Shriya singh and Ashna Upadhyay
2nd year Law students at Dharmashastra National Law University
With the growing trends of globalization and increased connectivity amongst society in the post-modernized world, several trendsetters emerged, one of which is called “fast fashion.”
Introduction
“The term, “fast fashion” was first used at the beginning of the 1990s, when Zara opened in New York”[1], is the latest trend in the textile industry that focuses on meeting the high fashion demands of the public at the cheapest cost at the earliest. It has been pretty prevalent especially amongst youngsters as it meets their demands for being in fashion with minimum investment and affordable price. Despite the growing popularity of sustainable and ethically made fashion among younger generations, fast fashion is growing rapidly in volume and profit. “According to research by CoherentMI, in the United States alone, fast fashion was worth $41.15 Billion in the year 2023 and is anticipated to reach $59.85 Billion by 2030.”[2] It all started with the demand for getting into the trend with minimum costs, which cycled up as pioneered by like Forever21 and Zara, which began producing clothing at upwards of 52 “micro-seasons” per year, ultimately leading us to contemporary times when social media has amplified these at faster rates. Additionally, online-only brands like Shein and Temu are producing at an even faster rate using sophisticated algorithms to get new styles to market in a matter of days, sometimes this is referred to as “ultra-fast fashion”. The pace at which they are being reproduced are commendable, “For example, in the BBC’s 2020 ‘Breaking Fashion’ show we see Manchester-based fast fashion company, In the Style, reproducing a bodysuit worn by Kylie Jenner. The company manages to have the piece designed, manufactured and on sale within 10 days of the piece first being worn publicly by the celebrity.”[3] A cornerstone in this process is served by the presence of option of “pay later” which drastically increases its domains to even those who are out-of-pocket.apparel sales have been risen drastically, causing pricing of clothing to fall relative to other goods.
Impacts upon Environment
All of the above-mentioned descriptions did bring fallacies with them, impacting human rights as well as the environment at a larger level. The impact of fast fashion on the environment is even more detrimental, “a March report of 2023 by UNEP realized that fast fashion was responsible for up to 10% of annual global emissions”[4]. Textile production has been contributing even more to climate change than aviation and shipping combined.
To reduce their production costs, brands often use cheap materials that are not sustainable, which are also the first issues that need to be recognised. There has been an increase in the usage of polyester(available at the cheapest rate), as after short-term use, this never biodegrades and sits in landfills and water systems(microfibers being shedding continuously). “Polyester clothing is pumped out, sold and quickly binned, much like single-use plastics. It takes 200 years to decompose”[5]. As its sole purpose is to fit the trend, the question of whether those materials are disposable, is often overlooked. With over 11 million tons of landfills being filled with MSW textiles, there is urgent concern that needs to be addressed for a sustainable future. The very fact that can be noted with the facts “ Fast fashion brands are not simply reacting to consumer demand, they are also creating it”[6] .Also, there has been significant increase in other cheaply available fibres, such as polypropylene, acrylic, and nylon. Synthetic fibres are made from plastic and are non-biodegradable, adding to the growing problem of plastic pollution. And when these synthetic fibres are washed, they ultimately leads to the biggest issue of microplastics entering the waterways, late on paving their way to human bodies and other creatures, and harming aquatic life.
When it comes to the water usage, “Every year the sector requires 93 billion cubic meters of water, which is enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people, and is responsible for around 20% of industrial water pollution as a result of textile treatment and dyeing.”[7]. It can take up to 20,000 liters of water just to produce a pair of single shirt and jeans ( which unknowingly is the fresh water supply of central Asia). Fast fashion being responsible for 20% of waste water according to BBC, ultimately posing threat to marine life.
By providing greater variety at lower prices, fast fashion has been successful in doubling the amount of garments produced since 2000, which was “exceeded to 100 billion for the first time in 2014; nearly 14 items of clothing for every person on earth”[8].
