The fashion industry is a massive global market that relies on consumer demand to shape trends and production. Every purchase a consumer makes influences how fashion brands operate, from luxury houses like Dior to fast fashion retailers like SHEIN. Consumer responsibility plays a major role in the ethical, environmental and labor aspects of the fashion industry.
Trends change quickly, and consumers are always looking for the next big style. Social media and celebrity culture drive these shifts, making people want to buy new clothes frequently. For fast fashion this means the priority is to create low-cost, trendy clothing at a rapid pace. Companies like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 design and produce new styles in just weeks, while SHEIN keeps a stable of designers on hand to release new looks daily. This ensures that customers always have something new to buy. However, this system comes with significant consequences.
The Environmental Impact Of Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is convenient and affordable but represents a major environmental risk. The fashion industry in general is one of the largest polluters in the world, coming second only to the oil industry. But fast fashion makes this problem worse. Constantly producing cheap clothing requires large amounts of water, chemicals and energy.
Particularly with water consumption, this can be blamed on the industry’s reliance on cotton which requires significant amounts of the natural resource to grow. According to environmental watchdog Ecowatch.com, simply making a t-shirt or a pair of jeans can require as much as 5,000 gallons of water to produce the cotton needed for the raw materials and the dying process for the denim.
Likewise, many garments are made from synthetic materials that do not decompose easily, leading to huge amounts of textile waste. According to research, Americans send roughly 10.5 million tons of clothing to landfills annually. Additionally, the transportation of fashion products around the world increases carbon emissions, further contributing to climate change. Supporting this is the reality that even when many Americans donate old clothes, they’re rarely accepted by US consignment or second-hand stores. Instead, those threads are shipped overseas again contributing to carbon emissions.
Labor Practices And Worker Exploitation Raise Questions As Well
The pressure to produce inexpensive clothing quickly means many brands are trying to finesse razor thin margins and must make profit through overall sales volume. To boost profitability, these companies typically outsource production to countries with lower labor costs. Factories in countries like Bangladesh, India and Vietnam often have poor working conditions, low wages and long hours.
While this is a concern for the entire fashion industry, the expectation for fast fashion to release new styles almost daily creates added pressure for factories to provide a steady stream of cheap labor. This is already an exploitative practice with some factories compounding the issue by also employing child labor. In 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,100 garment workers, exposed the dangerous conditions in many of these workplaces.
When consumers buy fast fashion without considering where or how it was made, they indirectly support these labor abuses. However to be clear, fast fashion isn’t the only culprit as even mega tech brands like Apple have come under fire for inhumane working conditions associated with factories producing its goods.
Who Consumes The Most Fashion?
The United States is one of the biggest consumers of fashion. Research suggests that Americans purchase roughly 53 garments every year — although some estimates push this figure as high as 65 pieces. Conservatively aggregated as a nation, this means the US buys over 17 billion pieces of clothing annually. On a global scale, China is also a leading consumer, especially as its middle class grows and more people gain access to disposable income.
Millennials and Gen Z are the most active shoppers, with younger generations prioritizing trendy and affordable options. However, their increasing awareness of ethical and sustainable fashion is slowly changing buying habits.
Ethical Consumer Responsibility
Ethical responsibility in fashion means that brands and consumers must consider the social and environmental impact of their choices. This includes ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and sustainable production practices. Some brands have begun promoting ethical fashion by using eco-friendly materials, reducing waste and supporting fair trade or recycling programs. Most notable would be brands like H&M, Zara and Hanna Andersson who all offer pre-owned programs that allow consumers to submit clothing for second-hand marketplaces in exchange for credits towards future purchases.
While this does keep clothing out of landfills, it doesn’t exactly address the environmental and ethical issues related to producing new designs. Ultimately, the responsibility also falls on consumers to make informed choices, such as buying from ethical brands, shopping second-hand or reducing unnecessary purchases.
Concerns Also Stretch To Luxury Fashion
Fast fashion tends to get the most attention for its influence on pollution and ethical issues related to producing clothing, but luxury brands are also guilty. Luxury brands like Dior, Chanel and Gucci operate differently from fast fashion, but the impact they create is still real and also influenced by consumer demand. Often the pushback falls under the perceived value of a luxury item as compared to the actual cost associated with producing it. High-end brands justify extreme markups by emphasizing exclusivity, craftsmanship and branding. Most recently, the fashion house Dior was caught in a scandal when an Italian court revealed numerous labor violations and that many of its high end handbags carried an astronomical markup.
It was uncovered that some bags retailed for $2,800 while only costing a small $57 per unit to produce. This was compounded by unethical working conditions uncovered in many of the outsourced Italian factories used to produce these luxury goods. From extreme work days to illegally immigrating workers into Italy without any contract to protect their rights, Dior became the poster child in 2024 for a corporation prioritizing profits and greed over its workers and safe workplace conditions.
When Consumers Talk, The Industry Listens
Consumers have the power to shape the fashion industry by making responsible choices. Supporting sustainable brands, reducing excessive purchases and being aware of how products are made can drive change. While affordability and style are important, ethical fashion considers the impact on people and the planet. By being conscious consumers, individuals can help create a more responsible and sustainable fashion industry.
