Fast Fashion \u2013 it\u2019s the democratization of fashion, we\u2019re told. Retailers borrow what they see on the catwalk, design and produce cheaper versions, and sell those trendy clothes at incredibly low prices. At first glance, this is a win for the consumer. Fashion is no longer an exclusive, aspirational industry. We can all afford to play thanks to the likes of H&M, Forever 21 and Zara, who put the latest trends in all of our hands.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re buying into this message: every year, Americans purchase 20 billion new items of clothing, making fast fashion is a $1.2 trillion industry [1]. But the fast fashion business model is predicated on cheap prices for consumers, which leads to the use of cheap materials by manufacturers. The production of this enormous volume of clothing contributes to the apparel industry becoming the 2nd<\/sup> largest polluter of fresh water globally (after oil & gas) [2].<\/p>\n The cheap materials impact the environment once they\u2019ve become \u201cso last season.\u201d On average Americans wear an article of clothing seven times before they send 10 million tons of clothing to the dump each year [2]. To satisfy our demand for low prices manufacturers use low quality cotton and polyester, which release methane, a greenhouse gas, and take hundreds of years to biodegrade [3]. What\u2019s more, the poor dyeing and bleaching practices used to keep costs low can \u201cleach from the textiles and \u2013 in improperly sealed landfills \u2013 into groundwater\u201d [3].<\/p>\n