User:Reeny21/Wikipedia Article

Fast fashion sees businesses and designers approaching designs, the creating and marketing of clothing that produces fashion trends quickly and at a cheap rate for consumers to purchase. Fashion trends are mass-produced on a schedule formed by businesses to ensure people have access to the items.

The creation of fast fashion presents an environmental problem, that has an impact on people around the world. The air we breathe, and the water we drink are impacted by the mass production of clothing. It is worse for people living in developing countries as waste is often exported from advanced countries, for them to deal with.

For a future where fashion is environmentally friendly, businesses and consumers have a responsibility to make a difference.

What is Fast Fashion?
Fashion, in today's society, is seen as disposable, something that can be replaced or has one use for it. It is quite normal for individual's to purchase one outfit for one event, for instance purchasing a new dress for a work function or for a birthday party. Clothing supply chains respond quickly to the latest trends, by mass producing items for the consumers. Availability of products are updated on a very specific schedule businesses have, to ensure customers have access. This mentality may have a negative impact on the future of fashion.

Neoliberalism and Fashion
Neoliberalist societies are based on governments having less of an influence within the free market. Consumers benefit from this through greater access to fast fashion retailers, therefore greater access to a range of products. The biggest problem with fast fashion is consumers buying products based on want, and not actually having a need for it. The want mentality is driven heavily by low prices. Media outlets, such as print and online platforms, escalates the consumers want for the newest pair of jeans.

Marketing
The accessibility of fast fashion is driven by algorithms having an influence on one's behaviours. Algorithms play a powerful role in dictating what is shown on online platforms. Algorithms determine the content that is shown to viewers based off of one's previous search history. Social media platforms display advertisements for specific products that are typically based off recent searches.

Problems
Latest fashion trends are replaced as quickly as new trends come in. Resulting in articles of clothing being thrown out, typically into landfill. Clothing waste does end up in landfill, or it is incinerated or exported to developing countries for them to deal with the problem.

Clothing waste is driven by consumers living in an era of hyper-consumption and wanting the newest and latest trend. The notion of hyper-consumption is due to businesses needing to be successful in a neoliberal capitalist economy which needs consumption of products to be continuous.

The production of clothing has doubled than the amount of clothing manufactured in the 2000s .. Clothing production places a strain on numerous resources. There is a huge impact on the use of water, materials/textiles, chemical and energy that is required for fast fashion production ..

Chemical pollution occurs through mass production, and sees chemicals not naturally found in the environment, polluting the air. This impacts us, as oxygen is vital for our survival. A lot of fabrics are needed to be dyed before production can begin. Dyes produce run-off that spills into waterways, polluting the water supply which may impact communities that reply on that water.

Sustaining for a Better Future
Businesses have a responsibility to create a change in the apparel industry for a better and brighter future. To reduce environmental impacts, businesses need to reconsider how operations are used, how materials are sourced, the manufacturing process, the distribution of products and how they approach the market. Consumers also have a responsibility to sustain a better future, through altering their consumption habits.

New Spaces
Creating new spaces enables consumers to have diverse ways of purchasing products, that are more environmentally friendly. In recent years, businesses have created and adapted to environmentally friendly alternatives too fast fashion. Big fashion companies offer repair or tailoring services to help consumers keep items for longer, which plays a role in stopping hyper-consumerism.

Swapping Clothes
Swapping clothes is an alternative that extends the life of clothes, and reduced landfill waste. This practice is already in existence in the Western world as close friends and family engage in these actions. The practice of swapping clothes enables consumers to acquire 'new' clothing whilst giving underused clothes to others, extending the life and use of them.

Hiring Services
The expansion of social media has had a positive impact on creating an environmentally friendly alternative. Many small businesses purchase clothing to hire out to consumers, for a small fee. It is quite common for people to buy an outfit with the intention of wearing it just once, which creates the problem of clothes being thrown out. Hiring services addresses the problem of wearing an outfit for one event by allowing consumers to hire clothes, and return after wearing them.

Instagram is a social media platform where small businesses, and individuals, are providing consumers with these hiring services. It allows people living in metropolitan, suburban, and regional areas to have access to these services without having an impact on the environment through purchasing from fast fashion retailers. Hiring services are a good environmentally friendly alternative to fast fashion, as it addresses the concerns and issues fast fashion has.