The above table shows that if 80% of the population of emerging economies were to achieve the same clothing-consumption levels as the Western world by 2025, and the apparel industry does not become more environmentally efficient, then the environmental footprint of the apparel industry will become much larger.
Sustainability impact (Post purchasing)
Sustainability impact needs also to be addressed after a consumer leaves the store with the new purchase, “as washing and drying 1 kilogram of clothing over its entire life cycle, using typical methods, creates 11 kilograms of greenhouse gases, according to our estimates—an amount that companies could reduce by altering fabrics and clothing designs.”[9]. This ultimately portrays a significant threat to our idea of sustainable development and reasonable usage of resources, especially if we compare increasing population with ever-increasing trends.”Due to the way the fast fashion business model works, the products are not often designed with longevity in mind. Even if the consumer wishes to keep the item of clothing for longer, the inherent quality of the item means that they disintegrate and wear out much faster than traditionally manufactured garments”[10]. The sole motive behind the entire textile industry indulging in fast fashion is to look trendy, and it is well-known as to how long a trend sustains in the market. Post that, those clothes which are usually made of polyester containing harmful chemicals and microplastics are dumped. “With regards to this environmental cost, as Earth.org reports – the sales of fashion has doubled over a fifteen year period while the number of times an item of clothing is worn before it is discarded has dropped by 36%. The stats suggest that consumers have been buying more items of clothing and in turn, wearing them much less regularly.”[11] After using a cloth, it is dumped carelessly due to the absence of proper disposing methods. This ultimately leads to the fact that every second, textile equivalent to one garbage truck are burned, and the impact upon the environment in the form of gases produced is even worse. Also due to the demands of the fast fashion industry, “less than 1% of the material used during production is only recyclable, which ultimately means that 99% of all of the textiles and fashion are completely waste.. that’s about 100 billion dollars worth of materials wasted each year.”[12]. It becomes even more threatening that “if nothing changes, by 2050 fashion will take up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget.”[13] this poses a significant and long-term threat to human society which becomes irreversible.
Some sustainable fashion laws implemented by countries
There has been an increase in environment-friendly laws in Europe over time, and many countries including France, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands have established laws requiring more detailed labels and sharing their impact upon the environment, along with investigating big-name brands for greenwashing.
When coming to the European Union, “E.U. has proposed the ESPR – otherwise known as the Eco Design for Sustainable Products. This directive would strive to improve transparency regarding fashion garments on their durability, capability to be recycled, and amount of sustainable raw materials used in the garment itself. ESPR would also demand businesses to disclose how much waste if unsold fashion items are taken off the market, but it may be a while until these sustainable measures to encourage slow fashion can take place – as the directive may not be officially implemented until 2025”[14]
The European Union's proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence aims to hold large companies accountable for their environmental and human rights impact. Targeting businesses with over 500 employees or 150 million euros in sales, the directive would require them to ensure human rights are respected, reduce pollution, and protect biodiversity. This measure will push fashion brands to adopt more sustainable practices, aligning with the E.U.'s environmental goals. Additionally, it will empower consumers to make informed choices by understanding how their clothing is made. Ultimately, this initiative encourages a shift toward slow fashion, promoting transparency and responsibility in the industry.
The European Union's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive aims to prevent misleading claims, such as greenwashing, by regulating how companies communicate with consumers. This directive will encourage brands to adopt slow fashion principles by ensuring their production and supply chains truly meet eco-friendly standards. While it applies to all products across the E.U., it holds particular significance for the fashion industry. Expected by late 2025 or early 2026, non-compliant companies could face fines or damage to their reputation. This initiative aligns with the E.U.'s commitment to high sustainability standards and fostering transparency.
Based upon some of the initiatives already taken by countries on the government’s end, it becomes vital for us as consumers to become aware of the ill effects of fast fashion, particularly on the environment, and do needful from our end by choosing natural fabric over synthetic ones, trying to increase shelf life of purchased clothes as much as possible, decreasing events of shopping in influx ( ultimately leading to unnecessary purchase), recycling clothes as much as possible.
