29.9 Case Study: Fast Fashion as a Major Polluter

The future of profession has to deal with problems like fast fashion.

Fast fashion refers to a system where brands rapidly produce trendy clothing at affordable prices, initially seen with companies like H&M and Zara bringing runway trends to racks quickly. With the rise of e-commerce, this concept has been turbocharged, which has led to companies like Shein producing an astounding 1.5 million new styles annually, far outpacing traditional brands.

Fast fashion causes widespread environmental damage. It drives the mass production of cheap clothing, often designed for short-term use. Many of these garments are made from synthetic fabrics, which shed microplastics during washing and contribute to long-term pollution in rivers and oceans. The industry also uses vast amounts of water for cotton growing and fabric dyeing, and it depends on toxic chemicals that pollute rivers and soil in production regions. Because garments are made to be worn briefly and then discarded, millions of tons of clothing end up in landfills or are shipped abroad as waste each year.

This cycle of overproduction and overconsumption harms ecosystems, depletes natural resources, and adds to climate change through heavy energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Based on this chapter and the CSR chapter, consider what strategies companies might use to reduce this type of pollution.