Jessica Sciacca

April 19, 2016

WRT 201
Proposal Argument
Fast Fashion, Faster Problems
Introduction
Are you the type of person to spend fifty dollars on a blouse from J.Crew or would you
spend fifty dollars on six items at H&M? By definition, the term fast fashion can be defined as
a phenomenon in the fashion industry whereby production processes are expedited in order to
get new trends to the market as quickly and cheaply as possible (Fast Fashion). In everyday
terms, fast fashion is the quick production of poorly made clothing to keep up with the many new
trends. Researcher Annamma Joy stated, A formerly standard turnaround time from catwalk to
consumer of six months is now com- pressed to a matter of mere weeks by such companies as
H&M and Zara (Joy). The target consumer for the issue of fast fashion would definitely be
college age consumers. The reason for this would be that the majority college students do not
have an excess of money to spend on quality made clothing. These consumers within this
industry may see fast fashion within many different retailers. For example, Zara, H&M, and
Forever 21 are just a few of the hundreds of retailers that participate in fast fashion. Now this
may not sound like an issue to the everyday consumer, college students are paying very little for
all of these trendy new pieces to add to their wardrobe. In actual reality fast fashion has become
a major environmental and ecosystem problem.

Problem
The majority of college age consumers purchase or wear clothing without any education
or care of on the production quality, which is where the issue begins. It is the production of these
pieces of clothing, shoes, or accessories that are affecting the environment. To fully understand
this problem a knowledge of fabrics would help. Fast fashion clothing is made of fabrics that are
not made to last because they are cheap materials. The most common fabrics that are used are
acrylic, polyester, rayon, acetate, triacetate, and nylon. The fibers are sewn together to form
actual pieces of clothing in countries with already poor environmental conditions. Common
places for retail factories are located within China, India, Spain, etc. These fabrics that are used
within production are created with non biodegradable fibers. This means they will not
decompose on their own, they will need additional help, which the majority of the time is
overlooked.
The logic behind fast fashion thinking makes sense, why would you spend fifty dollars on
one blouse at Nordstroms, when you could spend fifty dollars at H&M and walk out with two
tops, a pair of jeans and a sweater.It is that exact state of mind frame that is beginning the
problem of fast fashion. Companies such as Gap and Old Navy have seen the major profit from
the fast fashion model and have recently thought about adding it to their retail supply process.
Beginning the process of stoping fast fashion needs to commence before other retailers take on
this thinking. The new clothing addition that the consumer is adding to their wardrobe is
wonderful until the items rip or pull. The figure below describes college age consumers mindset
in fast fashion thinking. It begins from two different points, fast fashion system and the aesthetics

behind it. Then the chart moves to the connections between the purchase and the thinking,
which gives three types of mindsets. The figure ends with the final fast fashion thinking, which is
low cost, high turnover, style and creation. CEOs know the quality of their companys clothing
and the reality of the environmental issues it is causing, it can be said that fast fashion is
todays treasure and tomorrows trash (Joy).

Figure 1.1

1 (Joy).

So what happens when the consumer wants to cleanse their wardrobe of the fast fashion items?
They will just throw them in the trash and not think twice about the further process of discarding
the items. From the trashcan of the consumer, the waste collectors will then pick up the weekly
residue, which they then bring to the dumpsite. For normal, degradable fibers this process of
disposal would not be a further issue, but when it comes to synthetic non degradable fibers this
is a huge problem. The fibers acrylic, polyester, rayon, acetate, triacetate, and nylon do not

decompose on their own, chemicals will be needed to further the process of removal. In the U.S
alone, clothing, footwear, and other non-durable textiles generated 12.4 million tons of landfill
waste in 2013. Only about 15 percent, or 1.8 million tons of the textile waste was recovered for
reprocessing or recycling, reported the US Environmental Protection Agency (Annika). When
consumers try to send their old clothing purchased from fast fashion retailers to the dump they
do not realize the problem they are creating. The clothing will remain there, eventually sink into
the ground, and further moves to polluting the water supply.
A documentary titled, The True Cost, was created in 2015 to illustrate and inform
viewers of how big of an issue we had on our hands with fast fashion. The director Andrew
Morgan discovered that, In the 1960s America was still making 95% of their clothing, today we
only make about 3%, and the other 97% is outsourced to other countries around the world (The
True Cost). This is where the problem begins, the cost of production is much higher in house,
then it would be to go to a factory in China or India. This documentary illustrated that when
retailers use countries that have poor working and environmental conditions, they already do not
care too much over the quality of their own clothing. Especially within college age consumers,
materialism is so prevalent, which is why CEOs of fast fashion retailers are targeting them for
their products. The more those people are focused on the material items and materialistic
values, the less happy they are, which is why advertisers target this for fast fashion retailers,
they consumers need this item (The True Cost). After viewing this film, you are able to see the
real toll that fast fashion causes in our society.

