{"id":62308,"date":"2023-09-22T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T07:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=62308"},"modified":"2026-02-26T22:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:38:57","slug":"how-fast-fashion-fuels-climate-change-plastic-pollution-and-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/62308\/how-fast-fashion-fuels-climate-change-plastic-pollution-and-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"How fast fashion fuels climate change, plastic pollution, and violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story was originally posted by Greenpeace UK<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013<\/em><\/em> sparked a call for change in the global fashion industry. But 10 years on, more than 100 billion clothes a year are made \u2013 mostly from oil turned into polyester \u2013 by people working in dangerous conditions. This is fast fashion’s impact on people and the planet.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

You know the feeling: wardrobe full of clothes, nothing to wear. Online, fashion sales fill your feeds. Clothes are cheaper than ever, and even cheaper in the sales, which now happen year-round.<\/p>\n\n

Then there\u2019s the other end of it all. The charity shop bag by the door that seems self-refilling; the rails in those shops full to bursting. The buyer\u2019s remorse at the clothes clogging our closets.<\/p>\n\n

Why is there so much clothing now? What\u2019s it made of and who made it all? And where does it all end up when it\u2019s no longer wanted?<\/p>\n\n

Frankly, the fashion industry doesn\u2019t want you to know the answers to these questions.<\/p>\n\n

They don\u2019t even want to reveal how many clothes they actually produce each year. 100 billion pieces a year is an estimate from a decade ago<\/a>, before the explosion in ultra-cheap, disposable fashion from companies like Boohoo and Shein.<\/p>\n\n

What we do know is that the unnecessary overproduction of clothing is a leading cause of climate change<\/a> and plastic pollution. The demand for oil to make polyester is even fuelling Russia\u2019s war, according to the Changing Markets Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

And \u2013 even 10 years on from the Rana Plaza factory collapse \u2013 the fast fashion industry is still a chain of human misery. Some 75 million people (mostly women) are extremely poorly paid<\/a> for skilled work in fashion manufacturing. Deadly industrial accidents still happen regularly.<\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n\n

Most fast fashion contains fossil fuels<\/h2>\n\n

Plastic is made from oil and gas. Polyester is a thread made from plastic, woven into fabric. It\u2019s thought over half of the clothes produced today use synthetic materials<\/a> like polyester.<\/p>\n\n

These materials often do not break down or can\u2019t be recycled, which creates a massive plastic waste problem<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The oil industry has likely expected a hit on its profits coming, as much-needed climate action lowers the use of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n

Luckily for them, the fast fashion industry has a seemingly endless demand for polyester. And the oil companies are seeking to take advantage of this demand<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

A recent report even found fashion companies, such as New Look and Next, are inadvertently funding Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine by using polyester made from Russian oil<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\n<\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

Partly because of all this plastic use, and the energy needed to process it, the fashion industry produces 8\u201310% of global CO2 emissions (4\u20135 billion tonnes annually)<\/a>. Along with demand for polyester, this is set to rise.<\/p>\n\n

So the use of synthetic fabrics is a huge part of fashion\u2019s role in climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Clothing is a source of microplastics<\/h2>\n\n

Because polyester is basically plastic, it takes years to break down. Different synthetic fibres like polyester are often blended to make fabric, making them hard to separate.<\/p>\n\n

When it\u2019s left to break down in landfills, it pollutes the air, soil, and water with plastic microfibres<\/a> and hazardous chemicals.<\/p>\n\n

Each year, half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres shed from washing<\/a> plastic-based textiles such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic, ending up in the ocean. That\u2019s the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.<\/p>\n\n

Microplastics are everywhere \u2013 they moult off our fleeces into the air we breathe, and drain out of our washing machines and into the oceans<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"Microfibre
Most of today\u2019s clothing contains polyester. This cheap synthetic fibre is the main driver of the fast fashion industry \u2013 and turns out to be a disaster for the oceans.
\u00a9 Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

There\u2019s clearly a huge problem here. These plastics not only pollute the environment \u2013 they are even getting into our bodies through water and food, with still unknown impacts on health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

We do need affordable clothing, but is this really the best way to go about it?<\/p>\n\n

Fashion is made to become waste<\/h2>\n\n

Fashion should be about creativity and style, practicality and durability. But fast fashion companies have made it all about newness.<\/p>\n\n

Companies push new trends endlessly and seasons now move faster than ever. Many of these items of clothing are simply made to become waste; to make way for the next brand-new batch of clothing.<\/p>\n\n

Some estimates reckon the fashion industry is producing 100 billion articles of clothing a year \u2013 some 40% more than could ever be bought and actually worn<\/a>. This figure is likely to be underestimated, and outdated.<\/p>\n\n

Companies create more clothes than we realistically need or want, or that we can dispose of safely. And because so much of it is all sold so cheaply, it becomes easy to buy \u2013 perhaps not even wear \u2013 and then to throw away.<\/p>\n\n

And by \u201cthrow away\u201d, of course we mean donate \u2013 because that feels good, doesn\u2019t it? But donating to charity shops isn\u2019t the perfect solution to our overflowing wardrobes it perhaps used to be.<\/p>\n\n

\"\u00a9
Shopping can create feelings of excitement, but many of us buy far more than we need. Full wardrobes symbolise the issue of overconsumption. As the buzz wears off, we may be pulled into buying again by an artificial demand created by fashion retailers.
\u00a9 Patrick Cho \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

With the amount of clothes we\u2019re dealing with, last season\u2019s styles become rubbish pretty quickly, destined for landfills overseas.<\/p>\n\n

The numbers are stark: only 10\u201330% of clothes you donate to the charity shops will be sold by them<\/a> and charity shops are so overwhelmed with clothing that\u2019s basically waste<\/a>. So where does all this clothing go?<\/p>\n\n

Where can<\/em> an estimated 92 million tonnes a year of waste clothing<\/a> end up when it\u2019s no longer wanted? (The numbers are so mind-boggling, so for comparison, one tonne is around the weight of a small car.)<\/p>\n\n

Fashion wastelands in Africa and the Atacama Desert<\/h2>\n\n

A project called Dead White Man\u2019s Clothes<\/a>, after the name given to clothing exports from the West to Ghana, shows grimly the problem of fashion waste exports.<\/p>\n\n

\n<\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

Traders and tailors in Accra\u2019s Kantamanto market work hard to repurpose and sell the clothing that arrives on their shores.<\/p>\n\n

The upcycling and reuse culture in Accra is a great example of what a more sustainable and circular fashion industry could look like.<\/p>\n\n

But the sheer volume \u2013 and poorly constructed fast fashion items that aren\u2019t made to last \u2013 means a lot of it is impossible to use and upcycle.<\/p>\n\n

So it ends up in landfills, wrapped around the ropes of fishing boats near Accra, and strewn across beaches.<\/p>\n\n

\n

Solomon Noi, the city\u2019s head of waste management, reckons that 40% of the used clothing coming through Accra\u2019s port ends up as garbage. A landfill that was supposed to have a lifespan of 25 years filled up in three.https:\/\/t.co\/TenL37Mkjm<\/a> via @BW<\/a><\/p>\n

— Val\u00e9rie Boiten (@Valerie_Boiten) November 9, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n