The by-products of fast products

Hey guys!

I’m sure you guys have all saw our Instagram video about Fast Fashion, and if you guys haven’t here’s the link: https://instagram.com/p/BzI4SzSBHv4/

As mentioned, fast fashion is the rapid mass production of cheap and trendy clothes, driven by the wants and demands of the consumer. It is characterized by high volume, low margin, fast paced, cheap and disposable items. We want cheap and trendy clothes to impress that one person we’ve had a crush on for a whole year, our Instagram followers and most importantly, ourselves. We want to look good and feel good. And as a non-working dependent, I know the pain of having to choose between saving money and cute clothes. Fast fashion companies bank on this and provide the best of both worlds. However, this comes at a different cost.

In order to lower the cost of production and maximize revenue despite the low selling prices, these companies engage in detrimental and often unethical practices. Here are some no-no’s fast fashion has.

1. Toxic textile dying Fast fashion pieces are colorful treats for the eye, but not so much to water bodies. In order to dye a piece of fabric, up to 4 different chemicals could be used. These chemicals are harmful and as toxic as League of Legends ranked game in Bronze Elo. Producers often dump these chemicals into nearby water bodies and this waste is so toxic that even when mixed into the water, it still corrodes pipes! Dumping this into water bodies essentially kills every living organism in and around the water, and if the water is allowed to pass into residential areas, the population will be affected as well.

As toxic as Bronze Elo in LoL

2. Sh*t ton of Waste In 2016, the National Environment Agency collected a whopping 150,700 tonnes of textile waste, and in 2018, it rose to 205,800 tonnes. Zero waste Singapore? I think not. The constant supply for cheap clothes isn’t really helping the whole save the environment movement. By throwing so many clothes away (most of which are still in wearable condition), we are not only wasting resources that could have been reused, we are unnecessarily creating more pollution from the burning of these ‘waste’, and obviously contributing to global warming. Why buy more cute clothes if you’re already hot enough? Literally.

wAstEd

3. Hot clothes? The workers also hot. Sweatshops. When you buy a shirt from Uniqlo, its probably going to be made in either Vietnam or Bangladesh. Sweatshops are rampant especially in third world countries. Workers there have super long working hours, around 20 hours per day, and super low pay. Workers there are forced to go through verbal and physical abuse on top of the poor working conditions and lack of breaks (even toilet breaks). Some sweatshops even employ child laborers. Their welfare is ignored and employers literally only care about their output, going as far as forcing women to take pregnancy tests and birth control pills to avoid maternity leaves. They say what you wear is an expression of yourself. Do you really want to stan this?

big nono @ sweatshops

4. Animal Abuse Its really pretty self-explanatory, you think animals like being skinned alive? Although, you may argue that some companies use faux fur or PVC leather but these materials are one of the most toxic plastics. Vinyl Chloride that’s used in the production of PVC leather is a human carcinogen. Maybe it wouldn’t affect you, the consumer, so much as it would the sweatshop worker. And again, do you really want to stan this?

dont abuse me pls

But honestly, it would be hard to deal without fast fashion. How are we students supposed to get our cute #ootd’s without shops like F21 and Cotton On? In my opinion, consumers have a huge role to pay in mitigating the effects of fast fashion. Instead of getting that tote from F21, go buy that tote from Cotton on foundation instead ( or OHYES shop hint hint wink wink). Instead of getting a new skirt, upcycle an old pair of jeans. Instead of blindly buying what looks good, find out more about the environmental impacts of something, and shop sustainable. Even though these may seem like relatively small actions, every action count. Let’s shop ethical this GSS.

Your fellow non-working dependent shopaholic,

Annette Toh

Founder of OHYES