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Julia Jessop

Fast fashion harms workers, threatens environment

Updated: Mar 4, 2021

Fast fashion brands continue to grow in popularity, but the environmental effects are detrimental. According to EARTH.org “fast fashion is cheaply produced and priced garments that copy the latest catwalk styles and get pumped quickly through stores in order to maximize on current trends”. Fashion comprises 10 percent of total global carbon emissions, dries up water sources, pollutes rivers, and 85% of textiles go to the dump every year (EARTH.org). Fast fashion also contributes to the depletion of non renewable sources, transmission of

greenhouse gases, and the use of substantial amounts of energy and water. Forced child labor in foreign countries was also reported to yield the production of fast fashion. This is why sustainable clothing needs to

become the more sought after trend.

Sustainable clothing is made with more earth friendly materials like organic cotton, hemp, organic silk, and linen. Brands that produce sustainable clothing also follow eco-conscious business models, like only using renewable energy, or using recycled materials to ship products.


According to goodwear.com, sustainable fashion reduces the amount of water pollution, carbon emissions, and large amounts of waste. Sustainable brands also follow ethical work practices and produce higher quality products.


Major fast fashion companies are unethical and threaten humanity.


“Companies like Shein that profit off of the underpaid labor of sweatshops need to be something that the media is more concerned about. This needs to be stopped from a larger and more effective manner, like confronting the

company as a whole in a court of law style,” junior Lillian Acosta said.


Sustainable clothes are often more comfortable to some.

“I have clothing items that are sustainable and some that are from fast fashion companies, but I like to wear my sustainable clothes more because they are comfier than the fast fashion,” sophomore Hailey Becker said.


Although fast fashion is often the cheaper option, even the websites are unreliable in some cases.


“I bought clothes from Shein and my mom’s credit card

information was leaked to the dark web, so she had to get a new one,” freshman Zaydie Ladner said.

Although fast fashion might be cheaper and more trendy, it’s not the better option. The fashion industry causes mass pollution. Many popular brands are

sustainable like Patagonia, Reformation, and Athleta. Consumers can help reduce use of non-renewable resources through sustainable fashion.

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