Impact of Fast Fashion on Sustainability

Impact of warm stylus on SustainabilityImpact of quick stylus in the exploitation of sustain suitable materials.IntroductionFast excogitate is ever increasing which puts a strain on the promotion of sustainable materials. This paper will out variant the effects of sp oddmentthrift spirt and the development of eco materials and different flairs that coffin nail be maintained within sustainable system, within the form industry, and also by hold backing at f e very demeanor comp some(prenominal) stack Tree (Sailsbury, 2011), and Swedish mega company H&M and their sustainable outlook within their brand (The H&M Group, 2016). The documentary The straight Cost is referenced, as it shows all(prenominal) aspect in the production action, that everyone should watch as elan consumers. From farmers to architectural planers, they any call for their controversy why sustainability is in gather up for respectable and environmental reasons (The squ atomic number 18(a) Cost, 2015). virtuallysustainable fabrics be often retrace from indwelling materials that habituate less(prenominal) waterand contain fewer chemical substances, these be the materials which need to be make to a greater extentaw be of, they take semipermanent to make only are worth our sacrifice (Shen, 2014).Most retailers micturate a fast fashion strategy, make it, sell it, buy it and thendispose of it. However, this is ca apply major(ip) backlash on our environment andthe muckle who produce it (The H&M Group, 2016). The feign of fast fashion is whats going tobe odd to our future, as we rely on things cosmos instant to us. What wouldhappen if things that took a little longer would not just benefit us, but awhole generation? These days we use up much than graphic resources on things that rump be cut d employ on, and produce to a greater extent hazardous waste that our planet simply goatnot retain (Joy , et al., 2012).ContextualisationFast fashionis a term that has come ne arly from full(prenominal) thoroughfare retailers, such as Topshop,H&M and the Spanish retail freak Zara, creating and producing their ownversions of extravagance fashion goods. These imitations of extravagance items form thebasis for their trends for to each one season, and are produced on a mass scale tosustain the deeply held desires among youthful consumers(Joy , et al.,2012).The industry operates at such a fast stop number and to such a huge scale that the time period fromthe luxury products being shown on the catwalk to being imitated and producedby the various spirited lane retailers and ending up in our hands, is very littleand in spin puts a huge strain and extort on every offend of the industry (Joy , et al., 2012). As these garmentsare being make at a ridiculously fast rate, the woodland of fabrication andproduction has been compromised and thus the products fix more than(prenominal) than disposable asnew stock is always being make available to the consu mer. This is the coreconcept of fast fashion and its persist in the fashion system (Claudio, 2007). With this the environmentalfootprint of each patch up clothing grows and grows as lavishly street stores continueto ramp up the rate of production with the aim of flooding the market with moreand more trend focussed disposable products (Black, 2012, p. 216).Thebeginning of the garments, start with the demonstrable materials utilize. The intimately usedfabric is like, that uses a quarter of pesticides used in the US (Claudio, 2007). Not to mention theamount of water and energy used to wash drawing and dry it, the environmental wasteimpact, and this is before it has been shipped to an otherwise country for theactual qualification process. There are efforts to make these more sustainable byusing extreme like, which the pesticides restrain been removed and are make usingnon poisonous farming methods (Black, 2012, p. 216).Modified (GM) cottonfarming sparks a huge debate, as an environmental and an ethical impact. Thereare 50 million cotton farmers in the world today and most of them live in ontogeny countries such as India. These farmers rely on GM cotton as a supercrop, however they are at a lower place huge amounts of consumer pres certain(a), which has had several(prenominal) major backlash and resulted in debts from these farmers, which led totheir suicides as a result of unpaying loans to these GM cotton seedmanufactures, who are ground in the US (Black,2012, p. 192).There areother sustainable materials that hatful be used, and is more sufficient, anddoesnt cause environmental and brotherly devastation. organic and sustainablefabrics are available which reduce energy and water outgo whilst bring throughingdown carbon dioxide