The impact fast fashion is having on a global waste crisis
My name is Drew, an Apprentice Waste Prevention Officer for the Council. The first article I wrote was on fast fashion and the detrimental impact it is having on our environment. The problem isn’t going away, and one article is unfortunately not enough to change the mindset of everyone, given the impact it is having.
I had heard the term ‘fast fashion’ several times before starting my job role and even more so once starting my job, but I had never googled the actual definition of the term. What is fast fashion? It is defined as cheap and low-quality clothes that are rapidly produced and come in and out of the market quickly to meet the changing trends.
The UN published an article in March 2025 on the fast fashion industry and the environmental impacts it is having, driving a global waste crisis. The article shared that globally, a waste truck of clothing is being ‘dumped’ or burned every second. Whilst I was researching more about the fast fashion industry, I came across a term called ‘greenwashing’ something I had never heard of before and googled the definition. Greenwashing refers to the businesses that convey a false impression or misleading information about how their products are environmentally sound.
What are examples of greenwashing? Providing claims that a green initiative will take place when an order has been made or an item has been sold, many companies say they will plant a tree and doing this whilst not changing their approach holistically is greenwashing. A clothing company who creates a ‘sustainable’ line where they state that part of the item is made from recycled materials is also classed as greenwashing, if the production and distribution of the item aren’t in line with the sustainability they are claiming within their new product range. Unfortunately, these “sustainable” clothing ranges often only represent a small portion of clothes sold by these fast fashion brands. Whilst other brands that have physical shops and advertise that their infrastructure is 100% energy efficient, for example, are also greenwashing, as the production of their clothes still has a huge environmental impact. As of this year, companies can now face fines for greenwashing as part of the UK consumer regime being strengthened.
Social media and fast changing trends have a huge contribution to waste produced because of fashion. I feel changing trends are less important in the older generations, including my own. Trends are more of an issue amongst those in school with peer pressure playing a huge part in this, in my opinion. I feel, the vast world of social media and the amount of people who are becoming ‘influencers’ with access to free clothing from brands is contributing to the problem. Influencers rely on brand deals with fast fashion brands as their primary source of income. A ‘brand deal’ involves an individual being gifted items that they then must promote to their mass following. Individuals regularly promoting brands and clothing as their source of income, will be less inclined to speak out on the sustainability of the company. How many influencers have promoted clothing that they didn’t like, just for money they were offered? The fashion sector alone is detrimental but the ever-growing presence of social media and ‘influencer lifestyles’ is exacerbating this problem.
Although some companies do make gestures towards sustainability such as recyclable packaging and using materials that consist of a certain number of recycled materials this is not enough to address the main issues and is still fuelling the textile problem. There does need to be more regulations in place to ensure that real change is happening and to ensure that those who do share information like their clothing being made from recycled materials are sharing the right information and not enabling greenwashing.
The best way to minimise the environmental impacts of fashion is to buy second hand using platforms such as Vinted. Though Vinted is a widely popular platform, I still feel not a lot of people use it. Amongst my friends and family, those who I have asked recently don’t use Vinted and have never used it and encouraging them to move towards buying more second-hand items wasn’t as easy as I expected. Vinted had surveyed customers who use their app and those they surveyed all stated that they prefer to buy fewer, expensive items that can last longer than buying a higher quantity of cheaper items. Even on Vinted, people are looking past the low cost of fast fashion items and still preferring to spend that bit more, granted still cheaper than new instead of buying lower quality items.
However, Vinted is not the only way in which we can minimise the impact we have on the environment when we want to buy clothes. Buying second-hand clothes and ‘preloved’ items are accessible on many other platforms such as Depop, eBay and physically shopping in charity shops. At the end of 2024, the use of charity shops was on the rise, with the average number of visits for a UK resident reaching 6.5 times a year. Unfortunately, the statistics haven’t matched those that were recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably from this research conducted by NFP research, they also found that there were trends amongst those who had shopped at charity shops last year, the older and younger generations approach charity shops with very different motivations, older demographics are more likely to regularly visit charity shops to support the cause attached to the shop. Whereas the younger generation shop in charity shops with a purpose on what they want. This purpose primarily being to find value for money and quality goods which has been significantly driven in the rising cost of goods when you buy first hand, and the younger generation also stated they had more concern for the sustainability behind the product they buy.
Although second-hand buying is the way forward, I also need to reiterate that purchases need to be justified as to why it’s being purchased. A want is not a need, and this is something I feel some people use to justify their purchase. This narrative amongst consumers needs to be tackled, as well as buying more than you need because the items are significantly reduced.
If you are regularly buying new clothes but have clothes in your wardrobe that haven’t been worn in months, question whether you can use what you already have, that you have probably forgotten about before making purchases, or take these clothes out and donate them to charity shops or list them online using Vinted or Depop. Alternatively, you can deposit them at one of Buckinghamshire’s 10 HRC sites where they will be sorted for reuse.