On 3rd April 2022, I had the amazing opportunity of speaking in campaign corner at a local climate action event. This was my first public speaking event, and I am really pleased with how it went – I conveyed what I wanted to say clearly and it was really well received.
I was talking about fast fashion and the devastating impact it’s having on both people and the planet. We need to reassess and radically change how we consume fashion, and the way in which companies produce and sell clothing, promoting longevity over newness.
My speech as follows:
My name is Emily Knock and I am a local climate activist and art student. I am here today to talk about fast fashion, and why it is bad news for people and the planet.
Fashion is a hugely popular method of expression and can be extremely important to people – and especially, I feel, to young people. To us, fashion can be a gateway to rebellion, finding new people and friends, fitting in or standing out. But the way in which we consume fashion is completely broken. A 2019 Government report showed that here in the UK we consume more clothing per capita than any of the other European countries (around 26.7kg per capita). The same report also showed that in 2019, the UK purchased a staggering 1,130,000 tonnes of clothes. These figures are shocking, but they are not the only shocking elements of the fast fashion crisis.
Although many people are completely unaware of it, our consumption of clothing is having a direct impact on the continuation of the climate crisis. According to an article published in the Guardian last year, “69% of our clothes are made up of synthetic fibres, including elastane, nylon and acrylic”. These fibres are all different types of plastic, and therefore derived of oil – reinforcing our reliance on fossil fuels and creating a higher demand for the damaging substance. In fact, the same article found that “textile production consumes 1.35% of global oil production” – a statistic which seems wasteful from the off, but which becomes exponentially more so, when you consider that approximately 300,000 tonnes of clothing is discarded every year, ending up in landfills, or worse being burnt. Not only is the thought of used clothing which could have a second life – either as clothing for someone else, or as upcycled fabric – being burnt or buried in landfill a dreadful one, but the thought of brand-new clothing being destroyed without ever having been used is even worse. The fact that the destruction of unused clothing is now an accepted part of modern consumerist society is one of the first clues to the broken state of the system. If we are already producing vastly more clothing than is needed or even wanted by those who have the means to purchase it, then why is the fast fashion business continuing to grow and the number of clothes produced and discarded continuing to increase, year on year? The fact is that these companies which continue to drive the fast fashion business are owned by and directed by people who perfectly represent the vast imbalance of capitalism; millionaires and billionaires driven by greed for continual economic growth at the expense of all else.
Global Highstreet fast fashion chains, such as H&M, Primark and Zara are heavy contributors to this damaging industry, where the divide of wealth between those who produced the clothes and those who head the companies are extreme. H&M’s former Chairman, Stefan Persson is the 8th richest person in the fast fashion industry (according to an Insider article from 2020), with a wealth of $16.5 billion. Yet almost 100% of garment workers in countries which produce clothes for the company, such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, “work for less than a living wage”, which calls into question the reason that the chairman was able to earn such a large amount of money, whilst the workers in their factories are unable to earn enough to live. This also doesn’t take into account the welfare and wellbeing of the workers in these sweatshops, of which “almost none … [are] certified by labour standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages, or other labour rights.”. Additionally, the workers in these sweatshops are often using toxic chemicals, which are not only damaging to their own health, but to that of the environment as well. The clothing we wear has been through many iterations and processes before it reaches us in the form of t-shirts and jeans, and these processes are often extremely wasteful and environmentally damaging. Chemicals designed to bleach the materials pure white so that they can then be dyed are extremely toxic – not to mention the dyes themselves. In 2020 CNN reported, “fashion is responsible for up to one-fifth of industrial water pollution”, due to the common practices of dumping the used chemicals straight into the rivers and waterways surrounding the factories. This causes enormous environmental damage: killing ecosystems, leading to sterile environments. Not only are the waterways that the waste materials and chemicals being dumped into living, breathing ecosystems, but they often are also the main source of drinking water for the local people. The consumption of this heavily polluted water can lead to health complications and issues – one resident of a Bangladeshi town heavily impacted by the fast fashion industry reported to CNN: “The kids get sick if they stay here,” “because of the water”. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2014 “the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon emissions every year” – a staggering statistic, especially as, it was recorded that the transport sector contributed 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As it is crucial that globally we do everything in our power to stay below 1.5°C warming to prevent irreversible damage to the climate, we desperately need to see a shift in the way the fashion industry operates, placing people and the planet over profit.
So, what can we do to create change and stop this destructive industry from destroying the planet and causing further harm?
- The first thing we can do is very simple: just buy less. It is very easy to be tempted when we are bombarded with advertisements for new clothes: they’re on our phones, in our magazines, online, and surrounding us whenever we go into town. But by asking yourself “do I really need or want this?” when you’re shopping can go some way to reframing your temptation and preventing an impulse purchase which further supports fast fashion brands.
- The second thing to do is to be mindful of where you shop. Do your research, using brilliant apps such as Good On You, which rate fashion brands in terms of their ethics and sustainability to make wiser choices on where you shop. Boycotting brands and their greenwashing is one of the most powerful ways break the chain and show the producers that you want to see change happen.
- Buy second-hand. If you need something specific, why not see if you can find it either in a charity shop, or online via apps such as depop or vinted? You can often find amazing bargains when you shop second hand, as well as being able to find some really amazing and unique pieces.
- Keep the pressure on the big businesses. Sign petitions and open letters. Join campaigns and add your voice to the fight. If enough people speak out, these companies will be forced to change their ways for the better!
Thank you for listening.
