◆이코노미스트가 글로벌 차세대 경제 리더, 청소년 기자단 영 저널리스트와 함께합니다. 영 저널리스트 기자단은 프리미엄 경제지 이코노미스트, 논술 전문 기관 Ni 에듀케이션과 함께 주요 시사 이슈를 팔로우업하고 직접 기획, 취재, 기사 작성 활동을 하며 사회적 문제를 고심하고 해결 방안을 제시하는 과정을 경험하게 됩니다. 이번 기사는 영 저널리스트 기자단이 현 사회현상에 대해 학생들 시선에서 ‘왜’라는 질문을 갖고 직접 취재해 작성한 기획기사입니다. 영 저널리스트 기자단의 기획기사는 영문과 국문, 두 형태로 게재합니다. 

[Young journalist Siwon Lee] The 20th century’s trends are constantly changing, so saying it is changing by a week is not an exaggeration. Nowadays, trends change more rapidly especially because of social media, as people take a photo and display it on their social media account. This resulted in people buying new clothes for every trend, yielding the phenomenon known as fast fashion. Fast fashion is when clothing companies produce massive amounts of clothes and sell them for a very low price. This results in people making them think, “Because the clothes are cheap, I will just wear them and then throw them away”, aggravating the negative sides of fast fashion. This demonstrates that people do not recognize the negative aspects of fast fashion. There is environmental pollution and exploitation of workers in the negative sides of fast fashion. 

Annual microplastics from discarded clothes…70 billion tons 

To start with, environmental pollution is the most serious problem of fast fashion. This is because most clothes from fast fashion are made from synthetic fibers. According to Greenpeace, during the production of synthetic fibers, massive amounts of carbon are emitted, which is three times more than the amount of emission of carbon in cotton clothes. As a result, companies that produce fast fashion products emit massive amounts of hazardous environmental factors. Furthermore, clothes — which is not part of trends anymore — are largely trashed and are burnt, resulting in 600,000 microplastics. This is a standard only for burning a single cloth. Furthermore, according to Greenpeace, before burning a single cloth, there are more than 700,000 microplastics. As reported by the Korean Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Commission, in 2020, 82,000 tons of clothes were discarded, while in 2021, 118,000 tons were thrown away, showing an increasing trend. This shows that more than 70 billion tons of microplastics from clothes are emitted annually in Korea, since its average discard of clothes is more than 100,000 tons. If the clothes are not burnt, they are buried in landfills, making the solid absorb microplastics, cycling back to humans. 

Fast fashion’s hidden side…Exploitation of workers 

Secondly, lots of companies are exploiting workers because of fast fashion. According to the BBC, Chinese workers receive extremely low wages and work for up to 12 hours a day so that they can produce massive amounts of clothes in a small amount of time. Even if the workers make very simple clothes, such as t-shirts, they only get 15 cents, meaning for a whole day, they only get $1.6. Based on these horrible wages and working times, Chinese workers also have to work in an adverse environment, as it is the only way to earn money. Furthermore, one of the Chinese clothing companies admitted that they made children, under the age of fifteen, work. The exploitation of work is mainly due to fast fashion, as it forces the companies to produce clothes so that they can catch up the trends. Thus, fast fashion that exploits workers regardless of their age should be eliminated. 

To sum up, this article shows the definition and negative impacts of fast fashion. People should stop engaging in fast fashion that only buys and throws clothes away for trends. Instead, people should carry slow fashion out. Slow fashion is literally the opposite of fast fashion, as it is the phenomenon where people try to wear their clothes for the longest time. Practicing slow fashion will result in opposite effects with fast fashion. Thus, fast fashion will disappear when people stop following trends. Fast fashion shows the reality and truth where people only follow trends. 

Fast fashion Stop! Slow fashion Start

Fast fashion which discards clothes, must stop. Brands that exploit workers must be gone, which propels the concept of slow fashion. Slow fashion is completely opposite with fast fashion, meaning clothes should be worn for a longer time. Consumers should look back at their consumption habits and participate in slow fashion rather than fast fashion. People who discard their clothes even when the clothes are slightly stained or torn should repair clothes, not throw them away. People must remember the fact that reckless consumption habits make a massive clothes island. 

Not only individuals, companies also should work in order to overcome problems of fast fashion. They should not only seek profits but rather prioritize ethics, the environment, and laborer's rights. Exploits of laborers just for a massive production should be prevented, also benefiting the environment. 

Finally, governments should constrain fast fashion by strict laws. For instance, the French government implemented an ‘eco-score’, which evaluates how eco-friendly companies are. If companies receive a low score, they have to pay a fine. Due to ‘eco-score’, France does not allow a single company to advertise their products. Thus, strict regulations are strongly needed. Likewise, South Korea should also impose laws to raise awareness to fast fashion.

ⓒ이코노미스트(https://economist.co.kr) '내일을 위한 경제뉴스 이코노미스트' 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지