Dear EarthTalk: What is “slow fashion?” »Is it linked to sustainability?

In the United States, millions of shoppers pack clothing stores, excited to catch the latest trends while paying low prices. On the other side of the world, low-wage workers – many of whom are young girls – are being crushed under the hammer of “fast fashion” (the mass production of cheap, low-quality disposable clothing), working without adequate security protections and rights. . The impacts of fast fashion on the environment and human rights are obvious, and slow fashion may well be the only solution for a greener future.

First of all, fast fashion revolves around the concept of speeding up production time while minimizing costs, which prompts producers to use the cheapest textiles and toxic textile dyes. Perhaps one of the most popular textiles, polyester is derived from fossil fuels and removes microfibers that can end up in the oceans. Another common material is cotton, the production of which requires large amounts of water, pesticides and labor. More importantly, fast fashion is constantly changing clothing trends – most consumers fall for this ploy and throw clothes away once they are out of fashion. As a result, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, 11.3 million tonnes of textiles ended up in landfills and 3.2 million tonnes were incinerated, releasing large amounts of gas to greenhouse effect.