Melissa Bonilla

Ms. Snyder

Capstone - Final Draft

10 April 2019

Melissa Bonilla
Ms. Snyder

Capstone - Rough Draft

10 April 2019

Sustainable Fashion

Knowingly or not, everyone participates in some form of artistic expression; if not in

drawing, or in films, most commonly it would be in personal style. The definition of art has been

debated for centuries but there is no doubt that art has to be of skill, of originality, of purpose,

and evoke some kind of feeling or emotion. There is no particular field of art that has been

exploited quite as much as the art of fashion. A couple of decades ago, clothing was special, it

was tailored, it was long-lasting, and typically it was one of a kind. Nowadays, in this modern

age of convenience, clothing is mass produced, many mimicking styles on runways, following

trends, and even stealing original designs from actual artists, completely stripping away the

“artistic” element of fashion. It has turned to poor quality, low cost, mass produced garments

known as fast fashion. Not only is the art of fashion exploited for cheap clothes and a quick

profit, what is more important is the matter in which it is done, exploiting third world laborers

and natural resources. Short term, fast fashion seems to be of no issue, especially in sheltered

first world countries where people don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes. But long term,

actually now, important questions have to arise. What are the effects of fast fashion on the

culture of consumerism, the global economy, and most importantly on the planet and how can a

sustainable approach resolve these issues?

The term, “First World” is used to refer to a developed and capitalist nation. This type of

environment is where the culture of consumerism thrives. In fact, such a capitalist and developed

nation would not exist without consumerism acting like the wood to the fire. When one thinks of
first world nations often countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia come to mind,

but the United States takes the lead, in fact, the US is seen as the face of a capitalist society.

Being this advanced, the masses in developed countries are used to convenience. Large chain

restaurants available at nearly every corner, grocery stores that sell everything from food to

electronics, and large outlets and malls selling all the latest trends; all of this available primarily

without any extensive effort on the consumers part. On top of all of this, it is a competitive

market, there are discounts, sales, and clearances nearly every day, stores competing against each

other to offer the lowest prices, often at the cost of quality and laborers. And consumers feed into

this, they take advantage of this. In turn, this has created a dangerous and wasteful culture of

excessive consumerism. “Unknown to most, this consumer-driven process, while favored by the

younger population, actually has extreme environmental, human rights, and global implications,

and this note gives these implications ample discussion” (Bick, 2018).

There is a destructive cyclical nature that exists when it comes to the production of fast

fashion and keeping it alive. In order to keep this kind of short term, fast-paced, system in place,

there is a sacrifice that has to occur elsewhere. Everything and everyone is affected. While these

companies and the economy seem to thrive off of this convenience-oriented system, there are

other countries that are held back and kept from growing to keep consumerism alive on the other

side of the world. In order for an excessive amount of cheap, affordable clothes to exist in retail

stores, companies have to outsource labor that is even cheaper. Cheap labor is inhumane as it is,

but the conditions that these laborers have to work under gives the word, “inhumane” much

more depth and injustice than previously thought before, the European Parliament has even

coined the word “Slave Labour” for these kinds of conditions. These are poor populations that

have no options but to work for such low wages. They are being exploited and taking advantage
of over living conditions they have no control over, thus no choice but to accept these wages, and

these companies know this. In fact, according to, Sustain Your Style, an anti-fast fashion

platform, businesses purposefully calculate and move productions sites regularly in search of

cheaper labor. This means labor that is paid either half or a fifth of what would be considered a

living wage, a living wage already being the bare minimum. This type of salary is practically

forced labor as these workers have no option but to accept 16 hours a day for 7 days a week to

meet deadlines and living expenses. To keep costs even lower, the facilities are in unsafe and

toxic conditions and the workforce is largely made of women and children. While the economy

of most developed nations thrive off the industry of fast fashion, these third world economies are

ruined. They are kept at a constant competition of offering the lowest wage possible, as that's the

only way to get these large companies to work with them. In the article, The Global

Environmental injustice to fashion, the point is brought up that all the burden and consequences

of mass production and over-consumption is shifted over to these underdeveloped countries

(Bick and Ekenga). These practices are inhibiting their job markets by demanding lower wages,

polluting their waters, killing their people, damaging their environment, and preventing any

growth of the local industry for them since often all excess clothes gets dumped back on these

countries.

