Violetmiyai.files.wordpress.com

?Violet MiyaiProf. RosadoENG 10211/16/2019 A Wake-Up Call to Apparel Industry Retailers and Customers Fast fashion is "cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments ... at breakneck speed." (Hackett 4). Fast fashion is among the largest and most profitable industry in the world. It is currently on the rise as retailers continue to mass produce fashion clothing from slave labor and sell them at low prices to consumers. Because fast fashion clothing is based on the latest fashion trends; many people feel the need to constantly keep up with the changing designs. Manufacturers are also desperate to keep up with their large consumers demands. Therefore, using human labor, poor material of clothing, unfinished seams and unfixed dyes seems to be their only option. The large supply chain is causing a catastrophe not only to the climate but also to human beings. As a result, the fast fashion industry is negatively impacting the environment, exploiting workers and releasing harmful chemicals into the air. Natural resources Fast fashion industry is negatively impacting the environment. Most of the textiles produced by the apparel industry are manmade which means they contain chemicals that contain textile dyes and treatments. “According to the World Health Organization, Polluted water causes 75 percent of diseases and over 100,000 deaths annually. Meanwhile, cancer rates among villagers who live along polluted waterways are much higher than the national average.” (Webber 4). China which is currently among the largest garments producer in the textile industry, releases gallons of wastewater into natural water sources. The waters from the rivers are dangerous to human health and expose humans to a risk to diseases like cancer, gastric and skin disease. Fast fashion is an expense to human health and environment. Textile residue are released into waterways after operations such as dyeing, bleaching and rinsing. In countries like Bangladesh, India and China where the local people depend on the rivers as a source of water, the toxic water can be blamed for the dangerous diseases. Furthermore, fabrics like polyester produced from petroleum and cotton which consumes a large percent of water and pesticides contribute to water shortage in the countries. In India where water shortage is already a problem and millions of people do not have access to clean water, cotton remains the largest export commodity. “The far higher water footprint for India’s cotton is due to inefficient water use and high rates of water pollution — about 50% of all pesticides used in the country are in cotton production.” (Leahy 6). The amount of water available is mostly used to grow cotton. The large cotton production means increasing cotton waste, release of pesticides and synthetics causing plastic pollution in the ocean. In fact, fashion companies insist that they recycle most of their textile waste, but a large percent goes to landfills. “The total level of fashion waste is expected to be 148 million tons by 2030—equivalent to annual waste of 17.5 kg per capita across the planet.” (Nini 11). In the graph below, there is a dramatic increase in textile waste produced by the apparel industry. The percentage is continuing to increase, and the growth rate would have doubled by 2030. Most of the waste is from the textile companies and takes billions of moneys to dispose, and a large percent of land space.(“Textile Waste Management Graph from 1960-2015.” , United States Environmental Protection Agency, 17 Jan. 2017.) Moreover, finding land space to deposit the waste is difficult. The textiles that are thrown in landfills could be recycled using recycled cotton and help save tons of water. Disposed textile that end up in landfills are also a source to greenhouse gases emissions and toxic gases into the soil and air. “A mixture of gases like ammonia, methane mixed with carbon dioxide build up bacteria that cause odor and spreads to buildings causing poor ventilation that can lead to health effects.” (Grigorova). Communities living around landfills are reported to have short term effects like nausea, asthma, coughing due to exposure to landfill gases.Impact on sweatshop workers Another negative effect of fast fashion is the exploitation of workers in developing countries. Last year in Bangladesh, thousands of people were fired and arrested because of protesting to demand better treatment in the sweatshops. Factories are known to have bad reputation when it comes to treatment of workers. Majority of the employed people are women, children and teenagers. Workers may work for long hours in poorly ventilated rooms only for them to earn a minimum wage pay. “An informal factory could compromise of a room with 15 sewing machines and are often without emergency exits, fire safety plans or extinguishers, as they are not subjected to the nationwide fire and building safety assessments.” (Flynn 5). The poor ventilation in the factory rooms contains fumes and chemicals that can cause asthma and health problems to the workers because of their exposure to synthetic fiber from petroleum. Most of the workers cannot afford to get a day off because they risk getting fired by their boss despite the unsafe working conditions.