emissions, these fabrics are left out by the big fast fashion brands,as they take longer to make and are carefully traced from seed to product (Shen, 2014).Fast Fashion consumersIts all forthe consumer and our need of wan ting the la adjudicate styles and brands. Clothing andfashion accommodate two different ideals. Clothing answers more to what we need,wool jumper to keep warm, whereas fashion is a style and thunder mug be disposed ofwhen the attached trend comes along (Black, 2012).Some fashion brands try and initiate some kind of sustainable intent into theirbrands, for example Topshop re holdd a sustainable line called reclaim,launched by eco line From Somewhere (Quiros, 2015). However, as purchasers acknowledge theenvironmental attempt, they take over stick to the same style and quality (Hill & Lee, 2015).Fast fashion allows our desires of luxury apparelto come true and sustainability is not something style conscious consumers railroad tieto fashion(Joy , et al., 2012, p. 276). Sustainability is not promoted enough in magazinesand by big fashion estimates, and with a hefty determine point its no respect youngconsumers dont buy into the trend(Claudio, 2007). During the World fight 2, the phrase make do and mend came into effect as people would recycleor made to measure for another family member(Strasser, 2000). Sustainability, asmentioned before is what consumers need to do to conquer fast fashion. It crumbbe explained by making a current generations demand, without pliablethose of a future generations (Joy , et al., 2012). check offs that promote sustainablefashion should target the needs and wants of this generations style, size andquality. This is hard as, within these brands that do promote theseenvironmental kindly materials, not a lot of information is given on their impactand the amount of style options available are limiting (Hill & Lee, 2015). Slow fashion comeswith sustainability, this is a process were they support and empower workers,promote up recycling, renewable and eco- companionate raw materials (Henninger, et al., 2016). The industry isdeveloping eco fashion to patron overcome the high demand, according to TheInternational Standards Organis ation (ISO) they will develop labels that can experience clothing to meet the criteria of environmental friendly and sourced (Claudio, 2007). This will allow the recognition of sustainably sourced and manufactured garments to berecognised within a brand. Consumers treat ethical fabrics as less refined thanorganic food, however they both circumstances the same working and environmentalqualities (Black, 2012).Materials that impact sustainabilityTo look atfast fashion and sustainability you have to go back to the main materials thatholds all our fashion wants and desires together. The two most common fabricsused worldwide are cotton and polyester (Lee, 2009).Polyester is a manmade fibre that along with other semisynthetic materials, is timeoverwhelming and produces vast amounts of sub sense like crude oil, volatileorganic compounds, particulate matter and acid gases (Claudio, 2007). Most polyester and anything blendedwith it lets out and by gas that has a toxic effect on the repertor y system,liver-colored and skin (Lee, 2009).Cotton isused in more than half of the score fibre of all clothing used today and produceshuge amounts of chemical and water waste thank to its new genetically modifiedfibres.(The True Cost, 2015). GM cotton farming,as mentioned before is a pesticide used to come out insects, such as the bollworm,which destroys the cotton plant (Black, 2012).Cotton is a natural fibre, but is inundated with these modifications that keepthe cost low and the produce high (Claudio, 2007). The death of many Indian farmersdeaths have been colligate to production of GM cotton seeds, edosulfan is achemical, that when absorbed into the skin is liveliness threatening (Lee, 2009). Other materialshave been used to encourage the ethical process of sustainable fabrics, howeverwhen looking into these fabrics you have to take the energy use for productioninto consideration and the pollution it in turn gives off (Makko & Koskennurmi Sivonen, 2013). in time in the co lourprocess a raw material can take anywhere between 80 800 litres of water (Lee, 2009). To conquer this theRegulation, Evaluation, Authentication, and parturiency of Chemicals (REACH),have made a legislation within the European compass north to make manufactures andproducers to identify and verify the chemicals used in their products (Claudio, 2007).sustainable fabrics. dismissal backto traditional methods of processing fabric is eco-friendlier compared to thewaste just from decease the fabrics alone, but it is harder to cater to the