It is not only human beings that are being exploited, but the planet and its natural

resources. Every step of garment production carries an environmental impact. The majority of

clothes that is produced is cotton and or polyester. Cotton being water extensive and polyester

being derived from crude oil. It is not just down to the material but the dye as well, often

discharged into water systems, polluting them with metals and other toxins. So much natural

resources get used and or polluted for the production of these garments yet they still get dumped
and discharged as if they were a disposable cup. In fact, clothes make up to 5% of landfill use. To

keep from clothes ending up in the landfill, it is common for people to donate their clothes to

charity, yet only one-fifth of all clothing donated is used. The rest is exported to recycling firms.

Of clothes that ends up in recycling firms, only 45% is recycled while the rest is exported to

developing countries that are already overflowing with second-hand garments. (Luz , 2007.

pg.3).

To address the detrimental impact of fast fashion it is important to implement sustainable

practices within the fashion community, such as that of eco-fashion, slow fashion, sustainable

fashion, etc. Quoting from the article, The Multifarious Approaches to Obtain Sustainable

Fashion, “A design future is concerned with humanity and more specifically how design can

contribute to the continuity of humanity.” In essence, this can also be interpreted as the popular

saying, “Think globally, act locally.” When implementing slow fashion, the approach focuses

more on valuing and knowing the product. This means utilizing sourcing locally, transparent

production practices, and producing sustainable and sensorial products. Naturally if a garment is

produced with the best intentions in mind, it is sensorial, this means it is special and one of a

kind, just like a piece of clothing is supposed to be, though due to the disposable short term

clothes people are used to, it is a concept some might have trouble understanding. Despite this, it

is what should be strived for. When it comes to marketing sustainable fashion, a few challenges

appear in that of a distaste for the “Eco-aesthetic”. When one thinks of eco-friendly fashion,

usually, a piece of obviously recycled garment paints its picture in their head, so it is important to

shift this idea and show sustainable clothes doesn’t have to abide to the “eco-aesthetics” people

assume it to be. Another issue is extending these beliefs and practices on a larger scale. There is

hope though, as the rise in environmentalism and transparency emerges, it is a lot more prevalent
now than ever before, meaning there is an increase in sustainable brands and sustainable interests

and practices. There is an evident shift happening in society, simply in raising awareness. More

people are becoming aware of their clothes and its production and making more conscious

decisions like shopping less, second-hand shopping, buying sustainably, and overall reducing

their impact.

In conclusion, fast fashion has taken the artistic and personal aspects of fashion and

exploited it to the disposable, lifeless, and dangerous industry it is today. It has cost fashion its

creativity, encouraged a toxic culture of consumerism, exploited third world countries as well as

inhibit their growth, and trashed the planet. With sustainable fashion, the goal is to bring a shift

in the way clothing is perceived, produced, and bought by changing the relationship with clothes

from disposable to quality and one of a kind. This, in turn, would hopefully encourage less

consumption and more sustainable practices among consumers and large fast fashion companies.

Works Cited

Bick, Rachel, et al. “The Global Environmental Injustice of Fast Fashion.” Environmental

Health: A Global Access Science Source, vol. 17, no. 1, Dec. 2018, p. N.PAG.
 EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7.

Claudio, Luz. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental

Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 9, Sept. 2007, pp. A448–A454. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a449.

D’Souza, Clare. “Marketing Challenges for an Eco-Fashion Brand: A Case Study.” Fashion

Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, vol. 19, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 67–82.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.2752/175174115X14113933306824.

“The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect

Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, Summer

2017, pp. 575–596. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

“Working Conditions.” SustainYourStyle, www.sustainyourstyle.org/working-conditions.