Melissa Bonilla

Ms. Snyder

Capstone - Rough DRaft

10 April 2019

Melissa Bonilla
Ms. Snyder

Capstone - Rough Draft

10 April 2019

Sustainable Fashion

Knowingly or not, everyone participates in some form of artistic expression; if not in

drawing, or in films, most commonly it would be in personal style. The definition of art has been

debated for centuries but there is no doubt that art has to be of skill, of originality, of purpose,

and evoke some kind of feeling or emotion. There is no particular field of art that has been

exploited quite as much as the art of fashion. A couple of decades ago, clothing was special, it

was tailored, it was long-lasting, and typically it was one of a kind. Nowadays, in this modern

age of convenience, clothing is mass produced, many mimicking styles on runways, following

trends, and even stealing original designs from actual artists, completely stripping away the

“artistic” element of fashion. It has turned to poor quality, low cost, mass produced garments

known as fast fashion. Not only is the art of fashion exploited for cheap clothes and a quick

profit, what is more important is the matter in which it is done, exploiting third world laborers

and natural resources. Short term, fast fashion seems to be of no issue, especially in sheltered

first world countries where we don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes. But long term,

actually now, we have to ask ourselves what are the effects of fast fashion on our consumerist

culture, our global economy, and most importantly on our planet and how can a sustainable

approach resolve these issues.

The term, “First World” is used to refer to a developed and capitalist nation. This type of

first world environment is where the culture of consumerism thrives. In fact, such a capitalist and

developed nation would not exist without consumerism acting like the wood to the fire. When we
think of first world nations often countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia come

to mind, but the United States takes the lead, in fact, we are the face of a capitalist society. Being

this advanced, we are used to convenience. Large chain restaurants available at nearly every

corner, grocery stores that sell everything from food to electronics, and large outlets and malls

selling all the latest trends; all of this available to us primarily without any extensive effort on

our part. On top of all of this, it is a competitive market, there are discounts, sales, and clearances

nearly every day, stores competing against each other to offer the lowest prices, often at the cost

of quality and laborers. And we feed into this, we take advantage of this. In turn, this has created

a dangerous and wasteful culture of excessive consumerism. “Unknown to most, this consumer-

driven process, while favored by the younger population, actually has extreme environmental,

human rights, and global implications, and this note gives these implications ample discussion”

(Elrod 6).

There is a destructive cyclical nature when it comes to the production of fast fashion and

keeping it alive. In order to keep this kind of short term, fast-paced, system in place, there is a

sacrifice that has to occur elsewhere. Everything and everyone is affected. While these

companies and our economy seem to thrive off of this convenience-oriented system, there are

other countries that are held back and kept from growing to keep our consumerism alive. In order

for an excessive amount of cheap, affordable clothes to exist for us in our retail stores, we have

to outsource labor that is even cheaper. Cheap labor is inhumane as it is, but the conditions that

these laborers have to work under gives the word, “inhumane” much more depth and injustice

than previously thought before, the European Parliament has even coined the word “Slave

Labour” for these kinds of conditions. These are poor populations that have no options but to

work for such low wages. They are being exploited and taking advantage over living conditions
they have no control over, thus no choice but to accept these wages, and these companies know

this. In fact, according to, Sustain Your Style, an anti-fast fashion platform, businesses

purposefully calculate and move productions sites regularly in search of even cheaper labor. This

means labor that is paid either half or a fifth of what would be considered a living wage, a living

wage already being the bare minimum. This type of salary is practically forced labor as these

workers have no option but to accept 16 hours a day for 7 days a week to meet deadlines and

living expenses. To keep costs even lower, the facilities are in unsafe and toxic conditions and

the workforce is largely made of women and children. While our economy thrives off the

industry of fast fashion, these third world economies are ruined. They are kept at a constant

competition of who offers to the lowest wage, as that's the only way to get these large companies

to work with them. In the article, The Global Environmental injustice to fashion, the point is

brought up that we shift all the burden and consequences of our mass production and

overconsumption to these underdeveloped countries (Bick and Ekenga). We are inhibiting their

job markets by demanding lower wages, polluting their waters, killing their people, damaging

their environment, and preventing any growth of the local industry for them since often all our

excess clothes dumped back on these countries.

It is not only human beings that are being exploited, but our planet and its natural

resources. Every step of garment production carries an environmental impact. The majority of

our clothes is cotton and or polyester. Cotton being water extensive and polyester being derived

from crude oil. It is not just down to the material but the dye as well, often discharged into water

systems, polluting them with metals and other toxins. So much natural resources get used and or

polluted for the production of these garments yet they still get dumped and discharged as if they

were a disposable cup. In fact, clothes make up to 5% of landfill use. To keep from clothes
ending up in the landfill, it is common for people to donate their clothes to charity, yet only one-

fifth of all clothing donated is used. The rest is exported to recycling firms. Of clothes that end

up in recycling firms, only 45% is recycled while the rest is exported to developing countries that

are already overflowing with second-hand clothes. (Luz 3).

To address the detrimental impact of fast fashion it is important to implement sustainable

practices within the fashion community, such as that of eco-fashion, slow fashion, sustainable

fashion, etc. Quoting from the article, The Multifarious Approaches to Obtain Sustainable

Fashion, “A design future is concerned with humanity and more specifically how design can

contribute to the continuity of humanity.” In essence, this can also be interpreted as the popular

saying, “Think globally, act locally.” When implementing slow fashion, the approach focuses

more on valuing and knowing the product. This means utilizing sourcing locally, transparent

production practices, and producing sustainable and sensorial products. Naturally, if a garment is

produced with the best intentions in mind, it is sensorial, and this means it is special and one of a

kind, just like a piece of clothing is supposed to be. Though due to the disposable short term

clothes we are used to, it is a concept some might have trouble understanding. Despite this, it is

what should be strived for. A few challenges appear in that of a distaste for the “Eco-aesthetic”,

when we think eco-friendly fashion, usually a piece of obviously recycled garment paints its

picture in your head. Another issue is extending these beliefs and practices on a larger scale.

There is hope though as the rise in environmentalism and transparency emerges, it is a lot more

prevalent now than ever before, meaning there is an increase in sustainable brands and

sustainable brand interests and practices. There is an evident shift happening in society, simply

being in raising awareness. More people are becoming aware of their clothes and its production

and making more conscious decisions like shopping less, second-hand shopping, buying
sustainably, and overall reducing their impact.

In conclusion, fast fashion has taken the artistic and personal aspects of fashion and

exploited it to the disposable, lifeless, and dangerous business it is today. It has cost us creativity,

encouraged our toxic culture of consumerism, it’s exploited third world countries as well as

inhibit their growth, and it has trashed our planet. With sustainable fashion, the goal is to bring a

shift in the way we perceive, produce, and buy clothes by changing the relationship we have with

clothes from disposable to quality and one of a kind. This, in turn, is encouraging fewer

consumptions and more sustainable practices among consumers and these large fast fashion

companies.

Work Cited

Bick, Rachel, et al. “The Global Environmental Injustice of Fast Fashion.” Environmental

Health: A Global Access Science Source, vol. 17, no. 1, Dec. 2018, p. N.PAG.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7.

Claudio, Luz. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental

Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 9, Sept. 2007, pp. A448–A454. EBSCOhost,
 doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a449.

D’Souza, Clare. “Marketing Challenges for an Eco-Fashion Brand: A Case Study.” Fashion

Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, vol. 19, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 67–82.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.2752/175174115X14113933306824.

“The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect

Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, Summer

2017, pp. 575–596. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

“Working Conditions.” SustainYourStyle, www.sustainyourstyle.org/working-conditions.