Don’t miss out on the sale!
6기 장윤설
You’ve probably heard of
or seen similar phrases in your life. If there’s a $15 and $150 shirt, which
one would you buy? For most people, they would pick the cheaper one. They would
wear it for few months or perhaps 1-2 years, throw it away, and buy a new one
to stay with the trend. Now is the era of fast fashion.
Fast fashion
Fast fashion depicts the
highly profitable business model, which focuses on rapid production and
distribution of clothing. This method allows customers to purchase the latest
trendy products at a lower price than famous brands and remain fashionable. As
a result, clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000, and people bought
60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000.
It’s
cheaper. Isn’t it better?
Due to the cost-effectiveness of fast fashion
clothes, the threat the fashion industry poses to the environment has
aggravated. The fashion industry is the world’s second-largest consumer of
water supply. Every year, the dyeing process consumes enough water to fill 2
million Olympic-sized swimming pools. 500,000 tons of microfibres, equivalent
to 50 billion plastic bottles, are released into the ocean each year. In 2017,
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that 35% of
microplastics in the ocean are derived solely from the laundry. The clothing
industry is also responsible for 10% of carbon emissions, which is more than
those emitted from the flight industry. Polyester (plastic), found in 60% of
garments, releases two to three times more carbon than other materials and is
not biodegradable.
The
fashion industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than those that come
from aviation (Credit: Getty Images/Alamy/Javier Hirschfeld)
Cotton,
the water killer
Though it is difficult to identify all of the
inputs of clothing production, the UN has rough estimates. One shirt requires
350 grams of cotton. That is equivalent to 700 gallons of water, a sufficient
amount of water for one individual to drink at least eight cups a day for 3.5
years. One pair of jeans necessitates one kilogram of cotton. That is 2,000
gallons of water, enough water for one person to drink eight cups of water per
day for ten years.
Growing
the cotton needed for a single pair of jeans requires a huge amount of water,
while dying and manufacturing processes use yet more (Credit: Getty
Images/Javier Hirschfeld)
No more
‘Toxic fashion’
As these problems gain recognition, many
fashion industries have shifted their focus to providing sustainable products.
For instance, Patagonia, one of the leading sustainable fashion brands,
recently launched the “Recrafted Collection” in November 2020. This collection
takes a part of Patagonia’s Worn Wear’s campaign by designing garments from
discarded clothes that could not be sold or repaired. Products of this
collection consist of more than 68% recycled and organic materials.
Patagonia’s
“Recrafted Collection”
Another forefront of this trend is a vegan
fashion brand called “SAVE THE DUCK.” As its name suggests, this brand is 100%
animal and cruelty-free: no usages of
raw materials that cause land degradation, the death of animals, or water
pollution. Instead, the company consumes recycled plastic bottles, eco-friendly
fur and develops in-house filler materials.
Despite all these efforts, sustainable fashion
encountered a major problem: price. It’s inevitable that eco-friendly products
are more expensive than normal products. If products don’t satisfy customers’
needs, they are no longer profitable and the production of sustainable fashion
will eventually stop. To combat this issue, it is crucial that individuals and
industries participate in upcycling campaigns.
A final
note
In a consumerist society, we formulate goals
by acquiring goods. This unsustainable method of living depletes natural
resources and pollutes the planet. While the social stigma of buying and
disposing of garments after every micro season to stay on trend remains, let’s
all attempt to make an era of eco-friendly fashion. Check your wardrobes first
before shopping.
Citations
3https://news.joins.com/article/23925952
4https://www.donga.com/news/Culture/article/all/20200909/102849903/1
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