For the umpteenth time today, a SHEIN advertisement appears on my screen. My thoughts inevitably jump to the anti-fast fashion law the French passed in the middle of 2025. This new legislation aims to limit the environmental and social impact of fast fashion by, among other things, prohibiting influencers from promoting fast fashion brands. The new law also seeks to penalise companies with large environmental footprints with higher taxes. It also requires producers to provide information about their products’ repair and recycling options.
What is Fast Fashion?
The term fast fashion refers to cheaply manufactured and priced garments that copy the latest runway styles and are quickly distributed to stores to exploit current fashion trends. Fast fashion involves the rapid design, production, distribution, and marketing of clothing. This means retailers can obtain large quantities of products, allowing consumers to buy garments at very low prices.
The term was first used when Zara landed in New York in the early 1990s. The term “fast fashion” was coined by the New York Times to describe Zara’s mission to ensure that garments only take 15 days from the design stage to the store shelf. Currently the biggest players in the fast fashion world include Zara, Shein, UNIQLO, Forever 21 and H&M.
Why Fast Fashion is bad?
According to the 2015 documentary The True Cost, the world consumes about 80 billion new garments every year, 400% more than twenty years ago. The average American now generates almost 40kg of textile waste each year.
According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production is responsible for 10% of total global carbon emissions—the same amount of carbon generated by the entire European Union. What I found even more shocking is that it is estimated that 85% of all textiles end up in landfills each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the sea every year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. The fashion industry is the second largest consumer of water, requiring about 700 liters to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 liters to produce a pair of jeans. Business Insider also warns that textile dyeing is the world’s second largest polluter of water, as the water left over after the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers.
Furthermore, synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic take hundreds of years to break down. In their report, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 35% of all microplastics in the world’s oceans come from washing synthetic textiles like polyester. Additionally, the production of plastic fibers in textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases harmful gases and acids into the environment. Moreover, cotton, which is found in many fast fashion items, is also not environmentally friendly to produce. Pesticides deemed necessary for cotton growth can also pose health risks to people.
What Can We as Consumers Do?
- Support Secondhand Stores
Secondhand shopping is the simplest alternative to fast fashion. Secondhand stores not only offer clothes at more affordable prices than fast fashion companies, but also without further harm to the environment or workers. By donating clothes to secondhand stores, you are helping these stores offer a wider range of options to consumers, who otherwise would not be able to afford ethical and sustainable fashion. - Buy, Sell, and Swap Clothes Online
A variety of apps and websites make it possible for fashion lovers to buy secondhand clothes without visiting a physical store. Apps like Yaga make it simple and safe for consumers to buy and sell secondhand clothes online. Other consumers prefer to buy used clothes on social media platforms, such as Facebook Marketplace and Instagram, rather than supporting fast fashion brands. The trick is to find an online space that works best for you. - Support Local Designers and Stores
Local brands like Hemp Love, Sitting Pretty and Hanna Lavery offer beautiful and environmentally friendly clothing. Stay up to date with South Africa’s green fashion scene through the website Twyg. They regularly share sustainable fashion tips. - Buy Timeless, Good Quality Clothes
Instead of cheap, low-quality fast fashion items that wear out quickly, rather buy a few high-quality, timeless pieces that can be worn season after season. - Create a capsule wardrobe for yourself A capsule wardrobe is a small, carefully selected collection of interchangeable clothes and accessories designed to create a wide variety of outfits for various occasions.
- Learn How to Make and Repair Clothes
Making and repairing clothes is another great affordable, sustainable, and ethical alternative to fast fashion.
There are many alternatives to fast fashion, but more importantly, we as consumers have the power to create lasting and meaningful shifts in the fashion industry. By shopping more consciously, we can make a difference.
xxx
