Rags to Ruins

Fashion is a living canvas where every choice of fabric, color, and style paints a story of individuality, culture, and self-expression. For centuries, clothing was simple and functional, but as style preferences have grown, people now seek more unique items. Fast fashion makes it easy to access these options, letting us choose blue sweaters with ruffles instead of plain green ones or flared leggings instead of tight ones. Our tastes are always changing, and constantly buying new clothes can add up. With the rise of cheaply-made and fast-paced clothing production, fast fashion has transformed the fashion industry. Consumers have been able to keep up with trends while staying on budget, allowing them more self-expression through their garments. Journalist Dana Thomas has traveled the globe overlooking the current fashion procedures. In her book Fashionopolis : Why What We Wear Matters, she uncovers the exploited labor, environment, and intellectual property violations that have stemmed from the unraveling growth of fast fashion. Additionally, Dr. Luz Claudio has been a moving force in the environmental world as an environmental health scientist. Her “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” exposes the health concerns associated with fashion-related waste. While allowing people more personal freedom, the fashion industry has ultimately promoted unstable consumer habits, environmental degradation, and unethical labor practices. 

The constant availability of inexpensive and trendy clothes encourages people to purchase far more than they need. Fast fashion brands produce clothing at a rapid pace, often releasing new collections every few weeks, which fosters a "buy now, discard later" mindset. As trends shift rapidly, consumers feel the urge to replace items, contributing to a throwaway culture. In Luz Claudio’s “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry,” she concludes that “…the rate of purchase and disposal has dramatically increased, so the path that a T-shirt travels from the sales floor to the landfill has become shorter” (Claudio 451). Overconsumption, the excessive and unsustainable use of resources beyond necessary, leads to an overwhelming number of textiles in landfills. Many don’t consider this consequence when reaching for a new item off the rack. Whenever a new trend popped up, a friend of mine would make an online order and soon have a pile of packages at her door. Her drawers were filled with all the assets of the latest microtrends, or fads, which are short-lived. Once those styles shifted, those same clothes would be forgotten, shoved to the back of her closet. She’d say, “It’s not a big deal because they’re so cheap,” but over time, it was clear how much waste she was generating. This pattern creates a cycle of impulsive buying and wastefulness, leading to closets of poorly made items that aren’t made to last. This stems from the expeditiously changing trends, causing garments to be poorly put together. When they're low-quality, they’ll fray and tear, further resulting in consumers purchasing more. Fast fashion has promoted a mindset where clothes are supposed to be disposable and easily replaceable, creating a culture of excess with high environmental and ethical costs.  

From production to disposal, the alarming amounts of generated waste and pollution to our planet highlight how drastic fast fashion can be. As companies are pushing new, low-quality clothing for consumers to purchase, people throw out their perfectly wearable clothes. The environmental consequences of this cycle are staggering, as discarded clothing contributes significantly to landfill waste. Claudio asserts, "According to the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year” (Claudio 451). This throwaway culture has led to a growing mountain of textile waste that clutters landfills and contributes to pollution. Polyester, the cheapest and most popular fabric, is not biodegradable, meaning these garments can remain in landfills for hundreds of years, leaching microplastics into the soil and water. Furthermore, when these nonbiodegradable materials are compacted into a landfill, anaerobic respiration is initiated, producing methane, a large contributor to warming the planet. Even though artificial fibers are incredibly popular in cheap clothing, cotton is still present and damaging. Cotton is highly resource-intensive, with massive water consumption, pesticide use, and harmful emissions, all parts of the equation. Claudio states that cotton “…accounts for a quarter of all the pesticides used in the United States” (Claudio 450).  This statistic is caused by the subsidized cotton industry, “keeping prices low and production high” (Claudio 450). Thus, allowing fast fashion to abuse the environment. From production to disposal, the alarming amounts of generated waste and pollution to the planet highlight how drastic fast fashion can be. Fast fashion significantly contributes to environmental degradation, from the massive amounts of waste it generates to the pollution caused by its resource-intensive production processes.  

The reality of fast fashion production is cruel and often hidden from consumers who see only the low prices and attractive styles on store shelves. Companies frequently choose the most affordable materials to keep costs down and cut corners in labor practices, prioritizing profit over worker well-being. This demand-and-profit loop prioritizes low prices and quick turnover, often at the expense of ethical labor and environmental standards. Due to the firm labor laws in the United States requiring fair wages and safe working conditions, brands frequently outsource manufacturing to countries with weaker regulations, where exploitation is easier and cheaper. In places like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India, garment workers endure grueling conditions for meager pay. Dana Thomas is a fashion-based journalist who has taken a stance on sustainability procedures in the textile world. In her novel Fashionopolis : Why What We Wear Matters, she visits a sweatshop “...where about two hundred young Vietnamese labor, the fluorescent lighting was poor and it was 100 degrees, easy. Large fans whirred to try to cool the room. It didn't work” (Thomas 76). Workers in these facilities are often subjected to long work hours, unsafe environments, unrealistic quotas, and insufficient wages with little regard for their health or rights. This disgusting reality is a reminder that the convenience of cheap, fashionable clothes comes at a concealed human cost, as millions of laborers sacrifice essential comfort and safety so consumers can purchase fast fashion items at a fraction of the actual price. The cost of that shirt is cut in half, but these laborers are the ones paying for it. 

As consumers are tempted by the low-price tags and painless disposal of fast fashion, Dana Thomas and Dr. Luz Claudio have shown the significant costs to people and the environment. Thomas displays how poor working conditions in factories harms workers who are pushed to produce cheap, trendy clothing. Claudio highlights the environmental damage from this constant cycle of buying and throwing away clothes, leading to overflowing landfills and pollution. These perspectives show that fast fashion ignites a mindset where clothes can be consumed and discarded without harm. People don’t see this damage in their daily lives, so they’re often unaffected by it. However, it’s crucial that we become more conscious of our fashion decisions, thinking about who and what we may influence. We shouldn’t be so focused on style, but who produces these clothes and under what conditions. By addressing and understanding the actual costs behind our clothing, society can begin to acknowledge the true price of our fashion choices. Knowing these impacts allows us to rethink our buying habits and consider more sustainable practices. With that, we’d be inspiring a fashion industry that values trends as well as respect for people and the planet. 

Works Cited 

Claudio, Luz. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 9, 2007, pp. A448–54. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4626880. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024. 

Thomas, Dana. “Fashionopolis : Why What We Wear Matters.” Penguin Books, 2019. Two: The Price of Furious Fashion, EBSCOhost, research-ebsco-com.jerome.stjohns.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=1903c902-04b3-32b2-b0d7-fc6000d0ccf5. Accessed 07 Nov. 2024.