Fast fashion is the term used to describe clothes that are inspired by recent style trends. They are then offered for an affordable price to the end user (1). To help keep up with the demand and to be able to produce these garments so cheaply sometimes corners are cut which means that it can then affect the manufacturers carbon footprint.
According to Green Matters these garments are often worn 5 times, kept for roughly 35 days, and produce over 400 percent more carbon emissions per item per year than garments worn 50 times and kept for a full year!
After these clothes are finished with, the majority of them will then go to landfill. The Times reported that in 2017 Britons alone binned clothes worth around £12.5 Billion! On average this meant that each person put around eight items of clothing in the bin!
What are companies doing to help?
The BBC spoke with Peter Andrews who is the head of sustainability at the British retail Consortium who said that his members are now designing products that are made to last and they are now encouraging customers to return unwanted clothes for reuse.
What can you do to help?
It can be hard to change habits when it’s so easy to pop to your local retailer and buy the latest dress or shirt, but by making just a few small changes/decisions you could help make a dent in this growing problem. See below for a few ideas!
1.Reduce the amount of new clothes you buy each year
2.Reuse any old clothing that you may not have worn for a while
3.Recycle any old clothing that you aren’t ever going to wear again
4.Produce your own garments using deadstock fabrics to prevent these fabrics going to waste
(1) - https://www.greenmatters.com/style/2018/08/28/ybXGX/fast-fashion-impacts-environment