Fast fashion and labours
Over recent years, especially in the context of the fast fashion segment, the fashion industry has faced harsh criticism for the labor forces it employs in the third world countries. Despite this many companies fail to address this issue adequately. According to the findings of the Fashion Transparency Index, it has been determined that 99% of large fashion brands still provide incorrect figures for the number of people within their supply chains who earn a minimum living wage, and only 23% of organizations address modern slavery practices taking place within their production systems.[15] To add more, Reuters suggests that the wage gap within 28 countries producing garments stands at 48.5%, which indicates a clear contentment with the unfair labor practices.[16]
Almost 97% of the industry’s output comes from countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The labor rate here is much lower when compared to the developed countries and labor laws are widely ignored too. This, in turn, benefits fashion labels by reducing the cost of production at the expense of labor security and safety. Most fast fashion brands’ production factories offer miserable salaries and long working hours in dangerous conditions with less to no rights for the workers.
The 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy, in which more than a thousand people employed in garment factories perished, is an indelible mark of the lack of concern for the safety of workers in this line of business. And this incidence is not a one-off occurrence, but speaks volumes of the rot in the industries. The firm had two unlawful plants, according to the inquiry that followed, and the machinery that were used to undermine the building's stability were the cause of the collapse.[17] Millions of workers in Bangladesh's garment factories are safe because to the legally binding Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, which brought together the government, trade unions, and more than 90 brands.[18]
Outsourcing production to countries with weak labor laws is a way for fashion labels to escape responsibility for the conditions of workers. Most brands disassociate themselves from labor malpractices claiming that they do not monitor factories as their operations are under sub-contracts. This leads to the establishment of a disjointed and murky supply chain in which responsibility is almost impossible to pin down.[19] Women comprise the vast majority, approximately 80%, of workers within the textile industry which makes them more susceptible to the existing background. Many women face domestic violence and forms of mistreatment in the workplaces. Moreover, they are mostly deprived of maternal leave and similar benefits. Child labor is mostly prohibited by law in most areas of clothing production. However, it does take place in countries that have less organized and informal systems. The situation is worsened because there is no freedom of association and workers are not able to request to form labor unions or to engage in collective bargaining.
The textile and garment sector are one of the sectors which employs the many in India but the workers' condition is still worrying. Although the Code on Wages 2019 [20] made provision for the payment of at least minimum wages to workers in theory, the practice has not been uniform. A good number of the factories use informal labor, which means that the workers do not have contracts, social security or health care provisions. These unfair labor practices, however, are not only found in the Indian subcontinent, they are also replicated in other garment producing countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia. In Bangladesh for example, the minimum wage is set at only a quarter of what is considered a living wage, meaning that on average workers are condemned to a life of poverty.
In recent years, on a worldwide basis, fashion houses have been striving to distance themselves from the exploitation of their supply chains. This applies to most fashion brands, who relocate production in cheap labor regions with lax compliance. As contained in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ethnical business practice requires that employee rights are accorded utmost priority by all businesses engaging in operations.[21] However, the majority of businesses tend to ignore this requirement. Initiatives like ACT, which has companies such as H&M and Inditex in its membership, have been created to complement the lack of enforcement within the agreement and ensure that there are fair wages and good working conditions for these countries such as Turkey and Cambodia, however the initiative is limited in terms of enforcement.[22] There are also wage inequalities and bad working conditions even within Europe where it is assumed that there are strict labor laws. In response, the Good Clothes Fair Pay campaign in Europe calls for the adoption of policies that will ensure that all garment workers are paid a living wage.