(“Children Forced to Work in Horrific Unregulated Factories.” dailymail.co.uk. The Daily Mail News Article, 21. Feb. 2011.) “A factory fire in India killed 13 people and another fire this past June injured more than 20 knitwear factory workers in Bangladesh some jumped out of third story windows to escape.” (Hackett 7). Unsafe working condition continues to persist especially in garment factory fires breakouts and building collapsing. In April 2013 “Rana Plaza took less than 90 seconds to collapse, killing 1134 people. Unions called it a “mass industrial homicide”. (Hackett 7) The factory building had regular power failures, swampy appearance and unstable structure. Despite the workers complaining of the heavy cracks that appeared on the walls, they were sent to go back to work and some of them decided to leave their jobs and go back home. These events happened on the same day the building collapsed. Similarly, Primark companies in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are hiring children as young as 14 under minimum age in its chain even though children under the age of 16 cannot be employed fulltime. The companies defend themselves by claiming that since the children cannot afford to get an education, it is better for them to be productive in the sweat shops. “A German Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), reported it had interviewed workers in Primark supplier factories in Sri Lanka earning just [euro]81 a month, before overtime. The living wage to feed a family in Sri Lanka is [euro]150.” (Flynn 3). In their defense the minimum wage pay helps to lift out the poverty rates in the country since the workers have no other jobs. This is a false statement since Primark companies are paying their workers in Sri Lanka below the living wage. The shirts are later sold at fast fashion stores for a price as low as three euros. Harmful Chemicals and Carbon Emissions Finally, fast fashion leads to the release of harmful chemicals into the air. Synthetic fibers like polyester, acrylic and nylon take hundreds of years to decompose since they are made from plastic petroleum. Once they are buried in a landfill, greenhouse gases methane is produced as they continue to degrade. Large amounts of damaging emissions such as volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases are released into the air. Nylon also emits a large amount of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, during manufacturing. (Sandin and Peters 3). Not only synthetic fibers are harmful but also cotton, linen and silk which are natural fibers. "Natural fibers go through a lot of unnatural processes on their way to becoming clothing. They've been bleached, dyed, printed on, scoured in chemical baths." Those chemicals can leach from the textiles and--in improperly sealed landfills--into groundwater.” (Sandin and Peters 5). The massive amount of cheap poor-quality clothes that fall apart after several washes is worsening our carbon footprint. Additionally, textile materials contain allergenic and irritation properties. The chemicals are risky to human health because they contain Endocrine Disruptive Chemicals Benzothiazole which penetrates through the skin and can be absorbed is harmful. EDC in our bodies imposes several health risks. “They affect our ‘response to psychological stress causing ‘neurological and behavioral changes’ and ‘reduced ability to handle stress’; metabolism in relation to obesity, type 2 diabetes and thyroid function; reproductive health.” (Grigorova 3). The chemicals are harmful to our hormone system and reproductive development and contaminates children after birth. Chemicals found in leather and textile finishes are most likely to affect young children more than adults. Many people are not worried about the health effects maybe because there is no awareness since sustainable fashion is not that popular. Fast Fashion Companies are taking measures On the other hand, fast fashion companies like Nike and Patagonia are encouraging customers to donate old garments by dropping them off at their stores. Textile reusing has helped to reduce pollution compared to other methods like incineration, and landfilling. In the United Kingdom, the fast fashion industries donate clothes to continents like Africa, and old fabrics are also sold in thrift stores or taken to textile recyclers. Moreover, H&M customers are given a reward for their recycling efforts of returning their used clothing to the store by receiving discount coupons on future purchases. The method has encouraged many customers to participate in the recycling program. Companies like Zara are taking environmental measures like transitioning to use organic, sustainable or recycled textiles and planning to reduce