With climate change being an enormous problem for our generation’s well being and the future health of our planet, there are many things we should start to look at as a society and begin to change our many toxic habits that pollute the environment.
One of these dangerous habits is buying into fast fashion. Fast fashion is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases and pollution. In the age of social media, it’s important for many of us to look our best. We’ve bought into this idea that we always need to be buying new clothes in order to stay on trend 100% of the time. We often buy clothing items, wear them once and never touch them again, scared of “outfit repeating”. If we can get the clothes for cheap, even better! Bargain! However, these cheap clothes are often made with bad quality materials and by underpaid workers in poor conditions.
[images from Oxfam]
Fast Fashion Facts
· The fast fashion industry produces approximately 1 billion garments per year.
· The industry emits 1.2 billion tons of CO2 annually. This is about 5% of global emissions.
· The industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater production. The over 3500 chemicals used in production are harmful to both humans and the environment but find their way into water systems and our oceans through wastewater.
· Almost 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make polyester fiber, the most commonly used fiber in our clothing. However, this takes more than 200 years to decompose.
· The number of plastic microfibres entering the ocean between 2015 and 2050 could accumulate to an excess of 22 million tonnes.
· Fast fashion giants deliberately make clothing to fall apart in order to make you buy more.
· Between 1992 and 2002, the period of which we actually keep our clothes before throwing them away has decreased by 50%.
· We buy twice the amount of clothes than we did 15 years ago.
Experts say that the best thing we can do to combat fast fashion is to stop buying so many new items of clothing so often. As well as that, we can start shopping second hand! Charity shops, Depop, eBay, Vinted, Shpock, even local Facebook sales groups! Buying second hand will keep these clothes out of landfill, and you’ll be saving money or yourself, and not feeding into the fast fashion industry by reducing the need for new clothes to be made!
With that in mind, Oxfam are running a campaign this month called #SecondHandSeptember - I’m getting involved and you should too! By taking the pledge you will be agreeing to not buy any new clothes for the whole of September, only buying anything new to you via a secondhand avenue!
By signing up and taking the pledge to say no to new you will be making a change to your lifestyle that will benefit the planet. Plus, when you sign up Oxfam will send you emails with tips to help you be even more conscious! With helpful articles on the damage that fast fashion causes and tips to help you recycle and donate your old clothes, you’ll be a pro in no time!
You can sign up to take the pledge here, and don’t forget to tweet using the hashtag #secondhandseptember to spread the word. And also tag me and let me know!
Don’t forget to use the hashtag on your social media posts throughout the month to show off any “new” outfits or purchases you’ve made secondhand! And if you want to tag me in those too feel free, I love getting secondhand inspiration!
Thanks for reading! If you're into reducing your carbon footprint but also still looking bomb af and looking after your skin you can read my other similar posts under the "ethical" tab!