“We currently have enough clothing on the planet to dress the next six generations”
(British Fashion Council)
I think you would have to be living under a rock to not be at all aware of the impact the fashion industry is having on the ecosystem and the climate crisis. Fast fashion specifically has revolutionised the fashion industry by making trendy, affordable clothing accessible to the masses. Brands release new collections weekly which entices people to buy the latest styles. This rapid turnover encourages frequent buying and creates a culture of disposable fashion where clothes are only worn a few times before being discarded and the bulk of this is to a country’s landfill.
Most of us would be used to hearing some of the below statistics
- The world produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste per year (Vestiaire Collective)
- 3/5 fast fashion items end up in landfill within 1 year of purchase (Vestiaire Collective, October 2022)
- Our clothes collectively release half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean annually equivalent to over 50 billion plastic bottles (The Commons Earth, 2023)
- The fashion industry ranks as the second largest industry consumer of water, with production figures showing it takes about 700 gallons to craft a single cotton sift and 2000 gallons for a pair of jeans. (UNECE, 2018)
The Global Second Hand Market
The global second hand clothing market is rapidly expanding and is poised to be the future of fashion as consumers are beginning to become more environmentally conscious. It is estimated to be worth $100 to $120 billion and is on a trajectory to reach $350 billion by 2028 (Vestiaire Collective, October 2022) (Thred Up, 2024).
Resale offers a sustainable solution by extending the lifecycleof garments and promoting the movement towards a circular economy. Alongside this is the access to high quality and branded clothing at a fraction of the retail cost making this type of fashion more accessible. The rise of online platforms such as Remi, further encourages consumers to find and purchase pre loved items.
Some of the key drivers for the growth of the second hand market are
- Affordability and value
- Economic impact
- Circular movement
- Variety of choice and uniqueness
- Thrill of the hunt
Circularity: What does this mean?
Circularity in fashion is about creating a sustainable cycle where clothing is designed to be reused, repaired and recycled rather than discarded. The goal is to extend the lifecycle of products and reduce the environmental impact by keeping resources in a “loop” and in use for as long as possible. This principle helped to shaped how we designed the Remi website and how we want our brand to be represented on socials/media and to the public. While we aren’t reinventing the wheel, by making second hand fashion more accessible we can hopefully inspire a mindset shift when it comes to fashion.
What are some circular practices you can partake in?
- buy less and buy better, shopping second hand where possible
- revise your wardrobe before buying new
- host and attend clothes swaps
- utilize in store recycling programs
- commit to supporting brand with circular models
The Problems with Fast Fashion
It used to be that getting clothes made was a hyper-local process where you commissioned someone to tailor your clothes. It was a slow and thoughtful process, and those clothes lasted you many seasons and were often the only ones you had. The rise of fast fashion has changed consumer mindset to encourage the fast cycling and following of the latest trends. Fashion is seen as expendable and there is an attitude of rash decision making and overconsumption. “It’s cheap, it doesn’t matter” is an attitude frequently displayed in alignment with influencers and social media platforms that amplify the desire for new clothing and following the quick turn over of trends. Overconsumption is framed as fun and fast fashion brands use games/loyalty points to attract customers (McKinsey and Company, 2023). Fast fashion uses synthetic fibres to produce clothing that is lower quality, which limits its longevity. Many of the garments being donated to second-hand stores are already out-of-style because of how quickly fashion trends change.
Other points to note about fast fashion
Use of synthetic materials
Synthetic textile production accounts for 1.35% of global oil consumption, more than the whole of Spain (Changing Markets Foundation Report, 2021)
Microplastics
The shedding of microplastics during production and washing accounts for over a third of ocean plastic (@goodonyou_app)
Transparency
Fast fashion supply chains are often obscured. Manufacturing in large factories offshore increases profits through low-cost labor and exploitation
Volume of clothing produced
No one truly knows how many clothes fast fashion outlets make. This results in clothing becoming disposable in the consumers mind, high carbon emissions and resource use and a huge amount of textile waste produced
