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We get it. Fast fashion makes it easy to indulge your taste for of-the-moment trends while not breaking the bank. Shipping is free and sales are plentiful. Looking in from the outside, fast fashion balances the scales making fashion affordable for the masses. But, from the inside looking out, fast fashion statistics prove that the industry is an unfair scale where both the environment and people who are making the clothes are losing.
With headlines spilling secrets about billion-dollar brand’s poverty wages to water resources being polluted with toxic chemicals, over the last few years fast fashion’s once sparkling reputation has now been polluted. Even so, these brands are still seeing a rise in profits while making an overall negative impact. So, for those who would like to know just why fast fashion is so bad or need a little convincing with a few cold hard facts, here are a few fast fashion statistics that will hopefully get you into sustainable fashion sooner than later.
1. 8-10% of global carbon emissions are caused by the fashion industry.
This staggeringly high percentage is higher than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Part of the cause for these harmful emissions is from pumping water to irrigate crops like cotton, which are essential in the industry, the existence of oil-based pesticides, and the machinery required for harvesting.
2. Bangladeshi garment workers don’t earn a living wage.
According to the government’s wage board in Bangladesh, garment workers make $96 per month. To live with basic necessities requires 3-5 times that amount. Moreover, 80% of the apparel is made by young women between the ages of 18-24, leaving them at a disadvantage even after working long hours. World Resources Institute
3. Child labor makes up a huge chunk of the industry.
Child labor has become one of fast fashion’s major problems. Children under the age of 18 make up 60% of those who labor in the global fashion industry. Not only are they often paid unfair wages, but children working in the fashion/textile/garment industry are often exposed to hazardous working environments, leading them to suffer from extended exposure to harsh chemicals.
4. Fabric production causes 20% of industrial water pollution.
Textile production generally contains chemicals that are diluted through the process of washing, and through washing can release microplastics and other harmful toxins. This is why the textile/garment industry in fast fashion carries a heavy water pollution issue.
5. Garment workers have few laws to protect themselves.
Over 90% of workers in the global garment industry have no possibility to negotiate their wages and conditions. The majority of garment workers in fast fashion are female – young and old, the majority of them making far less than a livable wage. Garment workers, primarily women, in the fast fashion industry persistently face poor working conditions and are forced to live in poverty. They are often working in the bottom of the value chain working in fields or factories, and for that reason face the most exploitation in the fast fashion.
6. Polyester, spandex and nylon can take up to 200 years to break down in a landfill.
Many garments in the fast fashion industry are made up of these fabrics that are more difficult to break down when disposed of. Man-made fabrics like polyester, spandex and nylon are also plastic-based. Although they will eventually break down, the process might take between 20-200 years.
7. Each year, 20,000 people die due to the harmful chemicals sprayed on cotton.
Cotton is known to be one of the most chemically intensive crops in the world. The damaging chemicals that are used in the process of spraying cotton can drift into workers’ personal vicinity and can contribute to major health issues such as a miscarriage or even cancer.
8. By 2050, the fashion industry could be responsible for 26% of the Earth’s carbon budget.
According to the Ellen MacArther foundation, an estimated 500 billion USD is lost every year due to clothing that is barely worn and rarely recycled. Without any sustainable reform put in place, the fashion industry may account for a quarter of the world’s carbon budget in the next 30 years.
9. In 2018, H&M reported $4.3 billion of unsold inventory – indicating that it produces far more than what sells.
H&M is one of the world’s largest clothing manufacturers, and produces millions of items each year. Because of consumer demands and fierce competition, the fashion market has been rapidly changing and as a result, H&M has struggled with a mounting stack of unsold inventory at the end of each year.
10. Fast fashion brands burn millions of unsold clothing yearly.
H&M, Urban Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret have all been participants in destroying unsold merchandise – with H&M burning 60 tons of new and unsold clothes since 2013. As the global fashion market continues to remain competitive, brands destroy unsold products as a way to maintain their exclusivity. The notion is that brands uphold their value through scarcity of their product – not paying any mind to the environmental waste they may cause in the process.
11. Fashion accounts for 20 to 35% of the microplastics polluting the ocean.
Solvents and dyes used in manufacturing and washing synthetic materials are responsible for ⅕ of industrial water pollution. The microplastic pollution that has accumulated in the ocean is eventually ingested by all sorts of marine wildlife and ultimately by us as well through our water sources or even food sources.