When more isn't always better: Examining fashion overconsumption and overproduction’s impact on the environment
I love shopping! Is something all of us have at least heard once in our lifetime, or even said ourselves. Buying a piece of clothing is a very particular and distinct experience for different people, especially in the latest years, with the growth of e-commerce and the global pandemic. People wanted and needed more. Only one click to acquire a new piece of clothing, two clicks for accessories, and the classic buy one gets one free always gets us. Easy to shop, hard to think about the consequences, this is the mentality that has surrounded the Fashion industry for the last years. While we feed our Fashion appetite, we are also feeding an Environmental crisis.
It is not fair to blame only the consumer, especially when they are being fed an enormous buffet, for a few pennies. Overproduction in Fashion is a grave issue, and it is currently affecting the world every single day. Overproduction happens when Fashion companies produce more than what they can sell: so? What happens to the excess product? Destroyed, trashed, and thrown away is the usual end of the clothing we purchase, currently in Canada there are 500 million kilograms of textiles product being dumped yearly, ending up in our landfills and Nature. Although it is quite easy to get rid of our clothes, the environment is not as lucky, the different products, Chemicals and water quantity used in creating a piece of clothing is highly expensive in resources cost, when it’s thrown away in the garbage the consumer are not only wasting money but also resources, this also usually always result in the clothing being disposed in a landfill, where it will take 200+ years to fully decompose.
Being aware of the consequences is already a first step towards resolving the issues. Fast Fashion is the flagship store of overconsumption, while demand rises, it is easier and more financially profitable to focus on acquiring more products and disposing of the excess inventory after. Fast Fashion constantly keeps up with every trend and does not care about durability and the lifetime of the merch. Product after product released daily, and when the trend is gone?
The apparel needs to be gone too; finding an ethical and Environmental solution would require economic loss for these companies so dumping the excess on the landfill or deserted areas feels like their right solution. As National Geographic reported in an article dated April 10, 2023, right now there is an environmental and social emergency for the planet, explaining how the clothing that gets dispose of, ends up in the Northern Chilean Desert or in other Landfills around the world. This happens when clothing is not sold, these mountains of thrown away clothes are rising every single day, not only causing issues to the surrounding Nature, but also impacting the population that lives in this area. To protect Chilean ground the government passed a law that condemn and makes producers accountable for six diverse types of waste, this unfortunately has helped, but not resolved the main problem, Overproduction is a grave issue, that derived from Overconsumption.
Buying clothing is a necessity, but when that Need becomes a Want significant problem rises. Wanting the latest piece of a trend, owning the most interesting jewellery and having the cutest bag to match; are normal instincts to have, but when is it too much? In between 2000 and 20014 the number of clothes that the average person buys increased by 60%, to keep up with this rising demand, Fast Fashion became the one to ailment it.
We wanted more, they gave us more, but to do so they had to opt for cheaper materials, inadequate quality textiles and excessive production. In recent years, the apparel industry has risen to its peak, thanks to the growing social media trends, e-commerce and especially after the Global pandemic, expressing yourself with clothes was one of the ways diverse people used as a coping mechanism. The quality and durability of the clothes purchased through Fast fashion companies is widely inferior to what was around in the past. Consumer behaviors have shifted towards shopping for new apparel more frequently than ever, and in direct relation to the purchase of poor-quality items, the lasting lifespan of the product will be highly inferior causing the item to be disposed of in about a year period. Excessive amounts of clothing are made to meet the consumers' demands, but there are no precautions or strategies made to assure ethical disposition and production methods, only 15% of clothing is recycled, the other 75% end us in our landfills.
Overconsumption and Overproduction are the two key issues affecting the Fashion industry, and the World as a whole, to make sure that a change is made, the industry needs to be aware of the environmental impacts of textile fossil-based waste (polyester). Opting for a transition to a more circular textile system, promoting the use of more ethically sourced product, enhancing energy efficacy on the supply chain, and dropping the use of fossil-fuel based fibers are all solutions that can be implemented by Fashion companies to reduce the waste and the dangerous emissions. A few companies like: Patagonia, Ecoalf and The North Face are all actively implementing these ethical solutions and are pushing other companies to follow them and contribute to the change. As a person you can do your part to help, recycling your clothes can have a significant impact. Swapping or donating your clothes are successful alternatives. Thrift shops and Donation centers are helping industry and society on the regular basis, opting for these options while browsing for clothing can have a profound impact on the environment.
Lastly taking care of your clothing and assuring a longer lifespan is a small step that we should all take.
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