For about fifty-five years, a significant fashion chain, called “fast fashion,” dominated half the world with its misdirected “perfect, life-changing solution,” an unreliable perspective for the fashion industry. The fashion industry displays environmentally disturbing and harmful procedures. For example, the production procedures deteriorate and alter the cycle of life, human rights, jobs, environmental accessibilities, and resources, and the health of people/workers. With this being stated, is fast fashion worth producing, or is it a lie to trick people into dominating the world with harmful acts?
Fast fashion is considered a reliable innovation because of its constant shift in direction with trends, procedures, and high-quality products; however, small parts of the world are destroyed with each action. For example, since fast fashion requires cotton, polyester, nylon, acrylic, and any inexpensive, synthetic materials, the majority of environmental resources are utilized like water, power, hard labor, chemicals, and energy; which can all impact the world negatively, and as a result, the environment would be teemed and surrounded by carbon emissions, pollution, water scarcity, waste, microplastics, and the lack of effort/motivation for jobs. Additionally, fast fashion is the second largest consumer of water, as Rashmila Maiti states, “The industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.” One action alone causes environmental issues regardless of the other probabilities. If this single action has a devastating impact, then all the different actions combined can drastically damage the environment and people.
Furthermore, as problems accumulate and dominate the world, the amount of space and access to success will be slimmed, leading to an economic depression for humans, animals, and profits/wages. However, since there is always an opening for greatness, the effects can be reduced slowly but generously by caring for the environment: shopping less, buying better quality products, reusing and recycling more, cautiously thinking beforehand, selling or offering unwanted products to trustworthy companies, shopping locally through second-hand stores or swapping with a friend, and overall reducing the amount of excessive clothing bought. These actions offer great pros for both people and the world because as clothes are bought through small brands or people, generosity is expanded, leaving others appreciated and confident for his/her’s future.
One way people can restrict the amount of damage caused by fast fashion is through generosity and care, which unfortunately utilizes and tests patience. However, it is a pro for the economy. As stated before, there are several opportunities people can resist and participate in to nurture and respect the world. The two most important ways are cautiously examining and thinking about actions while slowly reducing the amount of clothing bought. These actions not only help the environment, but they slowly straighten out habits like shopaholic addictions. Additionally, as Ngan Le states, “By analyzing the root causes of the problem, the next steps are easier to understand as we connect the dots and create solutions” All challenges and cons of fast fashion are easily avoidable and offer extraordinary benefits, especially once one realizes the great harm the process of fast fashion produces.
Briefly, fast fashion is degrading the environment, as well as putting multiple surroundings at risk, however, the action and process are easily avoidable as everyone alters his/her ways and allows the environment to breathe happily and healthily while offering substitutional ways.
