Fast Fashion. It’s all around us any time we go into most retail stores in malls and shopping centers. These types of clothes are also being consistently sold on viral apps such as Shein, H&M, Forever 21, Fashion Nova, and the list goes on. Fast fashion provides benefits for those who need something quick and affordable to gain instant gratification from their purchase. This might all sound good on paper but, there’s a deeper understanding behind these companies.
Under the surface of fast fashion there is multiple associations that provide a negative from buying clothes from the stores I listed. These negatives consist of pollution, low wages in third world countries, and unsafe workplaces. Fast fashion has taken a large role in pollution in recent times. According to UN Environment Programme the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions (EARTH.org, 2019). And not on is it taking a toll on our environment but people are actually dying from the work spaces in the places these clothes are being produced from. One example would be the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 that killed over 1,000 workers in Bangladesh, and long-term health complications. This is only one of the multiple experiences that happen every day as people are diligently working in these sweat shops to make clothes for fast fashion.
The Harrison Pawprint 