Blog of Habiba Alambo, SI Representative to the UN in Nairobi. 

Picture this: every time you buy that trendy top for a bargain price, or those stylish jeans at an unbelievable steal, you may unknowingly be contributing to a staggering environmental toll. Fast fashion, the darling of our consumer-driven world, isn’t just about fleeting trends and cheap thrills. It’s a huge guzzler of water, ranking second only to agriculture in water consumption. But wait, there’s more – according to a sobering report by UNEP, it’s also the covert culprit behind producing a whopping 20% of global wastewater. Shocked? You’re not alone.

Fast Fashion’s Strain on Natural Resources

Fast fashion, characterised by the rapid production of inexpensive clothing by mass-market retailers in response to the latest fashion trends, prioritises cost efficiency and speed. So much so that it encourages frequent purchases and the hyper-consumption of new clothing, leading to environmental concerns due to high levels of resource consumption, waste generation, and carbon emissions.

A short film titled Beyond Fast Fashion produced by the Arizona State University Sustainable Earth project together with Ritesh Deshaware and James Cobb, highlighted the environmental reach of fast fashion – noting that despite fast fashion being cute, cheap, and easily accessible to many, there is a darker side to the industry. Interviews captured within the short film shared interesting insights and important cautions. Over the last decade or so, clothing production and consumption has more than doubled, yet consumers keep these clothes for only half as long. The accumulation of fast fashion waste in landfills exacerbates environmental problems, including soil pollution, greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing textiles, and the inefficient use of valuable landfill space. The film was eye-opening and left many viewers intrigued.

The subsequent discussion emphasised the urgent need for sustainable fashion. By prioritising eco-friendly materials like organic cotton and recycled fabrics, sustainable fashion can mitigate pollution, reduce carbon footprints, and uphold ethical production. To sway the young, celebrity-driven market of fast fashion, sustainable brands should enlist icons and influencers to use their platforms to support sustainable fashion and make it ‘cool’ and trendy. Additionally, educational campaigns, innovative materials, transparency by producers in the supply chain, and supportive policies such as the extended producer responsibility (EPR) would be crucial in increasing consumers’ buy-in of sustainable fashion.

The Short Lifespan of Fast Fashion Trends

Brand strategies, social and cultural factors, online shopping trends, and market research studies indicate that historically, women are the primary demographic for fast fashion consumption. It is therefore only right to examine the impact of fast fashion on the well-being of women and girls – specifically, on their empowerment or perhaps a lack thereof.

Women as the Primary Consumers and Victims

Let’s consider these talking points. If fast fashion emphasises the production of lower-quality clothing made from synthetic materials that may contain toxic chemicals, could these materials contribute to endocrine disruptors that impact women’s ability to balance their hormones? Unchecked hormonal imbalances in women could cause a myriad of health issues – affecting their lives and decreasing their ability to be productive in their roles within their families and communities. What about body image issues? The fast fashion industry has been criticised as one that constantly pushes new trends and designs, leading to body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem among women and girls who may feel pressured to conform to these ideals.

Perhaps we should also touch on economic disempowerment? Given that fast fashion thrives on hyper-consumerism, it may perpetuate a cycle of economic dependency that particularly affects women and girls who may have limited financial resources but feel compelled to keep up with fashion trends. We should not forget that fast fashion often relies on cheap labour, predominantly female, in developing countries where workers, including many women and girls, endure long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions.

Concluding Thoughts

Of course, the idea here is not that all is bad in the world of fast fashion. Despite the significant environmental and social costs, fast fashion encourages innovation and creativity in design due to its fast-paced nature. It offers job creation in various sectors, emphasises supply chain efficiency, promotes global trade among nations, and stimulates consumer spending. However, we must entertain different perspectives and highlight the glaring negatives of this industry, particularly on the plight of women and girls. In many discussions, they are simply considered the primary consumers of this industry, yet their challenges are often overlooked.

Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in his lifelong commitment to human rights and broader views on the importance of empowering women for societal progress, said that women and girls ‘hold up’ half the sky; their well-being is fundamental to the well-being of society as a whole. As such, investing in women’s health, education, and empowerment is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also essential for building a better future for everyone.

Let’s support sustainable fashion.