Youth Corner: Effects of Fast Fashion-by Panchadi Wickramasinghe

Source:Brisbane 4EB Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – September 2021

It has become easier than ever to copy the looks of your favourite fashion icon without breaking your bank. This is the doings of the exploitative, multi-billion industry of Fast Fashion. The exact process consists of retailers using looks from fashion shows to make a knock -off version, selling it at a much cheaper price. The cheaper price makes clothes feel increasingly disposable. With anything that is abundant, it is unfortunately a by-product for it to seem expendable.

The idea of fast fashion is to get the trendiest clothes out to consumers at the height of their popularity. With added pressure from social media, it is almost a “sin” to wear the same outfit more than once. Additionally, inexpensive materials and labour enable production of
very cheap clothing. These are a few reasons for modern society’s over-consumption of clothes.

Effects of the fast fashion industry is immense. In Australia, it is estimated that 500 million kg of unwanted clothes end up in landfill. According to The Guardian, another 94 million kg is exported overseas. This toxic industry is also the second largest polluter of clean
water globally, with the consequences felt in the poorest of places. Washing a synthetic garment (nylon, polyester, etc) releases microfibres into the water which ends up in the ocean. Smaller fish ingest the plastic who are then eaten by bigger fish, introducing microplastic into our food chain. However, there is still hope with the rise of sustainable fashion and thrifting. We can be smarter consumers by advocating for transparency and sustainability from brands.

Panchadi Wickramasinghe
Panchadi is a student at the Queensland University of Technology.
She is passionate about the disadvantaged and the environment