Fashion can be a long-lived thing. There are some things that will never go out of fashion: denim jeans, the classic shirt and tie or a comfy pair of slippers. Some garments, though, will be popular for only a season and then be consigned to landfill, where they will remain for many years. These are the high street, or ‘fast fashion’ clothes. This fast fashion trend encourages the consumer to keep up with the latest trends by offering clothes that are so cheap they can literally transform their wardrobe every few weeks. But at what cost?
This article is going to look at the impact that fast fashion is having on the environment and what can be done with all of these clothes that are thrown away after only a few wears. It will also examine which textiles can be recycled and how best to do it.
The ‘Primark Effect’
The high street fashion industry has been spearheaded by companies such as Primark, who sell clothes that are reputed to be at the cutting edge of popular fashion and are also cheap enough that people can constantly buy clothes as they come ‘in’ and get rid of them as they go ‘out’. This has been dubbed ‘The Primark Effect”. While the creation of so many new clothes may have its own impacts, it’s the disposal of them that is causing the real problem. Even though many ways of recycling clothes exist, over a million tonnes still find their way to landfill; a figure up from 7 percent of total waste 6 years ago to around 30 percent now [1].
The fast fashion industry accounts for about one-fifth of the UK clothes market, which in itself is worth £23 billion. Some of the companies operating in this field include Primark, Zara, Pilot, New Look, and H&M.
As an example of just how fast fast fashion can be, Zara can have new clothes designed, made and on the shop floor ready for sale in just 10 – 14 days [3]. I would imagine that’s how long the garment will last as well.
There is a double whammy of buying cheap clothes too. First, because they are cheap they don’t last very long. Second, because they are cheap the wearer doesn’t feel the need to get a lot of wear from them and will consign them to the bin without much thought.
Part of the reason these clothes are so cheap is because they are generally made to an inferior quality and, consequently, will not last very long before they bobble, shrink, lose their shape, fray or tear. Even if the wearer can do a Gok Wan style reinvention of them, they are not likely to last very long anyway. This results in a lot more textile waste going to the tip.
Tackling the problem
The government is tackling this issue by means of defra’s Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, which is now in its fourth year and “aims to improve the sustainability of clothing, by gathering evidence on the environmental, social and economic impacts” [2]. There are a number of high profile companies who have signed up to the programme including: Nike, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco. Unfortunately though, none of the fast fashion retailers joined up, which sends the message that they are not interested in sustainability unless it will improve their profit margins.
Some initiatives of the scheme include:
- Carbon labelling of the garment to indicate its lifetime carbon emissions.
- Encouraging the use of sustainable materials.
- Greening the whole production process, including energy management and resource efficiency.
- Maximising the recycling, re-use and end of life management.
Ironically, the economic downturn, which usually puts the brakes on commercial spending, doesn’t seem to have affected the fast fashion industry and the sellers on the high street are still making millions of pounds worth of profit. The only explanation can be that they are perceived as being cheap, and when the cash is short at hand, the hand heads for the bargains.
The environmental impacts
The environmental effects of simply making so many clothes must be huge. If the garment is made of a natural fibre then it requires land and water. If the fibre is man-made then it requires plastics and the energy used to manufacture these plastics. Then there are the wastes and effluent associated with the pre-treatment chemicals, dyes and finishes. Once the clothes are made they then have to be transported, usually from the Far East. This transport of the clothes also has it’s own environmental affects. Often after a relatively short amount of time the clothes are then either falling apart or no longer in fashion and many increasingly end up in landfill.
The only feasible reason for the large increase in clothing waste – especially in a recession – is the Primark Effect. The increase in waste must feasibly equate to an increase in manufacture as well. So that’s a rise in fossil fuel consumption, water use, fertilizer and pesticides, plus all of the associated carbon emissions. If the aforementioned increase is put in terms of waste tonnage, that’s an extra 800,000 tonnes of waste, just so we can keep up with current trends. Madness.
A picture released by Greenpeace showing the effluent from denim factories being released into the Dong River, China [3]
While clothes may be essential to our lives, it has to be asked how many extra, unnecessary environmental impacts result from so many clothes being consumed due to the Primark Effect.
Recycling the clothes
There are many things that can be done with unwanted clothes. Charity shops are always willing to take good quality garments, as are the organisations that transport clothes to the poorer peoples of the world and also supply disaster relief efforts. Of course there’s always eBay. Another interesting use for your old clothes are Swishing parties [4].
It’s not only clothes in good condition that can be reused. The rest can often be recycled in some way of other. Many of the garments that are too far-gone to be sold on are turned into shoddy wool or shoddy cotton. This is where the clothes are shredded and the fibre is re-spun to make shoddy wool (if good quality), or the shoddy may be used for such purposes as carpet underlay, padding or mattress stuffing. High quality shoddy wool is being embraced more and more by those looking to produce sustainable clothing lines.
The trouble with many of the clothes bought in fast fashion stores is that they are made from man-made fabrics which are harder to recycle, especially when there is a mix of fabrics. Nylon, for example, can be recycled, but a nylon-cotton mix, cannot.
If you are after cheaper clothes, but aren’t necessarily that concerned about being at the cutting edge of (high street) fashion, then check out the sales racks in some of the more expensive shops. Here you can find much better quality clothes than those of the fast fashion industry for knock down prices.
Having said all this; just because the mechanisms are in place to ease the burden of thrown away clothes, this cannot excuse the rate at which the high street is turning over its stock. In the age of austerity simply being cheap is no excuse to inflict further damage on an already over-burdened ecosystem.
In summary then…
We are only human, we all love a bargain and sometimes we can get a little blinkered by those irresistible prices. Next time you feel your shopping senses pulling you towards one of the fast fashion retailers, just bear in mind the type of industry you may be about to condone.
Admittedly one of ESW’s principles is to save you money, but not at the cost of the planet. Forget filling up your basket with a load of ill fitting, cheap tat; go spend the money on one or two good quality garments instead.
The environmental impacts stemming from resource consumption and waste as a result of the Primark Effect are significant. The need to introduce sustainability into the industry has been recognised by many clothes manufacturers and sellers, but the fast fashion trade continues to make huge profits.
Even with all of the recycling and reuse options available, it is still far better for the planet to buy a few good quality clothes that will last, as opposed to many that will be faded, bobbled and in tatters within a year.
All the time there is a demand for these types of clothes, the high street will continue to churn them out. This is a problem that can only be solved by the consumer. But how do you convince hardcore fashionistas to slow down and buy less? Good question.
Make sure you are purchasing responsibly across all aspects of your life, not just when buying clothes.
Addendum
On the day this article was finished, a story appeared in the Sunday Telegraph claiming that the days of cheap fashion from China are over. The article cited rising standards of living in the developing world and price increases in cotton as a few of the reasons.
So there may actually be a happy ending to this particular environmental story.
Further Reading
Swishing: The Eco friendly Option for Shopaholics
References
[3] http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/textile-pollution-xintang-gurao