their greenhouse emissions by 2020. Customer’s taste is seeming to shift turning away from fast fashion and companies like forever 21 have been affected. Most of its shoppers who are young have become aware of climate change and how the fashion industry is contributing to rising global greenhouse emissions. "Their customers are getting older, they're aging out of disposable fashion and they want things that last,"(Bhattarai 17). The company's bankruptcy has opened eyes to other fast fashion industries to appeal to consumer’s demand. Forever 21 bankruptcy shows a shift within the fashion industry. Sustainable fashion seems to be growing with more customers preference to shop from vintage clothing, secondhand websites and sustainable brands like Reformation which are on the rise. Sustainability Solutions "Sustainable fashion does not mean going out and buying a $200 organic cotton dress,"(Bhattarai 15). There are several ways customers can contribute by finding affordable clothes that can last besides reusing and recycling. Conscious consumerism involves paying attention to the type of fabric used, checking the label to avoid synthetic, petroleum and animal-based fabrics and shopping from sustainable brands that use quality materials on their products. Companies may even solely rely on deadstock fabric, which is fabric that has been left-over from large textile mills or factories. (Else 8). The deadstock fabric is reused and made into a new fabric instead of just throwing it away on landfills. Slow fashion is a trend in the fashion industry that encourages people to buy fewer garments and to avoid fast fashion clothing. (Mohn 1). It involves using garments for long periods of time rather than buying the latest fashions and wearing for a short amount of time, purchasing high quality vintage clothing and customers repairing or redesigning their own clothing. Although people mat argue that slow fashion and sustainable clothing are expensive, there are second hand, thrift shop and vintage clothing which are available for a cheaper price. Some people update clothing they already own to give it a new style. For example, some people might change the sleeves of a dress or turn pants into a pair of shorts. (Mohn 9). All these creative approaches to sustainable fashion are thoughtful and eco-friendly sources for clothing. Conclusion Fast fashion is a growing trend and customers need to pay more attention to their shopping habits. Many of the negative fast fashion impacts is due to the supply and chain demands caused by the overconsumption and shopping habits of the customers. Retailers feel a pressure to overproduce garments to keep up with the growing demands of customers. These lead to an increase in amounts of textile waste, amounts of trash that goes to landfills and water pollution in developing countries. Practicing sustainability is important for all customers and fashion retailers. Consumers need to think about the negative impacts of fast fashion has on the environment, sweatshop workers and exploitation of natural resources. Being a conscious shopper starts by avoiding impulse purchases, choosing quality over quantity contributes to saving the planet. Works CitedBhattarai, Abha. "'A tipping point in fast fashion': Forever 21's bankruptcy signals the shifting priorities of young shoppers." , 3 Oct. 2019. Gale in Context: Global Issues, . Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.Else, Anne. “Anne Else: Conscious Consumerism.” UWIRE Text, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.587105839&site=eds-live&scope=site.Flynn Valerie. "The price of fast fashion; Retailers here can flog T-shirts for a few euros thanks to suppliers in nations where workers reportedly can't make a living wage without overtime." Sunday Times [London, England], 16 June 2019, p. 19. Gale Academic OneFile Select, . Accessed 16 Dec. 2019. Grigorova, Tsvetina. “The Harmful Chemicals in Fast Fashion.” , 23 Nov.2018, , Lisa J. “Addressing Rage: The Fast Fashion Revolt.” M/C Journal, vol. 22, no. 1, Mar. 2019, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, search.login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=135380133&site=ehost-live&scope=siteLeahy, Stephany. “World Water Day the Cost of Cotton in Water Challenged India.” The Guardian, Fri 20 Mar. 2015, , Elizabeth. “Slow Fashion.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=137502257&site=eds-live&scope=site.Nini, Jennifer. “69 Facts and Statistics About Fast Fashion That Will Inspire You to Become an Ethical Fashion Advocate.” Eco warrior princess, 16 October. 2018. ethical-fashion-advocate/ Sandin, Gustav, and Greg M. Peters. “Environmental Impact of Textile Reuse and Recycling – A Review.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 184, May 2018, pp. 353–365. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.266.Webber, Kathleen. “How fast fashion is killing rivers worldwide.” Eco watch, 22 March.2017 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download