I have always tried to be conscious of how I am producing my wares, but everyday I am taken back by the travesty that is fast fashion.
Fast fashion is defined as cheap and trendy clothing that is based off of runway couture. It is produced very quick and the quality is very low.
The environmental imprint it leaves will flabbergast you. The production of these clothes requires a considerable amount of energy and resources. It depends on toxic fabric dyes and other chemicals that contaminate fresh water. Did you know that the fashion industry produces a tenth of the world's carbon emissions?
There are traders that will import some of the unwanted garments which are mainly from Europe and the US, and they resell locally and to other nations. But more than half of the 60,000 tons of clothes imported each year ends up in illegal desert landfills. This comes with dire consequences for the environment and the local communities. The decomposition process of textiles generate greenhouse methane gases and also release toxic chemicals/dyes into the groundwater and soil. A good chunk of these items are made with cotton polyester which is not something that breaks down very well.
Did you know throw away clothing in the garbage, not only does it waste money and resources, but it can take 200+ years for the materials to decompose in a landfill?!
I like to make a point to reused clothing. Whether that is cutting it into chunks of fabric to make something new, like I do with my t-shirt skirts. Or, I like to hand embroider them. No matter which option I choose, I will always breathe new life into my garments and use as much of these items as humanly possible. I have even started trying new ways to reuse even my small scarps from my serger!!
When purchasing fabrics I shop at remnants and dead stock fabric stores. If I do go to any of the main stream stores, like Joann's, I will only shop for fabric in clearance. I try to veer as far away from adding the to demand for brand new things. There is so much out there that still needs a chance to become something beautiful!
I hope I was able to shed a small amount of light on fast fashion and textile waste.
Shop slow fashion as much as possible. There are so many people that create magnificent pieces. The more we shop small, the less we feed into the monster that is "Fast Fashion."