Reducing the Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion
How can we reduce the impact of fast fashion and commercial waste on our environment? Here are some innovative solutions, however, they aren’t as convenient as other recycling solutions and may cause additional problems. The types and quality of fabrics and fibres make recycling clothing difficult. Additionally, clothing can be damp and mouldy if proper commercial waste collections are not organised.
Additionally, there isn’t a straightforward process for disposing of a garment when it’s unusable. Some people may be unwilling or unable to recycle their clothes because of cost or quality. A commercial waste collection can be expensive! Alternatively, they may not be able to recycle their garments themselves, owing to the lack of alterations or repair skills. Please click here for more information and pricing on commercial waste.
Impact of Fast Fashion: Innovative Solutions
Fast fashion is destroying the planet and causing massive commercial waste. It is responsible for around 20% of the world’s water and wastewater treatment globally. In addition, less than 1% of all clothing is recycled and remade into new products. And, if the industry continues to ramp up its production and design, it will run out of resources and bury the world in textile waste. In response to this crisis, shoppers are demanding change.
They are tired of seeing too much commercial waste and want honest fashion. To tackle this problem, innovative solutions are emerging. The UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee recently released a Fixing Fashion report on fast fashion. It recommended a penny-per-piece price tag to fund a £35 million clothes recycling scheme. The report notes that global consumption of clothes is projected to increase by 63% by 2030, equivalent to 500 billion T-shirts.
During this same period, global retail sales of clothing and shoes are expected to reach £2.3 trillion, and much of this growth comes from developing countries. The fashion industry is responsible for considerable pollution, with over 10 billion tons of textiles ending up in landfills yearly.
Additionally, it accounts for about 2% of the world’s freshwater extraction. And in the US alone, over 10 billion tons of textile waste are disposed of annually. Innovative manufacturing processes and new business models lead the way towards a circular fashion system to tackle this problem. End-of-life recycling services are essential in this regard.
Objectives of the Alliance For Sustainable Fashion |
Promoting Active Collaboration |
Knowledge Sharing |
Strengthening Synergies |
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The Alliance supports collaboration by developing joint activities, including outreach events, research and new guidelines. |
The Alliance fosters more effective knowledge sharing by fostering transparency on best practices, data and activities of members via a knowledge platform. |
The Alliance works to improve harmonisation and strengthen synergies between existing initiatives. |
The Alliance works to achieve outreach and advocacy with a unified United Nations voice, targeting the private sector, governments, non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders.
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Impact of Fast Fashion: Cost
The global trend for fast fashion means a lot of waste. The majority of it ends up in landfills because it is never sold. Then, a new trend emerges, and the garments are tossed into a landfill. Fast fashion accounts for over 38 million tons of waste each year. Thankfully, there are ways to minimise the amount of fast fashion waste by recycling. But what’s the cost? Despite the increasing cost of fast fashion, the industry has unintended consequences.
The impact of fast fashion on the waste industry in the UK is significant, and the cost is difficult to quantify.
- Fast fashion refers to the mass production of cheap, trendy clothing designed to be worn for a short period before being discarded.
- The fast fashion industry generates a vast amount of waste, with clothing being one of the most significant sources of household waste in the UK.
- According to a report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), around 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill or incineration annually in the UK, costing around £82 million in landfill taxes alone.
- In addition to the environmental impact of textile waste, fast fashion also contributes to releasing greenhouse gases during the production, transportation, and disposal of clothing.
- The fashion industry’s carbon footprint is estimated to be around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, the use of synthetic materials in fast fashion means that many garments are not biodegradable, and they can take hundreds of years to break down in landfill sites.
Overall, the cost of fast fashion’s impact on the UK’s waste industry is significant, not just in economic terms but also in terms of its impact on the environment and public health. Efforts are being made by governments, fashion companies, and individuals to address this issue, such as increasing recycling and promoting sustainable fashion practices.
Environmental groups like Greenpeace promote using textile fibres to create new garments, reducing commercial waste in landfills.
Impact of Fast Fashion: On the Environment
The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion is a growing concern. The rapid growth of fast fashion has led to increased clothing production. People buy clothes twice as often as they used to and only keep them half as long as they should. In 2011, fashion companies offered five collections a year but now offer as many as 24 or more, depending on the brand. Fashion designers are also trying to reduce their carbon footprint by developing more sustainable production methods.
The fashion industry contributes to global warming by releasing carbon emissions equivalent to 10 per cent of those released by all international flights and shipping. Inditex, the owner of Zara, produced 654 kg of carbon emissions in 2020 compared to 350 tonnes in 2019. Commercial waste management is essential for the future of our planet. H&M Group emitted 76,680 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020 – 18 per cent more than in 2019. This production process results in massive amounts of commercial waste. The average European discards 11 kilograms of textiles a year, and if that figure is considered a conservative estimate, then the industry contributes to a global problem.
The World Resources Institute has suggested alternative business models that promote reuse, maximise clothing life cycle, and reduce commercial waste.
Similarly, the UN has launched the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion to address the environmental and health hazards of fast fashion. But to address these issues, policymakers must look at how fast fashion produces and disposes of waste. They can increase import taxes and place caps on the number of garments imported annually from LMICs. Fast fashion is a significant cause of environmental damage due to the masses of commercial waste it creates. The overproduction of textiles and garments results in large quantities of wastewater, excessive commercial waste disposal, and carbon emissions.
Furthermore, the industry hurts the quality of life of workers and residents of the affected areas. So, how can it be combated? By understanding how the industry impacts the environment and finding ways to minimise its impact, we can make better decisions for our planet.
Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion – Learn more about UK business waste statistics here
Other useful links from our Commercial Waste Centre
Why Should Your Business Go Paperless?
Choosing a Garage Waste Management Service
Developing an EMS for Hazardous Waste
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