Hello to all of my readers!
Before we get started I just want to say I hope your day is going well and that you so much for taking the time to read this post. Now, without further adue, let's dive in.
Have you ever heard of Fast Fashion? Well, Guess what todays topic is? You guessed it. Fast Fashion. Have you ever heard the saying time is money? And have you considered how much time YOU spend shopping every year? Fast fashion takes away much more hours from your life than you have EVER realized. Fast Fashion prices the clothing item for cheaper than the other clothing items. And there for, thinking you have caught an amazing deal, soon enough, you will be back shopping for more. Because that item you got, had to be thrown away just a few months later.
In America, we like to consider the costs of an item in dollars and cents. Also, we usually only think of our budget. A budget is the amount you allow yourself and other than people thinking of there budget, they forget to think of the environment!
Let me share a fun fact with you. Did you know that there are hidden costs included in every purchase? Also, the cost of fast fashion is a LOT higher than we realize. Buying into fast fashion not only costs time, more money than you assume, it also costs the environment. Also 15 MILLION tons of textile waste is from the U.S. And every single year 15 million tons of textile is WASTED!! 13 million tons of that waste is thrown into a landfills where it is unable to biodegrade.
Incase you don't know what biodegrade is, its when something is able to break down and become one with the earth. On top of the enormous amount of textile waste, sitting in the landfills, the real production of clothing negatively impacts the environment. It takes 2,700 litters of water to make ONE cotton t-shirt!! Which is the same amount that one person drinks over 12 YEARS!! The pesticides farmers use, seep into the ground and eventually, makes that area of ground unable to have any plant growth. Also the chemicals dyes pollute local water sources! Fast fashion not only causes money, time, and the environment, it costs people too!! Let me tell you how.
In 2013, there was a garment factory that collapsed. It was known as the Rana Plaza collapse. This collapse cost 1,100 peoples lives! And many people got hurt. All other local businesses closed because they noticed the dangerously big cracks in the walls. But the garment company ordered the workers to come back the next day and threatened them if they didn't come back. Terrible and often deadly conditions garment workers deal with every day! Many children also work in fast fashion factory's also in these dangerous situations. for penny's a day!! I know it's hard to think that the cute pair of shorts you got your local fast fashion retailer was most likely made by a child in unsafe and also deadly conditions. Next time you want to buy a new t-shirt, ask yourself: Is it worth the whole cost? Before I end, im going to say a few more things.
Im not blaming the fashion industry for our environmental issues. In fact I think that the fashion industry is fabulous. I just want all of you to be aware of the wiser choice's we could make. and to be kinder to the environment.
Thats all for today everyone! If you would like an audio version of this, check out my podcast where ever podcasts are available.
If you learned something in this post, make sure to share it with friends and family so they can be more aware too. Don't want to miss post? Follow my instagram @ecofashionfrenzywithsienna . Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more.
-Sienna Salcedo