“How to avoid fast fashion?”- is one of the most common questions for clothing business owners who are conscious about the environment.
You may just start up your own clothing business and can manufacture many trendy clothes with trendy fabrics. Many types of fabrics are manufactured in processes that are hazardous to the environment. Basically, it happens to lessen the cost of production.
Nowadays fast fashion is really popular and seems quite easy for people especially when you are starting up your own clothing brand. It seems too good when it promises to provide the latest fashions by copying the designs of leading fashion brands in a quick and affordable manner. These garments are frequently made with short-lasting fabrics, that’s why they are referred to as “fast” fashion. However, the harsh reality is that this fast fashion has disastrous consequences for the environment and the health of workers. But fashion business owners should adopt ethical and eco-friendly production methods for producing their garments. So we should avoid fast fashion.
Climate Crisis For Fast Fashion
Production and Consumerism of Low-Quality Clothing
Stores like Zara and H&M have developed due to their low prices and the promise of getting more for less. “Why not get a knock-off, cheaply made version of it for less than half the price?” – This is what buyers think instead of buying luxury, Italian-made cashmere sweaters and eventually they go for the less priced products which provide almost similar kind of look of the luxury branded products.
Fashion consumers generally enjoy the experience of purchasing trendy clothing items without having to pay the full price for them. While these clothes may appear to be a good deal at that time with a lower price, the environment pays a higher price for them. As well as the employees have to pay for this with their long-term health hazards who are in this production system. For that, we have to keep our distance and avoid fast fashion as much as we can.
The Myth of Sustainable Fast Fashion
Famous brand Zara generates nearly 840 million clothes every year for 6,000 stores in countries like Morocco, Bolivia, and Bangladesh, and does it at sub-poverty rates for their workers.
On the other hand, “Zara” claims to be aware of the existential climate issue and they say that they are taking steps to make their business more sustainable. They claim that in 2020, they reduced water and energy consumption for their clothing production. In addition, they also say that they installed several donation bins for their old garments in all their stores. But it is a question “Does that really benefit the environment?”
We’re sorry, but if you like Zara, you’re not going to enjoy this.
Zara is trying to make attempts to “greenwash” their customers by making them believe that the company is more environmentally conscious than it actually is. They claim that they reduced water and energy consumption, but in reality, this only applies to their clothing’s TAGS – it was not applicable for the apparel itself. Zara also claims that as part of their eco-initiative, they’ve installed clothes donation bins at retail locations. Zara is starting to avoid this fast fashion day by day. Though it seems like a great initiative you will be shocked by knowing that only 40% of your donated clothes were actually donated and got reached the actual needy people.
Health at Risk Due to the Usage of Harsh Chemical
The Global Environmental Injustice of Fast Fashion includes the widespread environmental and social costs involved in textile manufacturing from the growth of water-intensive cotton to the release of untreated dyes into local water sources, to workers’ low wages and poor working conditions.
The workers out there and the people who live around that area suffer long-term health hazards due to the chemicals used like silicon, ammonia, petroleum, formaldehyde, etc. Also for the toxic wastes released during the “fast fashion” clothing production.
According to the CDC, garment workers are at high risk of kidney and testicular cancers, liver damage, and many other health difficulties. Exposure to those chemicals can occur in a variety of ways. That includes touching in factory conditions or swallowing contaminated food and drinking water from rivers polluted by textile factories. Bangladesh and Cuba are two of the most popular countries for fast fashion production. They allowed and forced child labor in the terrible working conditions.
Eco-Friendly Materials & Fabrics
Brands have benefited from the creation of more environmentally friendly materials by minimizing toxic waste. While consuming less energy, harsh chemicals, water, and oil. Nike has demonstrated that making this transition is as simple as switching to organic cotton. Recycling cotton fabric waste into fleece for other apparel.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular sustainable materials and fabrics are chosen by designers:
- Organic cotton: Organic cotton is currently one of Nike’s sustainable textiles. It is environmentally progressive to manufacture because it is made from natural fibers and does not require the use of pesticides or chemicals. It is also comfortable for consumers who desire soft, breathable, biodegradable materials to wear.
- Linen: Linen is a thin, lightweight, and environmentally friendly fabric that is ideal for breathable dresses and tops. Linen is a preferred choice for sustainable brands and consumers because it is biodegradable and does not require the use of pesticides or chemicals.
- Silk: Silk is a lovely, luxurious, and soft fabric. While it is more expensive than cotton, we made it of natural fibers, and uses less water. It’s a popular and ecological alternative for everyone because it’s biodegradable and soft.
If you’re attempting to go green with your materials, we recommend avoiding the following fabrics:
- Nylon: While this fabric uses little water and is inexpensive, it is made from oil and processed with harmful chemicals, endangering the health of workers and the environment.
- Polyester: While this fabric uses little water and is very inexpensive, it is made from oil and harmful chemicals. Furthermore, polyester is non-biodegradable and requires a significant amount of energy to manufacture.
- Rayon: Rayon is biodegradable, inexpensive, and requires less water than cotton, yet it treats with harmful chemicals that are dangerous for the workers and for the ecosystems.
Ethical and Ecofriendly Clothing Manufacturing
The benefits of ethical and eco-friendly clothing manufacturing are customer satisfaction, ethical labor, and environmental benefits. As eco-friendly clothing production produces long-lasting better-quality apparel, these satisfy the customers in the long run. Again ethical labor does not allow any type of health hazards for the laborers. So ultimately these all lead to a more environmentally friendly production which helps the environment to stay green and pollution-free. For that, we should always try to make eco-friendly clothes and avoid that fast fashion.
Where Can I Ethically Manufacture My Designs?
Now, what can you adapt to promote sustainability or ethical fashion as a consumer, brand, or designer?
The simple solution is to invest in making, selling, and purchasing garments made of longer-lasting, environmentally friendly, and high-end textiles created in nations that value their employees as well as start to avoid fast fashion.
So, as a designer or merchant, what actions can you take to become more sustainable while still providing stylish products?
Simply begin your journey being more ethical, environmentally friendly manufacturing with a high-value, high-quality collection.
When shifting to eco-friendly manufacturing, we recommend starting with a flagship product. That gradually includes ethical producers into your procurement mix. You can quickly evaluate and gauge how well they fit with your brand and study client reactions with just one or two products at a time.
We should avoid Zara and H&M fabrics used in the fabrication of H&M and Zara. Invest in a higher-priced, higher-quality cloth that will last longer.
For this kind of high-quality environmentally-friendly garment production, you can choose Beautiful Connection Group. Beautiful Connection Group is one of the best clothing manufacturers in the USA. You can trust their quality and their production method. They provide the best quality clothing within a decent budget and they make sure to produce in an eco-friendly method. You can get any type of customized clothing from them wholesale.