What is the main issue of fast fashion?

The main issue with fast fashion is that it prioritizes producing cheap, trendy clothing at a rapid pace, which creates serious social and environmental problems. The biggest concerns are:

1. Environmental Damage

   • Overproduction leads to huge amounts of textile waste (millions of tons of clothes are discarded every year).

   • Synthetic fabrics like polyester shed microplastics, polluting oceans and harming wildlife.

   • The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions and water pollution (dyeing and finishing clothes often contaminate rivers).

2. Exploitation of Workers

   • Garment workers, mostly in developing countries, often face unsafe working conditions, extremely low wages, and long hours.

   • Tragic events like the Rana Plaza collapse (2013) highlighted unsafe factories supplying big fashion brands.

3. Overconsumption & Waste Culture

   • Fast-changing trends encourage consumers to buy more than they need, creating a cycle of “wear once, throw away.”

   • Most discarded clothes end up in landfills or are burned.

👉 In short: fast fashion is unsustainable because it harms the planet, exploits people, and promotes wasteful consumer habits.