Fast fashion

Last semester in my business communication class my teacher assigned us to pair up with a fellow classmate and write a business report on any topic we wanted. I got paired up with this girl Carmen and I was lucky enough that she was into fashion as much as I am. I was also lucky that at the time she was taking a “clothing and textiles” class because that's where we got our topic from. In that class Carmen learned about this term “fast fashion” that is used by fashion retailers. I learned a lot from it and I hope it does the same for you!

There is a lot of information about this topic online, but this is just a shorter version of what it is:

Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers to acknowledge that designs move from catwalk to store in the fastest time to capture current trends in the market. Fast fashion has also become associated with disposable fashion because it has delivered designer product to a mass market at relatively low prices. These trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current at a lower price.

When a retailer uses this method they have no more than two weeks to design clothes similar to the ones on the catwalk, mass produced them and get them in stores. The downside is that since retailers have so little time to mass produced clothes they use cheap products to make clothes. Which look great on you but do not last very long since they are not great quality, this not only makes you buy clothes more often but it also affects the environment.

Fast fashion leaves a pollution footprint, with each step of the clothing life cycle generating potential environmental and occupational hazards. For example:

• Polyester, the most commonly used manufactured fiber, is made from petroleum in an energy-intensive process that emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and acid gases into the air. The process also uses a large amount of water for cooling.

• The manufacturing of emits nitrous oxide a greenhouse gas with a carbon footprint 310 times that of carbon dioxide.
• Rayon, derived from wood pulp, often relies on clearing old growth forests to make way for water-hungry eucalyptus trees, from which the fiber is derived.
  
•  Cotton, found in most clothing, is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world. It takes one-third of a pound of pesticides to make one t-shirt.

To address the environmental impacts of fast fashion at its source, and to find a niche in this increasingly competitive market, some manufacturers are aiming to develop “eco-fashions.”

• One approach has been to use sustainably grown cotton, hemp, bamboo, and other fiber crops that require less pesticides, irrigation, and other inputs.
• Another approach is the use of polymers created from plant-based materials.
  

  

  So hopefully after reading this you will be well informed and will be able to make better decisions, not only ones that will benefit you and your pocket but also for the environment. Make sure to check out this eco-friendly website! ecofashionworld they are worth checking out and they have AMAZING products!