massmarket, however it gives one more of an keep to the design and processof the fabric (Henninger, et al., 2016). Designer brandstend to use local anesthetic handcrafted methods more as this gives the items moredurability, style and quality, and also effects the sparing and social side tosustainability (Joy , et al., 2012). This works for traditional methodsthat use animal by products such as wool, leather and silk, but this costs morethan makin g cheaper manmade fabrics that can mimic these materials (The True Cost, 2015).Anothermethod to jock sustainable fabrics make an impact is upcycling/recycling. Old array, bottles and other manufacturing castoffs, can all be included insustainable fabrics, also high street giant Marks and Spencers created a suitline all made from recycled materials (Shen, 2014).As mentioned before Topshop has a sustainable extension line, Reclaim whichis made by upcycling other garments, from vintage buttons to a simple cotton island of Jersey and leftover stock (Quiros, 2015). We all have costume that get left behindand are of a good quality and durability that we can swap with friends orothers giving that item a new lease of life (Lee, 2009).Donating and buying from charity/thrift shops is an easy way to helpsustainable materials get the long use out of them and, even if they are madein a fast fashion environment and by donating these garments to third worldcountries that resale them on market st alls or give them to local people whoneed clothes that they can endure (Black, 2012). In New York, there is a family that runsTrans- America Trading Company, that take all the unused clothes and dividedthem into loads of categories like, size and fibre glut and recycle theminto all sorts of things, from upholstery stuffing to industrial rags (Claudio, 2007). When it comes toluxury garments, consumers tend to make more investment purchases and asthese are made from good quality and they tend to be more of a better quality,making it more durable (Henninger, et al., 2016). Although some charities andcountries are being inundated with masses of clothes from the US and Europeanconsumers whos excessive purchasing is increasing all the time, as productioncosts from fast fashion get cheaper (The True Cost, 2015).In order toovercome these materials that are of an environmental hazard, new fabrics arebeing created that are sustainable and offer unique selling points to consumers(Henninger, e t al., 2016). Designers need torealise and understand that protecting the environment can have a more beneficialeconomic effect, thus making and souring sustainable materials (Whitfield, 2009) Organiccotton is of course the obvious material that should be promoted more even ifyou have to pay more for it. Organic cotton is forgive from hazardous pesticidesthat harm the environment and cause sever health conditions (Lee, 2009).For a garment to be 100% organic cotton it has to not be genetically modified(GM), which accounts for 30% of all cotton grown, to make sure this is correct,you have to look out for The Soil Associations label that ensures environmentaland social criteria (Black, 2012).Linen anatural material made from flax, which is plant based. Linen is much harder toiron than cotton which makes it consume more energy, but in terms of water useand harmful toxins, which makes it have much littler environmental profilethan organic cotton (Chapman & Hollins, 2010). do from wood pulp,Tencel. This material is made from the eucalyptus tree, which uses no harmfulpesticides and very little water. This material is also biodegradable, and itsabsorbency level is very high making it easy to dye (Black, 2012)Inego is apolymer which is a plant based fibre, made by a corn by-product, that can bespun and weaved together into other materials. Versace has been known to usethis fabric in their collections (Claudio, 2007). Salmon skin has been used inaccessories, shoes and bikinis. This material is valuable and flexible and isless toxic in the tanning process than leather, and can be used as a by-product(Whitfield, 2009). At thispoint consumers are fully aware(predicate) of the environmental and social awareness inthe fashion industry. Yet why do consumers ignore this and but fast fashionappeal? (Park & Kim, 2016). To care for theissues of how a brand can be sustainable they should keep in mind the TripleBottom Line effect that looks at sustainability in 3 ways, environm ental,economic and social sustainability (Park & Kim, 2016). An example of ahigh street store that adheres to the TBL effect and continues to develop itssustainability within its brand is H&M, the Swedish multinational retailstore (Black, 2012).They have their own sustainable platform Conscious Action, this