A variety of actions may be performed to address the current issues facing the fashion industry. Initially and foremost, governments must enact stricter laws of this kind and implement them in order to guarantee equitable treatment for workers and secure working environments. Every fashion brand needs to audit every one of its supply chains transparently and impartially in order to guarantee this kind of accountability. By taking these actions, the fashion supply chain's suppliers and subcontractors might all be identified, allowing the general public and watchdogs to verify compliance. Education and legal awareness programs towards workers are important and should be encouraged. Training programs should address health and safety, workers’ rights and organizing. This will empower the workers with the information that they require and give them the courage to assert their rights and resist oppression. Finally, there’s a need to scale up consumer awareness campaigns with a view to promoting responsible buying. The consumers’ role should be to join the crusade for ethical clothing and to support sustainable brands. That is, ethical fashion consumption will change across the board demand ensuring that businesses engage in better and more ethical practices which in turn will lead to a more sustainable fashion industry for workers and the environment.
[1] Greenly, 'All You Need to Know About Fast Fashion' (Greenly, 14 October 2023) https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/ecology-news/all-you-need-to-know-about-fast-fashion accessed 12 October 2024.
[2] Vogue, 'What Is Fast Fashion?' (Vogue, 10 February 2023) https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-fast-fashion accessed 13 October 2024.
[3] Ethical Consumer, 'What Is Fast Fashion & Why Is It a Problem?' (Ethical Consumer, 10 October 2023) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem accessed 12 October 2024.
[4] Vogue (n 2).
[5] Greenpeace, 'The UK’s Fast Fashion Habit Is Getting Worse and It’s Destroying the Planet' (Greenpeace, 12 October 2023) https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/the-uks-fast-fashion-habit-is-getting-worse-and-its-destroying-the-planet/ accessed 15 October 2024.
[6] Ethical consumer (n 3).
[7] Ibid.
[8] McKinsey & Company, 'Style That’s Sustainable: A New Fast Fashion Formula' (McKinsey & Company, 15 October 2023) https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula accessed 13 October 2024.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Plastic Collective, 'How Fast Fashion Is Bad for the Environment' (Plastic Collective, 10 October 2023) https://www.plasticcollective.co/how-fast-fashion-is-bad-for-the-environment/ accessed 13 October 2024.
[11] Plastic collective (n 10).
[12] Helle Abelvik-Lawson, ‘The UK’s Fast Fashion Habit Is Getting Worse – and It’s Destroying the Planet’ (Greenpeace UK, 23 November 2020) https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/the-uks-fast-fashion-habit-is-getting-worse-and-its-destroying-the-planet/ accessed 12 October 2024.
[13] Greenpeace ( n 5).
[14]Greenly, ‘Sustainability Is Trendy: Fashion Laws to Know in 2022’ (Greenly, 12 January 2022) https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/ecology-news/sustainability-is-trendy-fashion-laws-to-know-in-2022 accessed 15 October 2024.
[15] publisher FR this, ‘Fashion Transparency Index 2023’ (Issuu, 12 July 2023) <https://issuu.com/fashionrevolution/docs/fashion_transparency_index_2023_pages> accessed 11 October 2024
[16] Guest, ‘Exploitation of Human Rights in the Fashion Industry’ (Thegreensideofpink, 29 June 2024) <https://www.thegreensideofpink.com/style-en/fashion/2024/exploitation-of-human-rights-in-the-fashion-industry/?lang=en> accessed 11 October 2024
[17] ‘Rana Plaza Collapse: Dozens Charged with Murder’ (The Guardian, 1 June 2015) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/01/rana-plaza-collapse-dozens-charged-with-murder-bangladesh> accessed 11 October 2024
[18] ‘The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety’ (The Bangladesh Accord) <https://www.bangladeshaccord.org/> accessed 11 October 2024.
[19] Informatics i-R|, ‘Login: Register: Remotlog: Dharmashastra National Law University Library, Jabalpur’ (RemotLog) <https://www-barandbench-com.dnlulib.remotlog.com/apprentice-lawyer/fast-fashion-industry-gross-violation-labour-laws> accessed 11 October 2024
[20] (Indiacode) <https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15793/1/AAAA2019___29.pdf> accessed 11 October 2024
[21] (Guiding principles on business and human ...) <https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf> accessed 11 October 2024
[22] ‘Who We Are’ (ACT, 9 October 2024) <https://actonlivingwages.com/who-we-are/> accessed 11 October 2024
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