According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the UK is only recycling 3% more waste than in 2010.
The fast fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world. One of the reasons for this is the sheer amount of water that is used in the production process. One cotton t-shirt uses 2,700 litres of water which is enough to sustain one human for three years! Another reason is the use of bleaches and dyes, which end up in nearby water systems - see more here. Additionally, fast fashion brands often use low quality materials that need to be replaced regularly. Furthermore, some brands send their ‘returns’ straight to landfill or even burn ‘dead’ stock.
We know fast fashion is bad, so how can you actually make a difference?
There are 5 main ways to make your wardrobe more ethical and sustainable, and these methods have been collated into a pyramid by writer Anuschka Rees.
Supporting ethical brands is at the top of the pyramid. If you have the funds to do so, this can be the easiest way to ditch fast fashion - simply swap your consumerism for a ‘greener’ consumerism. However, it’s important to remember that consumerism itself is at the heart of the problem. To really make a difference we need to change our consumer habits on a whole - not only consume more responsibly but consume less (more on this later).
Beware of greenwashing and make sure the brands you support are truly ethical, look for their accreditations e.g. for ethical manufacturing or use of upcycled materials. Just because a fast fashion brand has done one collection with organic cotton, doesn’t make them an ethical or sustainable brand. If a brand isn't transparent, it's probably hiding something. We need a fashion system that causes no harm from beginning to end - to people or planet. This means humane working conditions, a living wage for factory workers, upcycled materials, and no chucking unsold stock.
Ethical brands can of course be expensive, fast fashion is cheap because someone along the line is being exploited. A cheaper alternative is second hand shopping, which is next on the pyramid. Apps like Depop are perfect for this, often you can find brand new clothes for cheaper prices. You can also search for brands so if there is a fast fashion brand whose style you like, you can buy their things without directly supporting them. If you prefer to try on your clothes before buying then charity shopping and going to vintage shops is another great way to buy second hand.
Thirdly, go for durability: invest in clothes that will last. By doing this you can reduce your consumption as you won’t need to buy new clothes as often, because what you already have is still in good condition. Fast fashion brands entice us with cheap prices, corresponding to the low quality of their items which encourages us to keep buying from them to replace said items. This ties into the next step on the pyramid which is to shop less and choose better - buy things that you love which you can wear again and again. If you see something on impulse that you want to buy, leave it for a while, and if you still want it in a few days and know that you’ll get a lot of wear out of then go for it. This is arguably the most important step, as mentioned before, it is primarily consumer habits that need to change - we buy so much stuff that we don't actually need.
The final step at the base of the pyramid is to take care of and wear what you already own. The main way to look after your clothes, and therefore make them last longer, is to only wash them when necessary, and use a fibre filter bag. Washing clothes releases 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the ocean every year and microplastics make up 31% of plastic ocean pollution. Every time we wash our clothes these microfibres are released, but by using a filter bag this can be avoided. The Marine Conservation Society have started a campaign calling for all new washing machines to be fitted with microfibre filters, you can sign their petition here. And if you want a wardrobe makeover? Give your old clothes to charity shops or sell them on somewhere like Depop - don’t just bin them. Rebuild your wardrobe ethically.
Activist Aja Barber says that the vast majority of people who continue to participate in fast fashion are the ones who should make the change - ‘if you can afford to buy 3 dresses a month from one fast fashion maker, maybe try getting one dress instead from an ethical and sustainable company’.
In conclusion, we can all do more. Do whatever is financially accessible to you. The most important thing is thinking before you buy. Shop less, and when you do, either support an ethical business or buy second hand, investing in something that you really love that will stand the test of time. Boycotting fast fashion from day 1 may not be accessible to you and that’s fine, every purchase (or deciding not to purchase) makes a difference.
Buy less, buy ethically, think long-term.
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