The Environmental Damage Related to Clothes and Fashion

Abstract

This research will explain the environmental damage created, the unethical practices of different famous brands and will hopefully help enlighten people about this topic and raise awareness. The documentary shows how all of the clothes you think you’re providing another home to and donating end up being in a warehouse as a textile waste rather than thrift stores that takes only few clothes (almost 20% only) and sell them. And they eventually end up being transferred to Africa just to be purchased with money. Some don’t even make it to the stores, they’re discarded and burned to be thrown in piles of garbage. Dumping is always the cheaper solution, so instead of going through a very long process of recycling and the long time it takes, they would rather dump it to easily get rid of it.

Introduction

In the past century fashion have become more common and important than before. Statistics show that we consume 400% of our actual needs when it comes to clothing industry. This shocking demand has been able to be supplied as cloths nowadays are far easier to manufacture, as well as, way cheaper than it used to be in the old days. This is due to the ability to produce clothes made from different fabrics at a rapid rate easily. All this don’t seem an issue until we address the impact of that new behavior on the modern world.

Have you ever wondered where do all your old clothes really end up? One of the world's biggest polluter is fast fashion clothing and garment industry. Buying so many clothes and following the fast fashion trend will only lead to world’s clothing waste. Nowadays fast fashion brands produce about 52 micro-seasons a year. This means at least one new collection every week. That just encourages people to buy more, hence throw more! For example, H&M is a very known brand that advertise new product on a weekly basis, almost every 2 days.

One of the most important environmental damage created here is the huge number of textiles that are unfortunately thrown in landfill. For example, H&M is one of the most famous stores all around the world, they claim to recycle clothes by making an ad that shows how much they are concerned to make this world a better place, but is it true? Turns out, that only 1% of clothing is actually recycled since a huge number of garments are made of a combination or mixture of fabrics such as wool, elastin, and cotton. According to Alden Wicker (2016) “Meanwhile, synthetic fibers, like polyester, nylon and acrylic, have the same environmental drawbacks, and because they are essentially a type of plastic made from petroleum, they will take hundreds of years, if not a thousand, to biodegrade.”

The whole process of recycling is very costly. According to Kianna (2018) “In order for fast fashion outlets to recycle what they make it would take 12 years to recycle what they sell in 48 hours”. Fast fashion retailers are making too much and selling it for too cheap, it’s disposable clothing. Many of these recycling programs also give discounts for donating old clothes. For example, H&M encourages their customers by offering a 5$ off coupon for anyone who dumps clothes in their recycling bin, but if they aren’t making new clothes from donations, where do you think do all these clothes that are dumped go? Well the majority of these donations are sold and baled overseas. Yes. Not donated, not given to people who are in need of it but sold to developing countries in Africa such as Kenya. Statistics say that 85% of our old clothes end up in a landfill. In North America, that equates to about 25 billion tons per year of textile waste. We use petrochemical-based materials, i.e. plastic polymers to produce a large portion of this waste. Just like other plastic materials, they do not biodegrade. Instead, they slowily break down into smaller and smaller pieces called microfibers.

This would allow us to spectate the unethical behavior of such firms, as they are ready to lie and cheat the trust of their customers, along with the public for extra bucks! It was shocking to know that 99% of their disclaimers are not true, in which unfortunately brings us back to the same point of where will all this go once its life span expires? Basically, you lie to your customers as a well-known brand and as a manufacturer. Not only that, but also what is clear here in this case is that they are not just reselling the old and used clothes as new, which is considered cheating of course, but also to them they are selling the issue of clothes overflowing because of their action, neglecting the fact that no matter what uncivilized way might be used to dispose of the extra clothes will definitely have an impact, as well as, an effect on the whole world.

H&M and competitive brands must be able to achieve the best results through ethical practices and follow the basic components that any company should deliver, they should have credibility and honesty among with the promises they say, as the message to their target audiences is the value of the company. This asks them how to expect the product to be purchased. As well as the brand image, as it is a key element in creating a brand identity which is simple and recognizable in the market. The brand image relates to how customers are currently aware of the brand. In other words, what is the brand's credibility on the market. They should try to make the world a better place at least by doing what they are claiming in all their ads and commercials.

Conclusion

To conclude, fast fashion in its entirety causes tremendous environmental damage and this epidemic must be stopped before it is too late. The fast-fashion industry takes time to slow down, but we all have to play our part, if we want to avoid stretching out our world. The demand from the global market continues to drop If the quality of garments continues to decrease, and closure recycling technology will not be accomplished, the world may then face a second-hand clothing crisis. People should do their research on who they’re actually giving their clothes to, as the documentary shows the ugly side of those brands that do all of these ads only for clout.