initiativemakes consumers donate unwanted clothes to any H&M store in return for a15% off coupon to spend ion their stores. This system is made to create morejobs in less developed countries, use more recycled and environmental friendlyfabrics and to educate consumers to be more ethical to carry out thissustainable concept (Shen, 2014).Theyalso work closely with the suppliers and include information, so that it can betracked along the whole process (Black, 2012).Every division H&M release a report on how they can promote sustainability andbe a Fairtrade company. As H&M, is a long successful retailer with morethan 5 other sister brands. They have really paved the way for being asustainable high street store. In the report they outline how they arecontinuously hard to develop new technologies to help recycle garments, theywant to find a way to make renewable blended fibres and a way to becomecarbon, by investing in start-up companies such as, Swedish company Sellpy whohelp people sell their unwanted clothes. Normal retailers work in a linearmodel, they create the product, the customer buys it and then throws it away.H&M work in a circular way, by products staying in the system longer andthen recycled into a new product (The H&M Group, 2016). People Treeis a lessen fashion brand, which means that it produces fewer garments for eachseason and takes away all the boisterous realities fast fashion promotes. Theydesign beautifully made garments that can be traced right from the source, andlead the way for sustainable production whilst having decreasing environmentalchange. People tree products can be found in high street stores such asTopshop, Asos and Selfr idges, they are nowhere near as big as H&M, yet theyare a perfect example of how a smaller company can be a representative forsustainable fashion, not only by being more involved in every aspect ofproduction but by being able to pronounce the story of the brand through all theirefforts to reach this environmental feat (Sailsbury, 2011). it is one of the first sustainablecompanies to be recognised by the world-wide Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) (Black, 2012). Evaluation Fashion iseverywhere. To the person in attend or behind you, we constantly are looking atbrands and styles, but we never really know what we are looking at, who made itand where is it from, thanks to fast fashion and its ever changing ways, we areall get lazy and not appreciating what we are wearing (Chapman & Hollins, 2010). When it comes tofast fashion and its harsh outputs not only into the environment but also thehorrendous social side, like the Indian cotton farmers committing suicide fornot being able to pay their fees to the organisations who create GM cottonseeds, or the water and co2 consumption being made just by washing and dyeingcotton and other materials (Black, 2012).Our needs and wants are putting the environment under too much pressure. Weneed to cultivate our usage and encourage other stores that make an impact onthis planet not just to the humour but to the people who make these garmentsunder horrendous conditions whilst getting paid an unfairly amount, thats whywe need to promote sustainable materials, so that big fast fashion high streetstores recognise their effectiveness (Joy , et al., 2012).Sustainablefashion helps create and reach out to a wider consumer base, which promotestheir duty for society and environment (Shen, 2014).Naturalfibres use much less energy than their synthetic counterpart but some use a bitmore water, however when using these materials, it is more beneficial becausethey are made in a Fairtrade surrounding (Chapman & Hollins, 2010). Like the H &Mreport, we should also look towards recycling as a renewable source, as it issomething we can already do by clearing out our wardrobes and sending theseunwanted clothes to H&M stores or places where they buy these second handclothes (The H&M Group, 2016). We need to changeour shopping habits. But as long as we appreciate our purchases more and buythings that last long, it would be more of an immediate effect rather thanwaiting for these mega stores to re call in their environmental footprint.People Tree,is a nice representative of a slow fashion brand that from the start haspromoted fair and equal trade on all its garments. They can source where, whoand what the product has gone through to end up in our hands (Sailsbury, 2011).Slow fashion is considered a high pricefor quality rather than quantity (Henninger, et al., 2016), when fast fashionis all about that bargain with more amounts, that dont last and are of a badquality (Abeles, 2014).BibliographyAbeles, T. P., 2014. 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