Counter Argument
I do recognize that there is a counter argument to the cost and issue of purchasing fast
fashion. Many college students do not have the money to spend at high end retailers that sell
well made quality clothing, so they shop at retailers that do not care of the quality. The main
reasons as to why young consumers choose to shop at retailers, like Zara, H&M, and Forever
21, aside from the low cost, is they always are up to date with trends and they have a huge
variety of styles. These retailers try to attract each style a consumer could possibly have. I have
also taken into consideration that unless you are a Textiles, Merchandising and Design major
then you probably would not have any idea that this has become such a major problem within
our world. So why would that be. It has been known that the majority of issues involving the
fashion industry have not been known to be prioritized over business issues or science
issues.That has become a problem within itself.
Solution
How can we, as college age consumers, resolve this problem of fast fashion? The first
step in the process begins with consumers, they need to begin to greatly reduce the amount of
shopping that they do at fast fashion retailers. From this the CEOs will see the major profit loss
that their company is taking from consumers boycotting fast fashion. From the perspective of a
certain environmentalist, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated, It cannot be quickly fixed,
but the problem can be alleviated slowly by making consumers more knowledgeable and
corporations more accountable. When consumers begin to have a larger understanding that

quality of the production of clothing should be more of a priority than the actual cost, the process
of changing will begin to take place.
The non biodegradable fibers can be switched to more natural, biodegradable fibers.
Examples of these fibers are bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, wool, linen, cashmere and silk. If
these fibers are used to create trendy clothing instead of synthetic fibers the environment will be
less polluted. One researcher has stated that, You need to get the designers weighing in on this
issue and using organic cotton and the proper dyes and so on. If Marc Jacobs did it, we would
all be buying these clothes. Change is possible, but it has to come from the fashion domain.
Aesthetics is crucial to the appeal of eco-fashion (Joy). When thinking about this statement it is
very logical, if the heads of the fashion industry show college age consumers that you can still
be trendy, but also environmentally conscious then the process may just initiate.
One of the biggest alternatives that college age consumers can participate in to avoid
fast fashion clothing is clothing swap or donation events. Instead of sending clothing to the
landfill, then can send the clothing to companies that will give them to others. Many universities
are beginning to set up clothing donation events so their students are able to give away their old
items. If we had this type of event at the University of Rhode Island it would help us as college
students reduce our carbon footprint within the fast fashion issue. Due to the fact that this type
of event would entail clothing, shoes, and accessories, the Textiles, Merchandising and Design
department would promote/set it up for the entire university to take part in.
Conclusion

To conclude fast fashion is a major problem for the ecosystem and environment. It is
college age consumers who have the potential to start the process of making a difference in this
issue. Just as stated within The End of Fashion, for all of its glamour and frivolity, fashion
happens to be a relevant and powerful forces in our lives. At every level of society people care
greatly about the way they look, which affects both their self esteem and the way other people
interact with them. (Agins). We are trying to create a world of more sustainable fashion that will
last, be cost effective, and at the same time help the environment we live in, not destroy it. By
slowing informing the population of the problems these retailers are creating, the process of the
solution can begin.

Works Cited
Agins, Teri. The End of Fashion: The Mass Marketing of the Clothing Business. New York:
Morrow, 1999. Print.

Annika Fredrikson, Staff. "H&M plans rapid growth in China amid questions on ethics of fast
fashion." Christian Science Monitor 24 Sept. 2015: N.PAG. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 1 Apr. 2016.

Cline, Elizabeth L. Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. New York:
Portfolio/Penguin, 2012. Print.

The True Cost. Dir. Andrew Morgan. The True Cost. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29
March 2016.

"Fast Fashion Definition | Investopedia." Investopedia. 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
Joy, Annamma, et al. "Fast Fashion, Sustainability, And The Ethical Appeal Of Luxury Brands."
Fashion Theory: The Journal Of Dress, Body & Culture 16.3 (2012): 273-295. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.

Kapner, Suzanne. "Gap to Test Fast Fashion Model in Select Stores." Wall Street Journal
(Online) 21 Aug. 2015: 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 March 2016.