The fast fashion industry produces nearly 80 billion garments per year, and large quantities are sold daily. A major reason for the exponential sales being the shockingly low prices of the garments. Brands are constantly competing to have the lowest pricing and highest sales.
The cheap clothes sure are enticing, but isn’t it interesting that the growth of these businesses is simultaneous with consistent price reductions? How are they still managing to profit? Inevitably, there must be corners cut to reduce the cost of production since it is clear that neither customers nor the company is really paying for it. Let’s take a look at some of these cutbacks.
Cutting Corners
One of the most significant ways of cutting costs is the employment of cheap labour. Fast fashion brands set up their factories in countries where labour laws are either non-existent or limited. This is why garment factories are set up in places like Vietnam, China, India and Bangladesh, where the wages go as low as $3 per day. Such countries are targeted because over time factories have become their main source of employment. Thus, due to a lack of option, factory owners are willing to squeeze their employees in order to be in business. The employers also don’t provide their workers with EPF (employee provident fund) and other government schemes thus leaving them no safety net. Speaking of safety, the accident in Rana Plaza and many such others are also results of cost-cuts in places where they should not have been, in turn risking hundreds of lives. The workers are underpaid, worked over-time and punished for requesting their rights.
Secondly, to cut on costs, fast fashion brands invest in low-quality, cheap materials. Not only does this promote a culture of thoughtless and careless disposing but also can be harmful to not only those who wear it but also those involved in its production. Synthetic materials such as polyester and nylon are commonly used because they are cheap. However, these release huge amounts of microplastic fibres every time they are washed which affect the natural ecosystems.
Not just the materials but also the processes of production such as cotton farming, dyeing, bleaching, and tanning can be harmful due to being highly chemical intensive. Chemicals released such as chromium, lead, mercury and arsenic can cause various ailments, especially in those who work in or live near the factories. The production involves severe water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. If the dangers are this evident, why don’t the factories treat the effluent and gases before release? You guessed it; such treatments can be expensive and are hence most often skipped by garment factories. Thus, yet again, it is the innocent workers and their families who pay the price.
In addition to these points, many fast fashion brands practice trend replication instead of designing clothes from scratch. Considering the rate at which these brands pump out new pieces, it is evident that designs are stripped right off the catwalk, instead of being painstakingly created; and they do it in such a way that they cannot be prosecuted for it. How convenient right? Plus this saves costs on actual designers.
It is thus evident that the low prices of fast fashion are only an illusion. In order to cut costs for better sales, fast fashion companies seem to be willing to throw everyone including this planet under the bus. Not only do the disenfranchised workers pay, but so do we as a society. Through the environmental impacts we all pay the price. The low prices give us the illusion of being richer because of the sheer amount we can afford. However, the reality is that it makes consumers poorer through increased, unnecessary consumerism and makes the already affluent, richer. Cheap products may make us feel good about ourselves, but is it really worth it?
-Sneha Ramesh from Wobh
