Introduction to sustainability
‘Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development does imply limits – not absolute limits but limitations imposed by the present state of technology and social organization on environmental resources and by the ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities.’ (Commission, 1987).
Introduction to ethics
‘Ethics is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with human conduct, more specifically the behaviour of individuals in society. Ethics examines the rational justification for our moral judgments; it studies what is morally right or wrong, just, or unjust.’ (Secretariat, 2015)
Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is killing our planet and our people.
Fast fashion refers to cheaply mass-produced clothing that is easily accessible and affordably priced. Brands such as H&M, Zara, Shien, and Miss guided are all examples of fast fashion brands, the clothing they sell are adaptations of high fashion designer pieces that have trickled down from catwalks. It has become the norm in today’s society to shop for fast fashion, especially among young female consumers. The pressure to keep up with current trends and the constant strain of clever marketing tactics flooding online platforms such as TikTok and Instagram make fast fashion ever more appealing. (Sampson, E. 2022).
The fast fashion industry has a devastating impact on the environment and society. Statistics show that the industry contributes to almost 10% of global emissions yearly, which is constantly on the rise due to mass consumption. Almost 1.5 trillion litres of water are required to produce clothing each year, water which is contaminated by harmful toxins and then released as waste back into the environment. Also, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfills yearly, these are just a handful of negative environmental impacts. Our thirst for fast fashion is causing devastating consequences that future generations will be left to combat, this is because we rarely see the diverse effects our actions have on the planet until it becomes too late. (Seymour, E. 2022).
Fast fashion is not only killing our planet but also our people. Adults and children all over the world are exploited daily for fashion, made to work long hours for little income, in harmful conditions. The Rana Plaza garment factory collapse is just one example of how unethical the industry is. The disaster happened in 2013 killing 1132 people, due to corruption and construction legislation being ignored. (Rahman. 2022).
The purpose of my subject
My developing fast fashion animation aims to raise awareness of the industry’s negative impacts on us and our environment. As the subject negatively impacts sustainability and ethics, I believe it is important to address the harmful consequences of our actions. As a fast fashion culprit myself, I have succumbed to the luxury of being able to purchase affordable clothing at the click of a finger, with no mindfulness as to who made it or where it came from. Therefore, educating myself and others on the impacts of our fast fashion addiction will hopefully encourage people to shop more sustainably and recycle or donate unwanted clothing instead of throwing items away.
The Target Audience
Fast fashion has no preferred consumer, although it is believed that ‘the target audience for fast fashion is consumers aged between 18 and 24, while women and girls consume fast fashion more than any other demographic group.’ (Sampson, E. 2022). Young people are much more influenced to buy fast fashion because of social media, 54% of young people believe that influencers are partly responsible for the rise in mass-produced clothing, and the statistics raise to 73% of people aged between 18 -24, (Ruiz, A. 2023). Therefore, the target audience for my animation is female social media users under the age of 24.
References
Text References
Commission, B. (1987) Our common future – un documents. Available at: http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Rahman, K. (2022) Nine years since the Rana Plaza Tragedy: Has fast fashion ironed out…, Transparency.org. Available at: https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/rana-plaza-tragedy-fast-fashion-deadly-corruption-problems (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Ruiz, A. (2023) 47 official Sustainable Fashion Statistics 2023 – The roundup, TheRoundup.org. Available at: https://theroundup.org/sustainable-fashion-statistics/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Sampson, E. (2022) Is fast fashion about self-expression or consumerism?, SfS. Available at: https://www.sustainabilityforstudents.com/post/is-fast-fashion-about-self-expression-or-consumerism (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Secretariat, T.B.of C. (2015) Government of Canada, Canada.ca. / Gouvernement du Canada. Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/values-ethics/code/what-is-ethics.html#A1 (Accessed: February 8, 2023).
Seymour, E. (2022) Nearly $183 million worth of clothing ends up in landfills each year, Good Housekeeping. Available at: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/fashion/a39662653/fast-fashion-definition/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Media References
Figures 7 and 8 – Goodwin, J. (2021) The Rana Plaza Collapse: What Happened & What it means for fashion, Grow Ensemble. Available at: https://growensemble.com/rana-plaza/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Figure 9 – Shirvell, B. (2022) Fast fashion is an environmental catastrophe. is composting your clothes the solution?, Nexus Media News. Available at: https://nexusmedianews.com/compostable-clothing/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Figures 1 – 6 – Unsplash (2023) Beautiful free images & pictures, Unsplash. Available at: https://unsplash.com/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Bibliography
Fashion & environment (no date) SustainYourStyle. Available at: https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/en/whats-wrong-with-the-fashion-industry (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
The price of Fast Fashion (2018) Nature News. Nature Publishing Group. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-017-0058-9?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=CONR_PF018_ECOM_GL_PHSS_ALWYS_DEEPLINK&utm_content=textlink&utm_term=PID100045652&CJEVENT=2ba06879a98d11ed83616ff10a18b8fa (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath (2017) International Labour Organization. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/geip/WCMS_614394/lang–en/index.htm (Accessed: February 11, 2023).