Table of contentsFast fashion: argumentative essayEffects of fast fashionEnvironmental issuesSocial problemsWhat can be done?ConclusionWorks citedFast fashion: argumentative essayIn recent years, the industry fashion has seen a dramatic shift towards a new industry model known as fast fashion. With this recent change, we must ask ourselves what is the true cost of this fast fashion industry? In a world of growing concern for environmentalism and social justice, we need to examine the industries we interact with on a daily basis, including the fashion industry. Fast fashion has negative impacts on both the environment and human rights, calling for a re-examination of a flawed system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay However, the fashion industry has not always operated with this model. As recently as the 1960s, the United States manufactured 90% of our clothing. However, today, we only manufacture 3% of the clothes we buy in the United States. This drastic decrease in the production of locally made clothing over the past few decades is due to a change in the fashion industry. This change is known as fast fashion. Fast fashion has transformed an industry that once had 2-4 seasons into one that now has 52 seasons per year. There has been an increase in the number of products produced. Big brands like Forever 21, H&M, Gap, Topshop and Zara are all leading brands in the fast fashion industry. The real question is, what is this fast fashion industry leading to? Effects of Fast Fashion Due to the export of labor, the manufacturing costs of clothing, and therefore the prices of clothing, have decreased significantly. This decrease in both material quality, craftsmanship, and price has led to several things, including the consumer's ability to easily obtain a garment at a cheap price. Because the cost is so low, the consumer is willing to forgo the quality of the material and will purchase a $5 shirt knowing they will only wear it a few times. “Zara estimates that its clothes are only worn seven times and to meet this demand, it creates two new lines every week” (Taplin, 2014). These cheap clothes lead to poor quality materials that will eventually tear. While Zara estimates only seven garments, many other fashion brands openly estimate that their garments will not last more than ten washes, meaning that after this period the fabric will fall apart due to the poor quality of the materials used . However, consumers seem happy with this due to the current model of the fashion industry. They are encouraged to frequent clothing stores every ten to fourteen days, which corresponds to the frequency of clothing delivery times. Environmental Issues Due to their low cost and poor quality of materials used, many of these garments are thrown away, usually after a year or two. buy them. This has led to a considerable increase in the number of textiles going to landfill. The average American throws away 82 pounds of textile waste each year. More than 11 million tons of textile waste sent to landfills comes from the United States alone. Most of these textiles are not biodegradable and will sit in landfills, releasing harmful chemicals for hundreds of years. Some people might think that donating clothes to charity orThrift stores could be a viable option rather than throwing their clothes into landfills. While this is a good option, many thrift stores are overwhelmed by the amount of clothes donated, usually only 10% of clothes donated to thrift stores are actually sold. The rest of the clothes are often shipped to other countries like Haiti. Haiti once had a booming economy, centralized in the sewing industry. Cheap clothing is now being shipped to Haiti, as well as other third world countries, and in some cases this has almost caused their economies to collapse. Haiti's sewing business, which formed the main basis of their income and economy, has become essentially obsolete. As a result, many people became factory workers to produce cheaper clothing. The consumption habits of first world countries ultimately have negative and lasting impacts on third world countries who must pay the true cost of our overconsumption. To change focus, the fast fashion industry is not only harmful to the environment in the quantity sold and but it is also the second largest polluting industry in the world, after the oil industry. Not to mention the harmful chemicals used to grow cotton, a material used in many clothing items. The cotton used in many clothes is often sprayed with harmful pesticides. The application method is widespread and farmers often simply spray the entire field. This use of pesticides has a huge ecological impact which can contaminate local soil and drinking water. These fertilizers and pesticides are known as green narcotics, meaning the more you use them, the more you need them. Monsanto is one of the largest seed companies in the world. Monsanto genetically modifies cotton seeds and will sell the seeds to farmers. These seeds have been redesigned to accept more chemicals. This BT cotton has a gene inserted from a bacteria that produces a toxin and is intended to fight parasites on its own, which is the huge selling point of Monsanto's seeds. Monsanto has a seed monopoly and is able to sell these genetically modified seeds at high prices, up to 17,000% more. However, many farmers will purchase these seeds in hopes of reducing their costs associated with pesticide use. Seeds do not deliver on their pest control promises, leading to increased pesticide use. Interestingly, Monsanto also makes pesticides used to treat plants, leading many people to believe that this system is corrupt. Monsanto also owns companies that develop very expensive drugs for sick people. Quite suspiciously, there is a correlation between pesticide use and disease. Punjab is the largest user of pesticides in India and most of the cotton is grown in this region. Dr. Pritpal Singh studies the effects of pesticides on human health. In this region where pesticides are widely used, there is an increase in the number of birth defects, cancers and mental illnesses. In each village, seventy to eighty children suffer from some form of mental retardation and physical disability due to pesticide toxicity. Poor farmers are increasingly in debt because they have to buy seeds from Monsanto at high prices every year and buy more seeds. and more pesticides, many farmers resort to suicide. AtOver the past sixteen years, more than 250,000 suicides have been recorded in India due to fashion industry debts. This represents one farmer every thirty minutes and constitutes the largest wave of suicides recorded in history. . Bangladesh has become the second largest clothing exporter after China, mainly due to its ability to produce clothing at lower costs. These cheap clothes, however, come at a significant cost, including low wages, factory disasters, and poor working conditions. There are currently 40 million garment workers working. 