THE EXPENSIVE Argumentati ve essay
PRICE OF
FAST
FASHION
Phan Thi Quynh Trang
, 1
The expensive price of fast
fashion
It is widely known that fast fashion has been rising in popularity nowadays. There are
various successful brands and retailers such as H&M, Zara, Primark, GAP which grow into
huge corporations around the world due to instant gratification of customers. However, fast
fashion is also facing increasing criticism from the public in terms of environmental and
humans’ right’s impacts. While people argue that fast fashion has a huge role in the global
economy, it is undeniable that fast fashion has more negative impacts on people and
planets. This essay will consider both the benefits and drawbacks of fast fashion, concluding
with the view that, despite its good points, it should be regarded as a tremendous
disadvantage to people and the planet’s resources- the important ethical dilemma will be
explained. It will begin by analysing the bad impacts of fast fashion from the perspective of
environmentalists using thorough references. It will then go on to discuss the long-term
influential implications on society and humans, and finally, the conclusion will be drawn
from some standpoints. This essay will examine this issue about the fashion industry related
to the massive negative impacts of fast fashion on our planet.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that fast fashion is causing garment consumption to
skyrocket from 20 years ago, with the prominent opponents strongly condemning that fast
fashion is resulting in the most serious environmental problems. There are ecological
impacts on fiber production and supply since 72 toxic elements are identified during those
processes. (Anguelov N. , 2016) This point has been convincingly supported by (Halsey,
Christine, & Bick, 2018) that production leads to environmental hazards when natural and
synthetic fibres are made as well as large amounts of water and pesticides are used to
producing cotton. They also mention that textile dyeing is related to additional hazards as
untreated wastewater from dyes, releasing toxicants and heavy metals into local water
systems which can impact not only the environment but also residents and animals nearby.
Those are the evidence which show clearly the heavy impacts of fast fashion industry to the
environment.
On the other hand, there are some arguments against those points which are using
sustainable fibers and being cautious about discharge the waste. The production could use
natural materials such as cotton and linen which supply good comfort and harmless for
environment. (Subramanian, 2014). Therefore, it is very popular and extensively used in the
fashion industry. He also confirms that at the end of lifecycle of natural plant, fibers could be
biodegradable which are not bad in total. (Subramanian, 2014)
However, although proponents claim that there is a positive relationship between the
production environment due to the sustainable materials, nothing could be further from the
truth. Once garments manufacturing is in growth, even for their environmental policies, the
disadvantages of fast fashion growth supposedly outweigh the advantages. A significant
example is 92 million tonnes of waste produced per year and 79 trillion liters of water
consumed (Niinimaki, et al., 2020). A case in point is America, as pointed out by (Halsey,
Christine, & Bick, 2018), around 80 pounds of clothing and textile are thrown annually by
Americans which occupies nearly 5% of landfill space. Moreover, about 500,000 tons of used
PRICE OF
FAST
FASHION
Phan Thi Quynh Trang
, 1
The expensive price of fast
fashion
It is widely known that fast fashion has been rising in popularity nowadays. There are
various successful brands and retailers such as H&M, Zara, Primark, GAP which grow into
huge corporations around the world due to instant gratification of customers. However, fast
fashion is also facing increasing criticism from the public in terms of environmental and
humans’ right’s impacts. While people argue that fast fashion has a huge role in the global
economy, it is undeniable that fast fashion has more negative impacts on people and
planets. This essay will consider both the benefits and drawbacks of fast fashion, concluding
with the view that, despite its good points, it should be regarded as a tremendous
disadvantage to people and the planet’s resources- the important ethical dilemma will be
explained. It will begin by analysing the bad impacts of fast fashion from the perspective of
environmentalists using thorough references. It will then go on to discuss the long-term
influential implications on society and humans, and finally, the conclusion will be drawn
from some standpoints. This essay will examine this issue about the fashion industry related
to the massive negative impacts of fast fashion on our planet.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that fast fashion is causing garment consumption to
skyrocket from 20 years ago, with the prominent opponents strongly condemning that fast
fashion is resulting in the most serious environmental problems. There are ecological
impacts on fiber production and supply since 72 toxic elements are identified during those
processes. (Anguelov N. , 2016) This point has been convincingly supported by (Halsey,
Christine, & Bick, 2018) that production leads to environmental hazards when natural and
synthetic fibres are made as well as large amounts of water and pesticides are used to
producing cotton. They also mention that textile dyeing is related to additional hazards as
untreated wastewater from dyes, releasing toxicants and heavy metals into local water
systems which can impact not only the environment but also residents and animals nearby.
Those are the evidence which show clearly the heavy impacts of fast fashion industry to the
environment.
On the other hand, there are some arguments against those points which are using
sustainable fibers and being cautious about discharge the waste. The production could use
natural materials such as cotton and linen which supply good comfort and harmless for
environment. (Subramanian, 2014). Therefore, it is very popular and extensively used in the
fashion industry. He also confirms that at the end of lifecycle of natural plant, fibers could be
biodegradable which are not bad in total. (Subramanian, 2014)
However, although proponents claim that there is a positive relationship between the
production environment due to the sustainable materials, nothing could be further from the
truth. Once garments manufacturing is in growth, even for their environmental policies, the
disadvantages of fast fashion growth supposedly outweigh the advantages. A significant
example is 92 million tonnes of waste produced per year and 79 trillion liters of water
consumed (Niinimaki, et al., 2020). A case in point is America, as pointed out by (Halsey,
Christine, & Bick, 2018), around 80 pounds of clothing and textile are thrown annually by
Americans which occupies nearly 5% of landfill space. Moreover, about 500,000 tons of used
