Fast Fashion : What is the True Cost

By Sarah TaitJanuary 07, 2017

This morning I came across this article on Fast Fashion that rocked me & I had to share it with you.

Fast Fashion -I know the cost of it but seeing like this made me sit up & pay attention…more!

Now I’m not one for crazy consumerism, if it doesn’t add value to my life I’m not interested, but when I need to get to a mall for something I can feel the well constructed consumerism at work. So many pretty shiny things I never knew I needed & at such bargain prices! But it is this ‘want” that is destroying lives & the planet.

image via trusted clothes

Rivers & waterways are being polluted & people poisoned by the chemicals used in production of clothing – in fact the fashion industry is the second biggest polluter after the oil industry!

Fast Fashion can be turned around in one week, from design concept, to store & into your mitts & Australians on average purchase 27kgs each of new clothing & textiles per year* or 80 billion pieces worldwide** – which is up 400% in two decades alone!!

Fast fashion isn’t made from lovely natural, eco, chemical-free fibers so you can guarantee that a bundle of plastic & chemicals will be heading to landfill when it loses its shape after a few washes – or as the ABC article states, after an average of 7 wears…..ouch!

Every time we wash one of these synthetic garments up to 1,900 fibers are headed straight out into the ocean, too fine for the average washing machine filtration system to negate, into marine life & ultimately our tummies.

Lili from Loving Ocean has written a great piece on this topic if you would like to know more about the damage synthetic fibers can do to our ocean. And if you think you are doing the planet a favour by taking it to the Op shop think again. Only 10% of the of the clothing donated get re-sold*** & the rest binned for rags, landfilled or sent overseas.

I’ve always considered fabrics as I love to work with them, hemp being a solid fav. I choose natural over synthetic, classic over seasonal, purchase only what I need & wear a uniform at work, but I’m not immune to it. Its almost impossible to find something without some thing synthetic blended into it. The last item I purchased was a “Little black dress” containing elastane (the stretchy stuff). I had been scouring op shops & online second hand sites for something tempting but to no avail. Its for a special occasion & I did shop well, being careful to avoid an item that would date or was cheaply made but it still contains elastane (plastic).

So here is my pledge. No more Fast fashion! I’m done with it.

I pledge to fully embrace the following to reduce my fashion footprint:

Purchase natural, organic fabrics
Quality over quantity
Shop second hand
Borrow “one night” items like party frocks from friends
Support companies that practice ethical & eco-fashion
Classic cuts over “seasonal “looks
Give unused clothing to places I know it will be used (rather than binned)
Reuse what I can i.e. worn out items for garden ties

And follow Vivienne Westwood’s example & “Buy less & make it last!”

So its off to the Op shop for me to find myself a winter coat & while I’m not quite at the “capsule wardrobe stage” but I’ll be settling in this weekend to watch the documentary, “The True Cost” via Netflix to really solidify it in my mind!

Check out the article that inspired me to further question my choices here. I’d love to know some of the changes you feel inspired to make to help shift the Fast Fashion mindset.

Big Love S x