85% of these workers are women and many are paid less than $3 per day. These workers are among the lowest paid people in the world, sometimes earning as little as $10 a month. In a $3 trillion-a-year industry, it is shocking and outrageous that these workers earn such low wages. In addition to the low wages these workers face, many also face poor working conditions. Workers are often surrounded by harmful chemicals that they are forced to breathe in daily. They work long hours in buildings that can sometimes be unhealthy. These conditions often lead to disasters in fashion industry factories. On April 24, 2013, an 8-story garment factory at Rana Plaza collapsed, killing 1,127 workers, most of them young women. It is one of the worst industrial disasters in history. In the previous decade, there were more than 800 factory deaths in Bangladesh alone. 100 of these deaths occurred in the year preceding the Rana Plaza accident. With cost minimization, many shortcuts are being cut, including when it comes to security. In an industry where factory owners must outbid each other to make clothing, it's important to understand that worker safety is too often compromised. 10% of seats in Parliament are occupied by factory owners in Bangladesh. With this political connection, it is no wonder that so many corners are knowingly cut and the government is unwilling to take responsibility and regulate the factories. The fact is, unless we decrease the demand for clothing made in factories. will continue to expand their resources, generally at the expense of workers. “You can't have the corporate name department saying that overtime in factories must be kept at reasonable levels, and then the purchasing department demanding delivery of 10,000 pink blouses in a week” (Taplin , 2014). In order to ensure fair wages and working conditions, the current model of the fashion industry must change to ensure workers are treated fairly. Benjamin Powell argues, however, that sweatshops are part of the process that raises living standards and will allow workers to acquire higher wages and better working conditions over time. Kate Ball Young, former purchasing manager at Joe Fresh, says the situation for these workers could be much worse. Workers choose from a poor set of options. She asserts that “there is nothing inherently dangerous about sewing clothes.” Although these workers are actually choosing from a poor set of options, it is important to realize that we can offer them a better option. As previously noted, there are 40 million garment workers working today. We have the capacity to offer 40 million people a good option, not just a bad optionamong many other bad ones. Others argue that if we do not export to these developing countries, many people will become unemployed and starve. So we're doing them a favor by making them work in sweatshops, right? Fake. The argument is not necessarily to stop exporting to developing countries because that would ruin their economies. The argument is to provide fair working conditions for the people who make the clothes we wear every day. This is their basic human right and it is our duty to ensure that their human rights are not violated. What can we do? Which brings us to the question: whose fault is fast fashion? This isn't necessarily about blame, but rather about shining a light on the role we all play in the fashion industry. Some might say that companies that export to developing countries are to blame, but the fact is that many of the factories they contract with subcontract with other unlicensed factories to meet demand. So it could be the fault of the factory owners, after all, they are the ones putting workers in these conditions. However, factory owners are simply trying to keep up with the large orders placed on them. The consumer is the one who demands these clothes. If we, as consumers, were more aware and knew where our clothes come from and the processes they go through, perhaps fast fashion would not have such an impact on the global environment and human rights. the man. In a study of young consumers in Hong Kong and Canada, it was found that although these young people are often environmentally conscious, they do not associate sustainability with fashion (Annamma, 2012). What other options do consumers have? Luxury brands are a viable option because they often focus on the quality and craftsmanship of the product. However, many people cannot afford this alternative. Another alternative is ethical fashion. The biggest downside to ethical fashion is style, usually offering lots of basic t-shirts and jeans and not much else. To get consumers to buy ethically, you need to appeal to their desires. Another method is the politics of guilt which requires consumers to be considered responsible in their fashion purchases by their peers and by society as a whole (Beard, 2008). While having this information about fast fashion is vital, it's worthless if we don't. something to change it. So what can we do? The simplest thing we can do is buy less. When we buy things, we need to be smarter shoppers and seek out ethical fashion. We need to take responsibility for ourselves and ask ourselves if the clothes we buy are sustainable and if they will still be in fashion in a few months. This will ensure that the clothes we buy will be worn for years to come. We need to make sure we only buy what we need and will wear. Even if we buy the most sustainable and ethical clothing in the world, if we don't wear it, those materials will still be wasted. Don't throw away old clothes. Try finding fun ways to reuse old clothes, like turning them into rags or deconstructing and rebuilding a new piece. Finally, we can wash our clothes less. When we wash the clothes we have only when we need them, it helps the garment last longer. Additionally, 80% of a garment's total energy consumption comes from :, 1(1), 97-110.