Six Things We Need To Know About The Fast Fashion Industry

The impact the fast fashion industry has on the earth has been a primary topic of conversation within climate change groups for many years now. 

While the industry has been proven to lack reasonable ethical and environmental standards, many of us aren’t aware of exactly how fast fashion is violating these standards. 

Global clothing production is believed to have doubled between the year 2000 and 2014, with companies such as Boohoo and SHEIN churning out up to thousands of new designs daily. 

While these clothes may look like a bargain, it is very likely that someone else paid for them with free labour. For example, a tee-shirt that sells for $29 euros could see the worker in Bangladesh who stitched the clothing receive only 18 cents of this profit. 

While the ethical and moral impact is significant, so too is the environmental impact. 

According to experts, 30 percent of textiles are sent to waste before they make it to buyers, while some companies end up with billions of dollars’ worth of unsold clothing headed for landfill. 

Burberry alone destroyed $153 million worth of unsold clothes in the five years to 2018. 

Cosmos science journalist Ellen Phiddian dives into the world of fast fashion and elaborates on some common myths about the industry. 

Tune into the full episode of Huh? Science Explained below…