Fast fashion is bad for the environment

Question

The fast fashion chain is directly linked to environmental pollution due to the use of material and immediate disposal. The extensive resource extraction is also a definitive issue. A huge issue with fast fashion is the massive use of water and the waste water that particularly is used with the making of textiles. The industry produces 92 million tonnes of waste a year. And beyond just waste water, the industry also has a huge impact on CO2 emissions. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9

Answer 1

1. Summary of Findings:

This claim is TRUE. Fast fashion is indeed damaging to the environment through multiple pathways.

2. Primary Sources Found:

- Nature.com article (nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9): Peer-reviewed research documenting that the fast fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually. The industry uses massive amounts of water and generates significant waste water pollution during the dyeing and processing of textiles.

- Environmental impact data shows fast fashion accounts for 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, a substantial contribution to climate change.

- The industry's dependence on rapid production and disposal creates a cycle of resource extraction and waste accumulation that harms ecosystems and contributes to water pollution.

The evidence overwhelmingly supports this claim, making it true based on scientific research and environmental data.

Answer 2

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.

"Fast Fashion is the second biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions - more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined" (earth.org, 2026). Fast fashion companies use low-cost materials to recreate current fashion trends, to quickly put them into stores and capitalize on these trends. This industry dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of the textiles are sent to dumps each year (Business Insider, McFall-Johnson). Fast fashion impacts the environment by using non-renewable resources, emitting greenhouse gasses, and using tremendous amounts of water and energy. 
2. Primary Sources

https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/

https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10

Answer 3

The claim that fast fashion is bad for the environment is true. Earth.org says, "Fast fashion is the second-biggest consumer of water and responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined." Fast fashion is uses 93 billion cubic meters of water, which is enough to meet the water consumption of five million people. Fast fashion is also responsible for eight to ten percent of global emissions, which is more than the aviation and shipping industries combined. At this pace, fast fashion will surge by more than 50 percent by 2030. Making plastic fibers into textiles is also incredibly energy intensive and relies on large amounts of fossil fuel, transporting fast fashion garments also uses a lot of energy and creates carbon emissions, many fast fashion brands use synthetic non-biodegradable fibers which harm marine ecosystems, aquatic life, and human health, and many discarded garments end up in landfills. Overall, every single part and step of fast fashion is bad for the environment which is proven by these trusted sources.

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-alliance-sustainable-fashion-addresses-damage-fast-fashion

https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/the-environmental-cost-of-fast-fashion/

https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/

Answer 4

This claim that fast fashion is bad for the environment is correct. The majority of fashion companies outsource their labor from developing countries because the labor is less expensive. To reduce costs the clothing is made of poor materials like polyester which is essentially plastic which will not decompose. As a result of using bad materials the quality is poor and the clothing doesn’t last, it ends up in landfills or waterways because of their short lifespan and limited use. This causes massive amounts of clothing to end up in landfills or contribute to water pollution through microplastics and textile waste. Many credible environmental research like from UCLA  and from University of Pennsylvania supports the claim that fast fashion has significant negative environmental impacts.

https://sustain.ucla.edu/2024/02/16/the-fast-fashion-epidemic/

https://environment.upenn.edu/news-events/news/fast-fashion

 

Answer 5

Yes, fast fashion is bad for the environment. Based on an article published by Wildlife & Welfare (https://www.wildlifeandwelfare.org/news-blog/fast-fashion?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22913788547&gbraid=0AAAAAo4wE3Xye6CPvQst3cQDg9lAtvjvf&gclid=CjwKCAiA1obMBhAbEiwAsUBbIhhHTazNF44ekyewRpS4iWRz4AgckxcbwUXQlu5u8OpS9DHx9OI5ehoC5nQQAvD_BwE), fast fashion relies on cheap, high volume production that uses a lot of water and energy. Furthermore, this fast production also generates and emits greenhouse gas emissions, pollutes ecosystems with toxins, and creates massive textile waste that ends up just sitting in landfills. All of this has very harmful effects on our planet and environment.

Answer 6

Yes, this claim is true. Fast Fashion is bad for the environment because of the "second-biggest consumer of water and responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions" (Earth.Org). The article attached above also references the impact on global emissions, water waste, and chemical pollution that fast fashion creates, which Earth.Org backs up. This source could be seen as a bit biased, but a UCLA article has the same claims and even talks about the effects of producing clothing made of polyester, otherwise known as plastic, which does not decompose. 

Sources:

UCLA Sustainability
Earth.org
 

Answer 7

Summary of Findings

This claim is true. The original source comes from an article published by Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, an online reviews journal. The authors of the review article, "The environmental price of fast fashion", are professors and researchers that specialize in design, economics, sustainability, and the social sciences (Niinimaki et al. 2020). The numbers included in this article have also been reported by news outlets, government resources, international reports, and independent research groups. Niinimaki has also been published several times on this topic.

Sources and Evidence

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9

Original article published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment. Authors Niinimaki et al. claim that the fashion industry produces more than 92 million tons of waste each year and consumes 79 trillion liters of water annually. The authors also claim that the fashion industry contributes heavily to global carbon emissions and greenhouse gas levels.

https://www.nature.com/natrevearthenviron/journal-information

The Journal, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, describes itself as "interested in the latest advances in, and timely syntheses of, research spanning all aspects of Earth and environmental science."

https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon

The article cites this source from the UN Climate Change website, which supports the claim that fast fashion contributes 10% of global greenhouse emissions. 

https://www.carbontrust.com/sites/default/files/documents/resource/public/International%20Carbon%20Flows%20-%20Clothing%20-%20REPORT.pdf

The article also sites this report from Carbon Trust, which supports the claim that fast fashion accounts for approximately 3% of global carbon emissions.