The term fast fashion refers to “inexpensive and massively produced clothing in response to the latest trends”. That may seem like a good thing from the outside – that people can now have access to fashion at a low price, but in reality, there have always been many problems that come with it. Some of them are emissions of greenhouse gases, pollution, and microplastics. With other environmental concerns that receive more attention, consumers of fast fashion may not be as aware of its impacts. Fast fashion’s impact on the environment has always been an issue, but people tend to still prioritize the affordability and accessibility of fashion despite these issues.
One of the reasons people may not be as aware of the environmental cost of fast fashion is that some brands promote misleading sustainable content. The particular term for this is “greenwashing”. It is a form of deceptive marketing, and can make consumers think that the product is eco-friendly when it is not. It is difficult to tell the difference between sustainable and non-sustainable clothing as a consumer. Instead of actually investing in sustainability, most companies like to spend more resources on greenwashing. Approximately 60% of fashion industry sustainability claims in 2025 are identified as potentially misleading.
But what are the actual environmental issues from fast fashion? Approximately 10% of global emissions come from the fashion industry. Due to the popular “throw-away” culture of fast fashion, enormous textile waste gets piled up in landfills. Not only is this harmful for the planet, but it is also harmful for humans. 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from laundering synthetic textiles. There are so many resources used to produce unsustainable clothing, and yet a lot of it goes to waste. Since the materials are usually of low quality, the clothing isn’t even designed to last for a long time. That leads to one thing: millions of textiles are wasted and non-biodegradable, progressively damaging the planet.
With many people wanting to just follow the fashion trend with a low budget, it is also important that they are aware of the environmental cost it has. The first thing that is important to be aware of is greenwashing. If the brand is making vague claims such as “eco-friendly,” it is reasonable to question it. Fast fashion may seem so tempting to take part in, but sometimes it is just better to buy good quality clothing that will last and won’t go to waste.
Leave a Reply