From Fast Fashion to Slow Fashion!
· STEAMRS By Dreamers
What is fast fashion?
- Clothes are produced as cheaply as possible
- High turnover: several fashion trends per season
- Production in low-wage countries
- Often environmentally unfriendly production
- Even expensive clothing can be fast fashion!
How did the current fast fashion industry emerge?
We earn more and spend more money on clothes
In Europe, the percentage of income spent on clothing has risen from 2 – 5% of disposable income to 10 – 15% of disposable income.
We are constantly tempted and influenced to make purchases online
More frequent sales and special offers in stores
Until 1984, the Netherlands had a law restricting sales that stipulated that sales could be held no more than twice a year, for 19 days each, following the summer and winter collections. Since the repeal of the law restricting sales (a maximum of two sales per year) in 1984, stores have been allowed to offer special low prices all year round, and consumers have become accustomed to low clothing prices.
The current fashion industry
Today, most of the fashion on offer consists of fast fashion products. Trends change at lightning speed, and fashion brands frequently replace their (cheap) collections. Since 2000, our clothing consumption has more than doubled. On average, a single item of clothing is worn only seven times. The rapidly changing fashion industry fuels our desire as consumers to wear “something new” all the time and keep up with the latest fashion trends.Fast fashion clothing is often poor quality
The big fashion chains care about only one thing: profit! Their profits depend on our desire to wear new clothes. So why not encourage that desire a little? Major chains produce hundreds of millions of garments every year. The sooner these clothes wear out, the sooner we’ll be back in the store to buy new ones. With textiles that have to be made ever more cheaply, quality is the first thing we sacrifice.
The conditions under which fast fashion clothing is produced are often problematic. Around 47 million people work in the clothing industry worldwide, 85% of them women. Much of the clothing is made in sweatshops in low-wage countries under appalling conditions. Most garment workers do not earn a living wage, resulting in inhumane working weeks. In Asian garment factories, seamstresses often work 60 to 90 hours a week.
The environmental impact of fast fashion is enormous
Producing one cotton T-shirt requires 2,500 liters of water and 20 cl of chemicals. A pair of jeans requires 7,000 liters of water. Global cotton production uses 22.5% of all insecticides and 10% of all pesticides used worldwide. Production takes place on a massive scale and at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, much of this production remains unsold. Of the 950 million garments that entered the Dutch market in 2020, 790 million were sold. That means 160 million garments remained unsold, representing wasted resources. This figure is expected to rise further because of fast fashion.
Fast fashion clothing is often thrown away
In the Netherlands, we throw away 235 million kilos of textiles every year, of which only 28 kg (2018) ends up in thrift stores. Of the 40 garments each person in the Netherlands gets rid of every year, 24 go to waste.
Slow fashion is on the rise!
How can you become a more conscious consumer? It starts with educating yourself, doing your research and, above all, being open to change. Buy sustainable and ethically made clothing! Buy locally, buy secondhand and buy from independent designers. If we do this, we can make a difference together. Slow fashion is on the rise, and its “stodgy” image is outdated.
As more attention is paid to this issue, the fast fashion industry has faced increasing criticism in recent years. Consumers are becoming more conscious and buying more ethically made clothing. In response, companies in this industry spend millions on campaigns to present themselves in a better light. They launch “conscious collections” or donate part of their proceeds to charities.
But despite these cunning marketing techniques, we can’t ignore the truth: fast fashion is one of the dirtiest and most harmful industries in the world! Specifically, the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, after the oil industry.
Together towards slow fashion
Fortunately, a movement of producers and consumers who want to change this harmful fashion system is growing. No more mass production, but sustainable fashion that lasts, has a low environmental impact and is made under humane conditions.
More and more initiatives are emerging that contribute, each in their own way, to making the clothing industry more sustainable. Here are some fashion alternatives. Vintage, fair, green or vegan fashion - what matters most to you?
Vintage fashion is a sustainable alternative to fast fashion. When you reuse someone else’s clothes, no new resources need to be used and the clothes don’t have to be produced (under poor working conditions). Fortunately, the selection of vintage clothing has grown considerably in recent years.
Green fashion is another alternative that contributes to the slow fashion movement. The main goal of green fashion is to reduce the fashion industry’s environmental impact. There are several ways to make fashion more sustainable. The quality of the clothing, the materials used, the energy consumed in its production and its transportation all play a role.
If you’d still like to buy something new, you can look for fashion brands that sell Fair Trade fashion. Fair fashion focuses on ethically made clothing produced under humane conditions. This could be in a developing country, but also, for example, in the Netherlands by people who face barriers to employment.
Choose the textile collection bin, not the trash!
Have you fallen out of love with an item of clothing, or is it worn out? Don’t throw it away, because it can still be put to good use! Unfortunately, we throw away around 135 million kilos of textiles every year in the Netherlands. Only about a quarter of this is recycled. And even damaged clothes can be reused. Find a collection bin near you, or drop off a bag of old clothes at an H&M store. In short, close the slow fashion loop!
