We still buy a lot from cheap fashion brands. This is usually for monetary reasons. In this article you will find out why this will be expensive in the long run for both the customer and society.

1)      Poor quality of clothes

The companies live from the fact that customers constantly buy something from them. Of course, this also means that fast fashion groups are dependent on the products sold having as short a lifespan as possible. For this reason, unfortunately, the clothing is mostly made from inferior materials and poorly finished in order to ensure that customers buy products more quickly. This means that you end up buying more clothes more often, which ultimately leads to you spending more on your clothes than you first think.

2)      Poor CO2 balance

With 10% of the total CO2 emissions, the fashion industry is one of the largest emission drivers in the world. As if that's not enough, CO2 emissions are projected to increase by another 50% by 2030. In addition, the production of fast fashion products requires large amounts of chemicals, energy and water. 10,000 liters of water are needed for every kilogram of clothing. And this in areas where water is already an extremely scarce resource. In comparison, a person drinks around 950 liters on average. In addition, industrial coloring causes heavy pollution in rivers and lakes.

3)      Bad for your skin

Most of the clothes used by fast fashion brands are made of synthetic materials like polyester. It can quickly clog pores and cause skin rashes. In addition, harmful chemicals that are not permitted in the European Union are often used in the manufacturing process of the clothing. This goes so far that dyes or bleaching agents are used that have a carcinogenic effect. For example, scientists in Canada have found that certain Shein products contain 15 times the amount of lead known to be safe for humans.

4)      Human rights are trampled on

Unfortunately, fast fashion companies usually rely on so-called "sweatshop" factories, where employees are downright exploited. Eyewitness reports speak of incredibly long working hours, poor working conditions and even child labor. That is the reason why fast fashion companies sell at such low prices clothing. Violations of working conditions are particularly common in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. Numerous eyewitnesses and former workers report shift work, which has to be carried out 7 days a week for 14-16 hours.

5) Copycat

Fast fashion brands often simply copy existing trends. On the one hand, this means that individuality is lost and at the end of the day everyone looks the same. On the other hand, there are always violations of trademarks, logos and copyrights.

Sustainable fashion as a solution

We therefore recommend that you focus more on regional and sustainable fashion. These usually use much higher quality materials and are sewn better than fast fashion brands. You should also pay attention to the designation of origin of the products. On the one hand for reasons of CO2 pollution and on the other hand you can be sure that your clothing has been manufactured under fair working conditions and without the use of questionable chemicals.

Here you will find sustainably and fairly produced clothes made from Spanish fabrics that were made in the middle of the European Union.

January 21, 2023 — Nina Nossal