Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
It signifies the point when we begin to consume more resources than the planet can sustainably provide, leading to resource depletion and environmental degradation. This day arrives earlier each year, highlighting the unsustainable pace of current consumption patterns.
A huge contributor to Earth Overshoot Day is the fashion industry.
'Over the last twenty years global consumption has increased by 400% leading to 92 million tonnes of garment related items discarded annually'
This is due to fast fashion brands promoting ‘throw away’ culture with their low-quality, inexpensive garments making consumers believe that they need a new outfit for every occasion.
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion is a contemporary phenomenon in the clothing industry characterised by the rapid production of cheap, trendy apparel. Brands like Shein, Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo churn out new collections at a breakneck pace, enticing consumers with the latest styles at low prices. While fast fashion makes trendy clothing accessible to a broader audience, it comes with significant drawbacks.
The emphasis on speed and cost-cutting often leads to poor working conditions and exploitation in factories, predominantly in developing countries. Additionally, the environmental impact is severe, with fast fashion contributing to massive textile waste, pollution, and the depletion of natural resources. The industry’s reliance on synthetic fibres, such as polyester, exacerbates plastic pollution, harming marine life and ecosystems.
Fast fashion significantly impacts Animals, People and the Environment in so many detrimental ways.
Animals
The rapid production of clothing often leads to deforestation and habitat destruction to make way for cotton fields or other textile manufacturing processes, such as the production of wood-based fabrics including viscose, rayon and modal. Annually, the fashion industry cuts down an estimated 200 million trees. As ancient and endangered forests are depleted, the balance of ecosystems is disrupted, and the vital role trees play in absorbing carbon dioxide is diminished. This displacement also harms countless wildlife species that depend on these habitats to live. The enormous demand for raw materials in fast fashion leads to the over-exploitation of natural resources, reducing the availability of these resources for wildlife and disrupting ecosystems.
Some fast fashion items still use animal-derived materials such as leather, wool, and fur. The process in which these materials are gathered involves inhumane treatment and slaughter of animals. Animals like minks, foxes, and rabbits are often raised in inhumane conditions on fur farms, where they endure cramped, filthy cages and painful deaths. Leather production involves the slaughter of cows, pigs, goats, and even exotic animals like alligators and snakes. Similarly, the wool industry uses practices such as mulesing, which causes severe pain to sheep. It is estimated that each year close to three billion animals are killed for materials. Even where synthetic alternatives are used, the production processes can still indirectly harm animals through environmental degradation.
People
When we think of the impacts of fast fashion we primarily think about the animals and the environment. However, the people involved are often looked over. The fast fashion industries’ quest to develop cheap clothes at rapid speeds lead to complete exploitation of workers.
Many garments are made in developing countries where labour laws are weak or poorly enforced. Workers are paid such a low wage that they often cannot afford to live and it is not uncommon to work fourteen to sixteen hour days with little to no breaks. Often labour is forced and child labour is not unusual, with an estimation of 250 million children working in the global fashion industry.
Physical and mental abuse is a frequent occurrence within these factories as staff are under constant pressure to meet unrealistic production targets. These appalling sweatshops have zero safety measures in place, both children and adults are forced to work in hot conditions using dangerous machinery and toxic chemicals.
These dangers came to light in April 2013 when an eight-storey fast fashion factory, The Rana Plaza, in Bangladesh collapsed trapping workers in stairwells and under piles of rubber. Over 2500 people were injured and over 1000 people died, these were mainly female garment workers. The day before the building collapsed it was briefly evacuated as cracks appeared in the walls but the workers were tragically told to return to work the following day. This shows just how ignorant these factory owners are and clearly care more about money than the lives of innocent people trying to make a living.
The exploitation extends to the supply chain, with cotton pickers and textile workers also facing similar injustices. This epidemic of worker exploitation calls for urgent action, demanding greater transparency, fair wages, and safe working conditions.
Environment
'The fashion industry has created more CO2 than the aviation and shipping industry combined and is the second largest consumer industry of water'
A singular pair of jeans requires an astonishing two thousand gallons of water to be produced. This is enough water to last the average person for an entire month, including drinking and washing!
The textile industry is responsible for twenty percent of global water waste and is the second largest water polluter in the world. Each day the textile industry dump gallons of highly toxic water waste into streams and rivers. A huge amount of this water waste contains microplastics; tiny plastic particles less than five millimetres in size. There are an estimated fifty one trillion pieces of microplastics in the oceans from the fashion industry alone which originate from synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic.
Marine life ingest these microplastics and cause physical harm, such as internal abrasions and blockages, and can lead to a false sense of satiety, resulting in malnutrition or starvation. Not only does the toxic water waste and microplastics pollute our oceans and kill marine life, it also has the potential to end up in our food chain and the taps we use in our homes.
How to Shop More Sustainably - Slow Fashion
Shopping sustainably is crucial for numerous reasons that benefit not only the environment but also society and our own well-being. Sustainable shopping helps reduce the environmental impact of consumerism by promoting the use of eco-friendly materials, reducing waste, and conserving natural resources. It supports ethical labour practices, ensuring that workers are treated fairly and work in safe conditions.
By choosing sustainable fashion and slow fashion, we reduce our carbon footprint and help combat climate change. Additionally, sustainable shopping encourages the use of higher quality, longer-lasting items, leading to less frequent purchases and a reduction in overall consumption.
This shift towards sustainability fosters a more mindful approach to our buying habits, promoting a healthier planet and a fairer, more equitable world. By prioritising sustainability, we can drive positive change and pave the way for a better future for all.
So why wouldn’t you?
Let's make a positive change together and protect the Animals, People and Environment with Generous APE. Shop over 200 independent, ethical, sustainable brands at www.generousape.com
