“Who are you wearing?” is the catchphrase at most red carpet events. But how often do we take the time to consider the clothing industry’s impact on sustainability and human rights? To answer that question, we need to ask: “Where does all that clothing go after you’re done using it?”
Shopping is one of our favourite guilty pleasures, but it comes with a lot of hidden problems, which can be summarised in the phrase “fast fashion”.
What is fast fashion? The environmental news and data platform, Earth.org, defines fast fashion as “cheaply produced and priced items that copy the latest catwalk styles and trends and get pushed through stores in order to maximise sales.”
Why is Fast Fashion so harmful to the environment?
The result of more and more clothes being manufactured every year, and worn for shorter and shorter periods, is that the industry accounts for more than 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually. “That’s one-tenth of all emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined,” says the Future Investment Initiative Institute, which is head-quartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.