Why sustainable fashion is more important now than ever.

Almost everybody wants to look good and be up-to-date with the current fashion trends. But do they realize the impact of it on our planet? Fast fashion is on the rise, now, as everyone wants to be relevant, wants high-end fashion at affordable prices. This could cost us more than we think.

What is fast fashion? According to The Good Trade, ‘Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing which is copied or picked off from runway and celebrity looks, and turned into garment in high street stores at a neck-breaking speed.’ In my opinion, fast fashion is something which is blatantly copied off of designs of runway shows by high-end designers; which would’ve probably taken them months of blood, sweat and tears. Fast fashion is attractive, because everyone wants to LOOK classy, trendy and rich. Notice how I emphasized on the word ‘look’. A lot of brands tend to copy runway looks as quick as a week after the show. The fast fashion industry achieves the low price point by using low-quality materials; majority of fast fashion brands also have questionable labour ethics. Many brands have been accused of opting for manufacturers who use children as labourers with very bad work conditions and very little pay.

Take the brand, H&M, for instance. From my personal experience, I have observed that they have new styles and new collections almost every two weeks. A lot of clothing brands do this so that their customers are always attracted to these new styles and never get bored of their brand.

Also, these brands produce clothing at a very quick pace. They recreate runway styles at a high-speed, which means that essential quality checks are not carried out. So, the price you’re paying for that torn jean jacket or that infamous Jacquemus inspired tiny bags is so not worth it. These companies make huge profits off of these products because of the number of people buying these is pretty huge and the cost of manufacturing is very,very less. Examples of such brands include ZARA, H&M, Topshop, PrettyLittleThing, Fashion Nova (who remembers the time Kim Kardashian West sued Fashion Nova because they knocked off her risque vintage Mugler dress?), Missguided etc.

Fast fashion is bad. I remember, in my childhood, I used to use my clothes for at least 4–5 years, considering I don’t grow out of them. But now, everyone wants to keep up with all the trends, so they end up buying more than they need. A new trend pops up before we can even reuse our outfit for the second time. And then, the clothes which become ‘out of trend’ end up in the back of our closets, only to be thrown out after some time to make space for our new ones. As I’ve mentioned before, fast fashion clothes are made which cheap, low-quality materials, so they almost never decompose. They cause more harm than good. They just will take years to decompose or will just lay in landfills for years and years to come. Also, buying fast fashion means that you’re supporting the unethical child labour that manufactures these clothing. A lot of brands do not care about the labour practices of their manufacturers because they achieve a huge profit-margin.

Sustainable fashion seems like an effective solution to this environmental problem. Sustainable fashion refers to clothing or fashion made with recyclable, eco-friendly materials, made in ethical socio-economic conditions, and also the process of how they are manufactured. This also means there is an effort to monitor and improve all stages of the product’s life cycle. Sustainable fashion also refers to styles which almost never go out of style, which makes it last longer on people’s closets. It is not only about the production and manufacture, but also mindful patterns of consumption and use. There is a need to raise awareness about the harmful effects of fast fashion and also about the benefits of investing in sustainable fashion. Buying clothes from brands who fight for the safety of our earth and other humans is more ethical and beneficial.

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