Effects of Fast Fashion
Written by: Danya Almoghrabi
Fast fashion is a controversial world-wide business. There are many fast fashion brands like Forever 21, Zara, H&M, etc. Basically, they are clothing companies that renew their clothing very quickly, specifically every one or two weeks. They lower their clothing prices by using cheaper material in order to create more products and sales. Although it may seem like fast fashion is an irrelevant topic, it has many negative externalities towards the economy and the environment. People should stop or reduce their purchases of fast fashion clothing in order to improve our economy and environment.
Fast Fashion Brands
Many costs are put into the fast fashion industry. With more products being made and more technology being used, they cause pollution that negatively affects the environment we are living in. According to EcoWatch, “The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world ... second only to oil”. This proves how bad fast fashion companies really are. These companies create what is called “sweatshops” that consist of underpaid workers, usually oversees, that are put to work in harsh conditions for people to wear. Many consumers are unaware of how poorly these workers are being treated. 
Example of a Sweatshop
Additionally, there are economical disadvantages of shopping at fast fashion stores. Although “Americans carry over $800 billion in credit card debt”, many continue to regularly shop, increasing that debt even more. Brands like Zara earn a yearly revenue of about 19.7 billion which only a small fraction goes to their workers producing the clothes (Josephson).
Think about where your clothing is from and how it was made. Almost everyone is a contributor to fast fashion companies. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the real costs of fast fashion. One solution is to thrift shop instead of shop at fast fashion stores. This reduces waste of unworn clothing. Another solution is to buy designer items. Although this may be unrealistic for many, buying fewer, well-made items last much longer than cheaply-made clothing.
Waste Produced by the Fast Fashion Industry
The clothing supply of fast fashion companies is very high compared to designer brands which produces much more waste. The demand for the fast fashion clothing should decrease, while the demand for thrifted and designer items should increase to improve our economy and environment. Consumers need to rethink their opportunity costs and educate themselves on this topic in order to lessen the negative externalities of this industry.
Josephson, Amelia. "The Economics of Fast Fashion." SmartAsset. N.p., 27 Nov. 2015. Web. 08 Jan. 2017.
EWContributor. "Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big Oil." EcoWatch. N.p., 02 Oct. 2016. Web. 08 Jan. 2017.
Although I agree that the negative effects of fast fashion are very harmful towards the environment and that we should make an effort to shop less at these types of stores, it may be hard to do. The solution you brought up about shopping at thrift stores is a good idea as those clothes typically are a cheap price as well, good items can be hard to find at these kinds of stores. This causes some people to believe that the opportunity cost of shopping at thrift stores since it takes longer to find pieces may be too high for them. This then causes them to continue to shop at fast fashion stores because they believe it is easier for them. I believe though that thrift stores should be promoted even more because if more people shop at them, it will help improve our environment.
ReplyDeleteIn today's world, every person has a zeal to update themselves, this mainly includes technology and clothing. Lot of people get frustrated on the cause of not being an up-to date person, they spend most of their income to buy these updated products or fast fashion clothes. The urge of demand gives a big advantage to these clothing stores because when they renew their clothes, they know consumers are going to buy their goods no matter what. As the demand increases, the price will increase which inturn increases the producer surplus. The problem is that these companies are not thinking about the environment, instead they are thinking to make profits. They could at least donate the clothes to organizations, so that the would be used in some or other way, but I guess companies thinks its unnecessary. Overall, it is surprising on how the clothing industry contributes to the pollution.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who buys a majority of their clothing online from Asos or other brands, I never realized that these types of companies were known as fast fashion. Although the new types of clothing are exciting for consumers, the use of sweatshops comes at a great opportunity cost. I was quite surprised when Zara went into this category, because I always thought of it as a more expensive brand (similar to Topshop or Urban Outfitters). It is quite interesting, that many of the brands we perceive to be of high quality actually fit into "fast fashion". Going into the future, I think I will keep all this in mind, but I don't know if I would stop buying clothing from such stores. I've known about sweatshop for a long time, but that hasn't affected the choices I make for clothing. I buy what I like. Although I would love to buy all my clothes from Urban, I just don't have the money to do so. I guess, for some people changing the brands they buy from is a viable solution, but for me, I would still continue to buy from such stores since that is what I'm used to and what I can afford, for the most part that is. I mean, I'll still buy clothes from Topshop, just maybe not my entire wardrobe.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but Urban Outfitters and Topshop are also considered fast fashion brands! This proves just how difficult it is to eliminate the fast fashion industry.
DeleteI have to agree with you Danya on the effect of fast fashion. It is harming the economy plus hurting those involved in production of the clothing. Also other brands could be harmed by the idea of fast fashion, thus giving monopoly to the fast fashion brands. With thrift shoping you can find somthing you like for much less thus removing money from these brands.
ReplyDeleteWhile the concept of having people buy more designer brands and do more thrift shopping would have beneficial effects, it would be a difficult goal to reach. Personally, I believe that eliminating or reducing the fast fashion industry would be a forward step; however, there are several brands that are simply more affordable for many people. Which, unfortunately, keeps up the demand for their products. On the other hand, people who cannot easily afford designer clothes could always look into thrift stores.
ReplyDeleteI buy the majority of my clothes at the stores listed, but I did not know how much the environment is impacted by the clothes. I also did not know how much clothes goes to waist and how baldly the people who make the clothes are treated. There is high pressure from peers to always have the newest fashion. I liked your idea about buying used clothes instead of new cheap ones. Then people can buy good quality clothes for less money. I also did not know that designer clothes doesn't get wasted as much, but unfortunately not everyone can afford to buy these. Although I know all these facts now I would still buy my clothes at these companies, because I can't afford to buy designer clothes. I will go to thrift stores more often and try to think more about what I buy.
ReplyDeleteI buy a large amount of my clothes from main stream stores like the ones that were listed. I was completely unaware of the environmental risks that the clothes I wear cause for our world. Along with that, I did have some idea about what sweatshops are, but I never thought of it as a harmful thing. I will have to think more in depth about these things the next time i shop for clothes.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that some of these stores were considered fast fashion. I personally try to avoid some of these stores due to the quality of the material. Many are probably attracted to the trendy looks that they are able to obtain at a low price. Do you think it would help our economy if we got rid of these stores? This might negatively impact it, because some can't afford the designer brands and others don't like wearing the thrift clothing. Then, those people are kind of stuck.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that these bigger clothing stores produce more negative effects environmentally makes a lot of sense once you think about it. To lower their prices for the public they need to lower the cost to produce these products. So these companies revert back to cheaper options overseas where sweatshops are very common since people will work for way less money. The designer products are manufacturing in better working environment, costing them more money, and bumping up their prices. I wish I was able to buy the designer products or environmentally friendly companies products, however these products are more expensive. What we would need is these big clothing producers to keep stop going overseas and keep their manufacturers in the states, so it would force them to compete with each other. This way their could be somewhat affordable clothing, while keeping the environment in consideration.
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ReplyDeleteAwesome article, Thanks for sharing!
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