, in the USA, if you donate clothing to charity organisations you can be eligible for tax deductions. Many countries seem to be acknowledging that change is a necessity; however, the UK government is not taking action. Legal repercussions need to be implemented for companies that do not produce and sell sustainably. Nonetheless, due to the financial pressure on retailers already following multiple lockdowns, it is unlikely the government will follow any recommendations or take inspiration from the countries mentioned.
The Environmental Agency report and the recent changes from Sweden, France and the USA demonstrate that a lot more could be implemented to promote sustainability in the fashion industry. It is essential the UK government takes the issue more seriously before it is too late to save the environment.
by Emily Rummey