Is Our Fast Fashion Addiction Worth Destroying the Planet?

An Unbearable Strain on Natural Resources  

Our fast fashion habit is costing us the Earth, quite literally. To meet the insatiable demand for affordable and disposable clothing, global textile production almost doubled between 2000 and 2022, from 64 million to 128 million tons. This huge growth means that the fashion sector accounts for between 8 and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the cement, aviation and shipping industries combined.   

The resulting strain on our natural resources is increasingly unbearable. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in landfills. As the planet’s second most water-intensive industry, fashion is responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution due to toxic product dyeing and finishing processes. With 69% of fast-fashion garments made with synthetic fabrics that contain plastics, its ascendence has also been accompanied by a surge in plastic pollution. The polyester in our clothes takes up to 200 years to break down in landfill. And every time polyester is washed, it releases vast quantities of microplastics into the water system, so fashion now accounts for between 20 and 35% of all ocean microplastics.  

 Human Rights Violations in the Fashion Industry 

If that weren’t bad enough, the apparel sector is dogged by human rights issues. Major gaps remain in the commitments of the world’s most influential brands to ensure the risks of forced labor, child labor, slavery and gender inequality are eradicated from their supply chains. Garment workers number around 60 million people worldwide, with most being young women in the Global South. Despite fashion being a 1.7 trillion dollar industry, these workers on which the sector depends are underpaid, endure unsafe working conditions and lack rights.  

All this is far from a fashionable look. We are living through a climate emergency while social inequality is rising globally. If we are to leave a safe, habitable and equitable world for our children and grandchildren, we need to radically reconsider our relationship with our clothes. 

The Rise of Fast Fashion and Our Changing Habits: How We Got Here 

In the early 2000s, ‘fast fashion’ was coined to describe the quick turnover of designs from catwalks to the sales racks of affordable retail chains. Retailers aimed to increase their profits by offering low-quality replicas of the latest trends, which was made possible by shortened manufacturing timeframes. The rapidity and volume of merchandise turnover means this model has resulted in increased sales forecasting accuracy, only boosting the profit margins of major retailers further. In 2022, the global fast fashion market was estimated to be worth over 106 billion US dollars, projected to rise to 185 billion by 2027. 

By endlessly offering new trends at cheap prices, brands like Shein, Zara and H&M have encouraged consumers to buy more clothing, often weekly. In this context, consumers are compelled to view clothes as easily disposable and replaceable, which is why Chinese fast fashion giant Shein’s business model adds 6,000 styles to its website every single day.  

It wasn’t that long ago that we bought new clothes far less frequently and understood that items from major fashion brands came with an extra cost as they guaranteed quality. Just look at the resurgence of “vintage” clothes. In our increasingly throwaway culture, consumers don’t hold quality in the same regard because they have no intention of wearing those items more than a few times. In fact, the number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36% in the last 15 years. We don’t even wear half the clothes in our wardrobes (put your hand up if you still have price tags on some items), an unthinkable concept for our make-do-and-mend parents and grandparents.

Two Growing Movements: Resale and Rental 

Although the fast fashion behemoth won’t be taken down any time soon – thanks in part to brands’ use of TikTok influencers that market to Gen Z – two sustainability trends are arising as a backlash against it. First, the market for pre-owned fashion is expanding, with the rise in buy and re-sell apps, like Depop, Thredup and Vinted, fueled by both the cost-of-living crisis and concerns about sustainability. In the US, the ‘preloved’ clothing market grew seven times faster than overall fashion retail in 2023, reflecting this global trend. And secondhand clothes are predicted to account for 10% of global fashion sales in 2025.   

The boom in re-sale markets has also prompted fast-fashion brands to jump onto the bandwagon. Zara has a dedicated pre-loved ecommerce site for its clothes, where shoppers can donate unwanted items and book clothing repairs. Both Shein and H&M are testing out resale platforms, too. However, these developments seem to be more about protecting their brands rather than the planet.

Some retailers might tout their efforts as a game-changing shift toward circular models. Still, their core business remains manufacturing billions of new products at the lowest possible cost and selling them cheaply. All acknowledge that they’ll incur losses on their resale models, as their products must be sold at rock-bottom prices to encourage consumers to choose second-hand over new items—raising concerns that these efforts may be more about greenwashing than genuine sustainability. 

Another trend is the growth in clothing rental subscription services, as proven by the success of brands like Armoire, Rent the Runway and By Rotation, which recently opened the world’s largest clothing rental pop-up store in London. Valued at $1.1 billion in 2022, the fashion rental market is forecast to grow to $2.6 billion by 2032. 

Created as a means to temporarily access designer pieces for one-off events like weddings, this market is growing in the face of mixed commercial performance and changing consumer behavior. Fashion-savvy consumers are hiring everyday items to build out their wardrobe for weeks or even months at a time. In the UK, Hurr is adjusting its model, so people can rent bundles that reflect the season and their lifestyle. Meanwhile, Nuuly, owned by US-based URBN, the parent company of Urban Outfitters, offers a subscription service that allows consumers to rent six different garments – including everything from jeans to cocktail dresses – every month for $98.  

Is this the end of clothing ownership? Potentially. This sustainable fashion trend is part of a broader shift towards a rental economy that’s also apparent in the rise of music streaming services like Spotify, the EV subscription market and the global ‘libraries of things’ movement, which involves borrowing home maintenance equipment and tech items. Future generations may well look back in horror at our contemporary obsession with ‘owing stuff’.   

The Choice Before Us: Confronting Our Consumption 

One of the main sustainability benefits of clothing rental is that it offers an alternative to overconsumption, the broader issue that created the fast-fashion problem in the first place. We’re simply consuming more than our planet can withstand. And it won’t stop unless we do. 
 
When it comes to fashion, we’ve been manipulated into believing that we must voraciously purchase the latest trends without a thought for the consequences. For the sake of yet another new T-shirt, hoodie or dress, we’ve been duped into damaging the living ecosystems on which all life depends. 

Each year, humans produce a staggering 100 billion items of clothing. The impacts on global greenhouse emissions, wildlife, the natural world and the garment makers and textile workers trapped in an unfair economic system are devastating. The truth is that we can’t carry on as we are. Time is running out.  

Our traditional make-use-dispose linear economic model is built on the illogical premise that the supply of natural resources and our planet’s capacity for waste are infinite. With six of Earth’s nine health boundaries already breached, we know this is not true.   

Our planet is in a critical condition. If we don't change our habits, drastically cut emissions and hold fast-fashion brands accountable for their business practices, the damage to people and the planet will be irreversible.  
 
Now ask yourself, is that $10 dress from Zara really worth it? 

NOTE: this article is the second in our ongoing deep dive on sustainability. If you found this one interesting, we recommend reading our previous one on sustainability trends.