Mend in Public

"Fast Fashion" is a term first used by the New York Times in the 1990s to describe Zara's mission to move from designing to supplying garments within only 15 days. Fast fashion refers to clothing that is rapidly and cheaply produced to capitalize on current trends. The question we need to ask ourselves is: why is this garment so cheap? All too often, it's because the item is made quickly, out of poor quality materials, by exploited workers in places that do not have environmental protections. While the garment itself may be inexpensive, fast fashion literally costs the earth. 

Amongst the many issues with fast fashion are:

• Encouraging overconsumption by enticing consumers with a dizzying array cheap goods
• Massive amounts of textile waste are produced annually. Much of this waste is made of polyester, a petroleum product, that results in microplastic pollution
• Exploitation is rife. Workers, often women and children,  are frequently exploited, working long hours under poor conditions for poor or even no wages
• The carbon footprint of fast fashion is huge, from production to shipping
• Items are poorly made and do not last