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Earth is facing unprecedented attacks on its ecosystems, from deadly ozone-attacking gasses to deforestation that’s literally ripping out the lungs of the world to a mountain of discarded polysynthetic clothes in the country of Chile that can be seen from the sky. For 14 years, no rain has fallen in Alto Hospicio or the surrounding Atacama Desert region, where tons of clothes are discarded from all over the world.
The dry conditions of the desert, coupled with the nonbiodegradable, predominantly synthetic, petroleum-derived fibers used in modern clothes, meant that the pile never shrank. Instead, for more than two decades, it grew, and with every discarded item, it grew so large it could be seen from space. Startups like Ecocitex are helping solve the issue by recycling discarded clothes and turning them into raw materials. However, the problem requires government action.
On that front, efforts have been underway since 2016 to add textiles to the Extended Liability of the Producer law, or REP law for short, which makes producers and importers accountable for wasting specified materials. Tomás Saieg, head of the Chilean environment ministry’s Circular Economy Office, said to National Geographic, “Converting Chile from a junkyard into a recycling hub would be the dream, but first we have to add textiles to the REP law.
Collective Devastation: Human Rights, Environmental, Late Stage Capitalism
Considering the speed at which fashion trends come and go, and the recent enormous transfer of wealth to billionaires from the middle and working class, it’s only natural that today’s shoppers would be happy to find affordable fashionable options that keep up with fashion trends.
Now add on deeply acculturated consumerism that has people fist-fighting over travel cups and coveting the latest fashion trend that a social media star just talked about, and we have all the ingredients for fast fashion brands to rise like flames for the fashion-hungry moths to gravitate towards.
Fast fashion, pushed by giant brands like Zara, H&M, Forever 21, SHEIN, Fashion Nova, ASOS, and more, has made these companies some of the biggest faces of modern consumerism. These brands are also some of the biggest representatives of unsafe working conditions and wage theft of workers who are often forced to work more than 75 hours per week.
The human devastation these brands, individually and collectively, are causing is, sadly, not being taken seriously by the consumers who continue to provide billions of dollars a year to each of these companies.
As that $8 shirt is shipped from across the world in plastic bags that will end up in landfills, the fast fashion industry also consumes around 93 billion cubic meters of water a year. That’s enough to meet the water needs of as many as 5 million people. Moreover, according to the UN, this industry is responsible for 2 to 8 percent of global carbon emissions.
Fast fashion’s water impact and carbon emissions are not the only issues, though. The environmental impact of this industry runs deeper, not to mention the social impact side of the coin. The more is known about it, the more informed decisions can be made.
The dark side of fashion needs as much light shone on it as possible.
The rise of fast fashion
While fast fashion has skyrocketed in recent years, it has been around since the early 1990s, starting with the fashion store chain Zara’s lighting-fast supply chain. The design, production, distribution, and marketing of fast fashion are lightning-fast, which is how fast fashion brands can offer so much variety at such low prices.
However, if there’s a piece of life wisdom that most people know, it’s that nothing in life is free, everything comes at a price. The price of getting dirt-cheap clothes quickly delivered to our doorstep is paid not only by the environment but also by millions of workers who barely get paid for back-breaking, often unsafe work.
The dark side of fast fashion
As a business model, fast fashion is undeniably profitable, but if we dive deeper, is the damage really worth it? From water depletion to carbon emissions, the industry is notorious for its trail of destruction. It’s also notorious for its waste. As of 2023, 97 million tons of textile waste pile up in landfills every year. This number is predicted to continue rising, with the average American discarding as much as 81.5 pounds of clothes every year.
Moreover, clothing usage has plummeted by almost 40% as people only use garments 7 to 10 times before they dispose of them. The lower the quality of the clothing is, the faster it’s discarded. By 2030, the fashion industry's global emissions are poised to skyrocket by 50% if nothing is done about fast fashion’s impact. When it comes to water waste, fast fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater.
Not only that, fast fashion also pollutes water resources due to practices like fabric dying and treatment, which involve chemicals. Those chemicals are infused into the water, including things like heavy metals, pesticides, dyes, oil, phenol, and more. In turn, that polluted water can contaminate streams and groundwater. If that water is used for irrigating crops, the food growing out of them will also be contaminated.
Synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, which are staples in fast fashion, pose yet another threat. These materials take centuries to biodegrade, shedding microplastics with each wash. Those microplastics find their way into the oceans, contaminating marine life and ecosystems. It’s estimated that 35% of ocean microplastics come from textile laundering.
Of course, the impact of fast fashion extends beyond the environment. In developing economies, where much of fast fashion production takes place, exploitation is a huge issue. Forced labor, child labor, and awful working conditions are staples in the industry. As is often the case, marginalized communities bear the brunt of it.
A better alternative to fast fashion
As more and more people become aware of the high cost of fast fashion, the slow fashion movement gains more traction. This movement advocates for sustainable practices, mindful consumption, and ethical production. Leaning on slow fashion practices can be an antidote to the rampant consumerism fast fashion inspires.
A lot of people rely on fast fashion because they feel it’s their only alternative to creating a wardrobe. After all, high-quality pieces that are made to last are investments and they can be quite expensive. However, it’s important to remember those aren’t the only options. While saving up to build a more sustainable wardrobe is possible, alternatives like recycling, thrifting, and even renting clothes are great ways to exercise your power as a consumer to effect change. Of course, it’s also possible to abstain from buying clothes altogether when you already have a wardrobe you can work with.
No matter how attractive fast fashion may be, its cost to our planet and our fellow humans is a high price to pay. On this Earth Day, you can be more mindful of how your consumer choices accelerate climate destruction. You can also learn ways to decelerate it by creating more sustainable habits, such as adjusting your attitude about clothes, being more mindful of the clothes you buy, and choosing carefully what kind of brands you support with your hard-earned dollars.
What was similar in how people wore hoops was the way in which they wore them to express their devotion to their Gods. Individuals would decorate their hoops with symbols that paid homage to specific Gods, a tradition that continues in many cultures, including Asian and Latin-American countries.
Yes, your virgencita hoops count, and that’s a tradition that began long before Latinas were wearing hoops. Since ancient times, hoops have been part of the way individuals show up to the world. Whether to demonstrate status, devotion, or fashion, hoops have been an important part of history.
It’s no surprise, then, that hoops have become a symbol of resilience in the lives of brown and Black individuals. Owning a pair of hoops as a kid is almost a right of passage for many Latinas. Your ears are pierced as soon as your mother can get someone to do it, and a pair of studs or micro-hoops are placed on your ears as training wheels.
For many Latinas, showing up unapologetically with our values and beliefs is represented in a pair of hoops. So while some might see hoops as a trendy statement piece of jewelry, Latinas recognize them to be so much more than that.
For some Latinas who consider hoops to be a part of their identity, they also feel the need to stop wearing them to be taken seriously. That is, until women like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez started pushing the boundaries of what is and is not socially acceptable to wear. AOC made it a point to show up in her hoop earrings and, in many ways, validate the identity of so many Latinas who had previously felt the need to keep their hoop earrings tucked away in their jewelry box and reserved for the weekend. Some even considered her wearing hoops a “radical act.”
No matter how they’re styled or the size you wear, remember that hoops carry thousands of years of history. They’re a fashion symbol worth being proud of. They carry generational history, struggles, and pride that make Latinas more resilient in their day-to-day life.
It might just be a style of jewelry for some, but for Latinas, it’s a reminder to show up unapologetically.
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For instance, did you know that the color pink was assigned to girls and blue to boys during this time? This was done so that companies could better market their products to specific genders. And it's not just colors. Many of the societal pressures that women face today, such as the expectation to shave their legs and armpits, can also be traced back to the depilatory industry's desire to make women believe that buying their products was a necessity, not just a preference.
Vintage ad for a hair removal product describing having body hair as "embarassing."Wikimedia Commons
Think about it: Why is it considered "unsanitary" for women to have body hair, but not for men? It's because the depilatory industry, driven by capitalism, wanted to create a market for their products. They convinced women that removing body hair was not just a matter of personal preference but a societal expectation.
The term “Plus Size,” which is generally categorized as size 14 and up, has its origins in the early 20th century and was popularized by the women's clothing retailer, Lane Bryant. The company's founder, Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin, was a trailblazer in the fashion industry. She created the first commercially successful maternity dress and was one of the first retailers to offer all-size-inclusive clothing.
However, the term "plus size" soon began to contribute to the labeling of bodies. As the term gained popularity, more retailers started using it to market clothing to larger-sized women. Instead of labeling the clothing, they labeled the women as "plus size" instead. The plus-size section became a secluded category in most retailers, and the term gained even more popularity as it was used to commercialize products.
A vintage Lane Bryant ad advertising "chubby-sized" clothes.Wikimedia Commons
Unfortunately, this labeling has also cemented ideas in women's minds that they should aspire to be a smaller size and avoid shopping in the plus-size section. It's a vicious cycle that reinforces harmful body ideals and leads to discrimination against larger-bodied individuals.
It's difficult to say exactly when and why segregated areas for larger clothing sizes came about instead of including clothing in larger sizes with the rest of the fashion. However, one possible explanation is that larger-sized clothing has often been seen as less fashionable, leading to the stereotype that it must be more "modest" and cannot be form-fitting or structured. This bias against bigger bodies may have also led to sheer designer laziness, resulting in clothing that resembles tarps with buttons.
Not much has changed since the ’50s. While many brands are now trying to be size-inclusive, significant work remains to achieve actual size parity. A quick scroll through social media demonstrates the continued fight for size inclusion and the rejection of body shaming.
Models such as Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser have made waves in the fashion industry, and they have continuously been labeled as plus-size models when they are both US size 16. Seeing models bigger than a size 6 in fashion shows is still a rare occurrence.
After model Stefania Ferrario was featured in an advertisement where she was described as a plus-size model, she took to Instagram to ask her followers: Why is the label necessary? In her own words, “I am a model FULL STOP…This is NOT empowering.” She explained that she is proud of her body but didn’t understand why she had to be differentiated from her peers by being labeled plus-sized rather than a model like the rest. On the other hand, some activists believe the term is necessary until all retailers cater to all sizes.
Stefania Ferrario called out the fashion industry for labeling her a "plus-size" model.Source: Stefania Ferrario
Movie Star, Melissa McCarthy has also called for the term to be discontinued. As she successfully launched her own line back in 2015, she challenged the industry by criticizing the use of the term, the segregation of plus size clothing into a separate category, and calling for its ban.
In an interview, McCarthy explained that her vision for her own line was to, “Run the sizes as I make them and let friends go shopping with their friends. Stop segregating women.” she went on, “Women come in all sizes. Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that’s technically ‘plus-size,’ so you’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘You’re not really worthy.’ I find that very strange,” She ended the interview by stating that designers are over-complicating things by creating different categories.
Clothing companies are taking steps to become more inclusive towards bigger sizes, and one way they are doing this is by changing the terminology from "plus-size" to "extended sizes" or "size-inclusive." This small but significant change is meant to remove the stigma associated with the term and create a more welcoming environment for all customers.
But it's not just about the terminology. Many clothing companies are also expanding their size ranges to include larger sizes, offering a wider range of clothing options to more people. This is a big win for those who have felt excluded from the fashion industry.
Another positive change is the increase in diverse models featured in advertising campaigns and on websites. Seeing models of different sizes, races, ages, and body types is a refreshing change from the narrow beauty standards that have dominated the industry for too long. By promoting body positivity and inclusivity, fashion companies are sending a message that all bodies are beautiful and worthy of representation.
The fashion industry seems to be moving in the right direction toward creating a more inclusive and accommodating environment for people of all sizes. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that all bodies are celebrated and represented in the industry.
- From Size to Personal Identity: How Plus-Size Came to Be ›
- The History of Hoop Earrings: Uniting Latinas Across Generations ›
