The hidden cost of fast fashion

A T-shirt for the price of a sandwich. A new dress that arrives at your door the day after you order it. For millions of shoppers, the clothing industry has never been more convenient. Behind that convenience, however, lies a business model whose environmental and human costs are only now being fully acknowledged.

The term “fast fashion” describes the practice of producing large quantities of cheap clothing at great speed, closely following the latest trends. Where fashion houses once released two main collections a year, some brands now launch new items every week. Production has risen accordingly: according to one widely cited estimate, the number of garments made each year roughly doubled between 2000 and 2014. At the same time, we keep our clothes for less time, and many items are worn only a handful of times before being thrown away.

The environmental impact of this cycle is considerable, although exact figures are notoriously difficult to pin down. Estimates of the fashion industry’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions vary widely, typically falling somewhere between two and eight per cent, depending on what is included. Water use is another concern. The conservation organisation WWF has calculated that producing the cotton for a single T-shirt can require around 2,700 litres of water – roughly what one person drinks in two and a half years.

The problems do not end once a garment has been made. Many cheap clothes are made from synthetic fibres such as polyester, which is derived from oil and can release tiny plastic particles when washed. And although clothes are often donated with the best intentions, only a small fraction of textiles are recycled into new clothing; much of the rest ends up in landfill, is burned or is shipped abroad, where it can overwhelm local markets.

Then there is the human cost. Keeping prices low puts pressure on every link in the supply chain, and that pressure often falls hardest on garment workers, many of whom earn very low wages in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions. The collapse of a factory building in Bangladesh in 2013, which killed more than a thousand people, brought these conditions to worldwide attention and led to new safety agreements – though campaigners argue that progress has been uneven.

In response to growing criticism, many brands have launched recycling schemes and “sustainable” collections. Some of these efforts are genuine; others have been accused of greenwashing, presenting a product as more environmentally friendly than it really is. For consumers, telling the difference is not always easy.

Experts tend to agree that the most effective change is also the simplest: buying fewer clothes and keeping them for longer. Repairing, swapping and buying second-hand all extend the life of a garment, and even wearing an item a few more times can significantly reduce its overall footprint. The cheapest T-shirt, it turns out, is often the one already in your wardrobe.