Doha Renews: Sustainable Shopping and Quick Fashion
The second-highest polluting industry in the world is fast fashion. It contributes 10% of the world's CO2 emissions, which is more than all shipping and air travel put together
People's relationships with fast fashion are frequently characterized by cognitive dissonance because they feel it is 'hypocritical' to read about its negative effects on the environment and unethical labor methods while wearing a Zara shirt.
The phenomenon is defined as "the mental pain generated by holding more than one conflicting notion at once" by famous environmental psychologist Robert Gifford.
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Aligning one's thoughts and behaviors leads to internal harmony, which doesn't seem to happen enough in the fashion industry.
Therefore, if you are concerned about labor rights and climate change but don't necessarily show this in your purchasing patterns. You're not alone, so don't worry.
You will soon realize that this isn't it after spending years buying shirts that you only wore for three weeks before they were no longer appropriate to wear in public and donating or tossing out clothing that you were so happy to get.
Did you know that the production of that single shirt you threw away required 2700 liters of water? This is almost as much water as you would consume over the course of 2.5 years.
It is challenging to stop quick fashion from existing; in fact, it has peaked recently.
Our wardrobes are overflowing with clothing items having a three-month fashion-approved lifespan due to our haste to keep up with the newest fashion trends.
Fast fashion: what is it?
Fast fashion has three main attributes in the eyes of the consumer: it is affordable, stylish, and disposable.
It makes last-minute clothing purchases easy and economical. Shoppers are encouraged to update their clothing frequently throughout the year in order to stay up with the ever-changing fashions.
Exploitation of workers
Fast fashion is based on globalization, and like all exploitation-based industries, it is supported by low-wage labor that enables it to produce goods at low cost while making huge profits. Mass exploitation of those who are a member of its supply chains is key to its business model.
Low-cost clothing causes the industry's workers to be underpaid, overworked and compelled to work in dangerous conditions.
Beginning in the 1970s, globalization caused the production of apparel to move from Western Europe and North America to the Global South.
Customers who cannot afford the frequently exorbitant prices of sustainable fashion and/or who cannot thrift and purchase few fast fashion items are not the problem as it is currently portrayed; rather, the problem is with those who spend $500 per month on Shein hauls that will last them half a season.
Previously direct employees of large firms, garment workers now play a supporting role in intricate global supply chains. As a result, major clothing retailers were no longer compelled by law to pay workers a fair salary or to offer benefits to employees.
Due to exploitation all low salaries, garment workers in the Global South have long struggled to make ends meet.