Fast Fashion – are things moving in the right direction?
As part of the May edition of last year’s environmental calendar we focussed on the many environmental challenges posed by fast fashion. This month we have a look at whether there are some positive signs of change in the fast fashion industry and what challenges it still faces.
An environmental and ethical minefield
Image: © OnlineClothingStudy.com
Whilst for many consumers, the availability of cheap and fashionable clothing may be seen as a good thing, the fast fashion industry is one that bears significant environmental and social costs. As discussed in last year’s environmental calendar, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions new clothing requires huge amounts of water to produce. This impact is then worsened by the ‘disposable’ culture within fast fashion that results in many of these clothes being thrown away.
Clothing at such a low cost also has implications for the people involved within its supply chain. The Clean Clothes Campaign states that;
“the fashion industry is built on poverty wages and sweatshop conditions.”
A recent report highlighted that factory workers for suppliers of fast-rising retailer Shein can often work up to 75 hours a week, meanwhile Boohoo came under scrutiny in 2020 following allegations of workers being underpaid and working in unsafe conditions in a Leicester factory. So how are companies and shoppers responding to the increasing availability of information about the downsides of fast fashion?
Signs of moving in the right direction
As time passes, the problems caused by the fashion industry have become harder and harder for shoppers to ignore. A recent report from US based fashion resaler ThredUP highlighted that 50% of fast fashion consumers believe that fast fashion is harmful to the environment. This is hardly surprising given that many younger shoppers, a key target market for fast fashion, identify climate change as an important issue to them. A recent UK survey of a sample of 16 to 24 year olds found that;
61% of participants have altered their spending habits to reduce their environmental impact.
Yet despite this, many people struggle to give up fast fashion with low prices and convenience cited by many shoppers as being the reason they keep coming back for more.
Clearly then some support is needed for shoppers in order to push them towards more sustainable habits. Among other factors the role of social media and TV can be significant influences for fast fashion consumers. Therefore, the announcement this month that Love Island will be partnering with Ebay this year to dress contestants in second-hand clothing could be seen as a positive step forward for a show that has become deeply entwined with fast fashion in previous years. Previously sponsored by fast fashion sites I Saw It First and Missguided, several Love Island contestants have subsequently gone onto to become social media influencers for companies such as Boohoo. Whilst it will remain to be seen what the long-term impact of this move by Love Island will be, it should be taken as a sign of encouragement that a show with such influence in fast fashion circles has taken such a step.
As well as TV shows and influencers, clothing companies themselves play a huge role in affecting customer behaviour. Although the recent introduction of charges on returns by companies such as Zara, Next and Uniqlo has been motivated by business concerns, it should also help disincentivise returns and help to remove some carbon emissions from the product cycle. Additionally, more companies are now looking to create more eco conscious clothing ranges with an emphasis on more sustainable sourcing and recycling of materials. However, whilst some of these companies continue to mass produce cheap clothing, any eco credentials should be treated with scepticism. The presence of fast fashion brands H&M and Primark in a Retail Week poll of shoppers’ top 5 sustainable brands would suggest that their strategies to market themselves as sustainable have been effective even if the environmental benefits are unclear.
More positive is the success that some fashion resale companies have had in recent years. The emergence of sites such as Vinted, Depop and ThredUP has greatly increased the convenience with which shoppers can view, compare, purchase and sell second-hand clothing. ThredUP predicts that the size of the US second-hand market is likely to double between 2021 and 2026. This offers encouragement that when companies are able to cater to people’s desire to shop sustainably then it is possible to shift people towards more environmentally friendly habits. However, there are signs that several significant challenges remain if fast fashion is to be consigned to the past altogether.
The emergence of a giant
One of the most notable fashion industry stories to emerge over the course of the pandemic has been the meteoric rise of Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein. Recently valued at $100 billion – that’s more than Zara and H&M combined – the fashion website has become renowned for the low cost of its clothes and the extremely high volume of new products that it makes available every day. On average, Shein releases an astonishing 6000 new lines daily which has helped to propel it from being relatively unknown to becoming one of the biggest fast fashion companies globally and the market share leader in the US fast fashion industry. This has happened despite a growing awareness of the environmental and ethical impacts of fast fashion – something that Shein would appear to have done little to address.
Hugely significant in the success of the company has been the role of social media. Videos with the hashtag #sheinhaul showing Tik Tok users showing off hundreds of pounds worth of clothes have received billions of views. With one in five fast fashion shoppers saying that they feel pressured by social media to keep up with the latest trends, it is hardly surprising that videos like these can have such an influence on consumers. Whilst some of the influencers who post these videos receive clothes for free, there are many others that utilise fashion hauls as a means to develop their own following and this further adds to the pressure felt by social media users to follow trends. This results in a situation where people are unable to resist the urge to continually refresh their wardrobe despite knowing the hidden costs associated. At the moment it seems to be working for companies like Shein.
What you can do
As discussed in last year’s environment calendar there are many ways you can help to reduce the impacts of fast fashion. The best way you can reduce your own environmental impact is ultimately by reducing the amount of clothing that you buy and making the most of the items you already have. In addition to this though recycling, reusing, reselling, renting and shopping more smartly all offer great ways to reduce your impact.
Also don’t be afraid of thinking about how you interact with social media. Whilst apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram can have a big influence in driving people towards fast fashion they can also be a great tool for highlighting to other users the negative impacts that fast fashion can have.
If you would like to learn more about the environmental impacts of Fast Fashion and what you can do to help, please visit our Fast Fashion page of our Environmental Calendar:
