Tamar Katz

Have you been inside a mall recently? Yesterday, I stepped inside a large department store, where there were endless racks of clothing. The amount of clothing was overwhelming, but somehow I was not drawn to anything. What stood out to me the most was that nothing actually stood out to me at all. Everything looked the same.

This is a growing issue in fashion: overproduction. Brands are producing massive amounts of nearly identical garments to keep up with new styles and trends. This results in too much inventory that is unsellable. Fast fashion’s culture of overproduction and disposable clothing has created massive environmental damage through textile waste, pollution, and carbon emissions. Customers refuse to buy the clothing that was trending six months ago, and inventory that brands cannot sell ends up on clearance racks. After they are continuously marked down or have been sitting on a rack for months, these pieces are discarded. These practices create massive amounts of waste, which lead to the destruction of our environment.

Fast fashion is a term used to describe high-volume, inexpensive, trendy clothing. In fact, many brands that teenagers buy from are fast fashion. These popular brands are cheap and easy to access.

Not only does overproduction contribute to this cause, but so does the massive textile waste that results from this issue. Most fast fashion garments are thrown out after only getting a single use. This is mainly because they are constructed poorly, causing destruction and breakage that is more expensive than the item itself to repair. This type of clothing is often prone to damage if the stitching is not well aligned and material is low quality. Some examples of these low quality materials are polyester, nylon, and spandex.

Polyester is a fabric created from plastic. It is a common, low-cost material to make clothes out of. When clothes containing polyester are washed in machines and sinks, tiny microplastics can be transferred into water and are difficult to remove from filters. This allows tiny particles of plastic to be transferred into large waterways. This pollution harms both humans and wildlife. We can consume these plastics which harm us and our ecosystem as they can potentially enter our food, water and can harm our health. In an article, Decoding microplastic shedding from cotton/polyester blends: An analysis through fiber identification it states,  “Once released, these particles enter aquatic systems, where they are ingested by marine organisms, potentially bioaccumulating in the food chain and posing risks to human health” (Zhang et al). This demonstrates how human health is at risk due to the production of fast fashion and the materials used to overproduce these garments.

However, this damage to our environment does not just end there, as most fast fashion pieces usually end up in landfills and waste piles. As the clothing disintegrates after long periods of time, toxic gasses can be expelled into the atmosphere as they release pollutants into the environment. Sometimes, discarded clothing is burned and disintegrated with chemicals, as the materials are not able to decompose on their own, furthering the pollution in the air. The environmental impact of fast fashion is undeniable, The Uniform Market States, “The industry now is responsible for 10% of the global annual carbon footprint” (The Uniform Market). This statistic shows just how serious this issue is and how it is affecting our environment.

Although fast fashion is easy to purchase, trendy and sold practically everywhere, the impact it has on our environment is impossible to escape from. The overproduction of clothing, massive waste and release of microplastics harm our environment. Consumers should begin to buy secondhand, purchase from ethical brands, and educate others about the effects of fast fashion. However, change in these practices requires stronger regulations surrounding the purchase of fast fashion and the unethical manufacturing techniques. We can change this issue by educating ourselves and having a greater awareness around buying clothes. This will lead our planet towards sustainable practices and creating a better future.

**Some brands I personally recommend are Quince, Everlane, Reformation and Pact.

Some places to secondhand buy your clothes are Depop, Poshmark, The Real Real, Vinted, and Rent the Runway.**