The Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killing more than 1,100 workers who were stitching clothes for the brand Primark. This fabric cannot be naturally dyed, hence chemical infused dyes are used to colour the fabric. And the problem is only set to get worse in the coming years.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggests that 35% of all microplastics — fine pieces of plastic that are non-biodegradable — come from synthetic textiles such as polyester and nylon. Since such clothes are priced low, we don’t even think twice before buying it and as a result, there is a wardrobe full of clothes, highlights designer Medhavini of the label Resha by Medhavini.The heartbreaking photos of sea animals struggling with human waste that pop up on your social media feed are a startling reminder of the adverse effects of releasing industrial waste into the sea. While the original photo shows Lopez sashaying down the ramp in a Versace outfit at the Milan Fashion Week, Lelu cropped the Maid in Manhattan actress out of that setting and retrofit her against a backdrop of a climate change protest in France, as if she was leading the charge.An industry known to be the second largest cause of pollution on the planet, it is now also established that ‘fast fashion’ is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, water, and air pollution, creating appalling levels of waste that cannot be managed.com supported the planting of 25,000 trees as a part of Earth Day celebrations at Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan last year. No matter how hard brands try to distance themselves from it, low-cost clothing companies make their money by exploiting resources, including human beings from South-East Asian countries in some cases.Gujral highlights how cost-cutting by adopting unethical practices at the manufacturing level causes harm to the environment.Veteran designer Ritu Kumar feels that such fashion becomes an impediment towards conserving heritage classics.In an interview, iconic French designer Jean Paul Gaultier called it a ‘disaster’ and mentioned that big fashion brands are harming the planet by producing “far too many collections with far too many clothes”.

Its production process is extremely harmful as it’s made from petroleum products. “Let’s talk about a fabric like polyester. As a part of a unique consumer engagement campaign, her brand in collaboration with grow-trees.If there is an image that sums up one of the biggest concerns of our times, it has to be the photoshopped image of Jennifer Lopez by French writer and artist Thomas Lelu. .Mumbai-based environmentalist and director of NGO Vanashakti, Stalin Dayanand explains the ill effects of mass-scale produced clothes. “One of the biggest harm done to humans is through chemically-produced clothes, as the micro-fibres, made of plastic, cause cancer and also have disastrous effects on water bodies. These trends generally rely on people’s gullibility and need to be assessed seriously,” she says. We should not adopt the ‘use and throw’ ideology popular in the West, as it eliminates harmful waste. How these clothes are made doesn’t hold up to scrutiny either.Mother Nature is already paying the price for fast fashion — but there’s hope as varied practices and movements now aim to convince others to opt for sustainable and ethical fashion. Even the process of dyeing releases tonnes of wastewater. “

People buy marketing manoeuvres as opposed to having their own personal instincts. According to a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, its share of carbon emission could rise to 26% by 2050 and will have a “disastrous” effect on the planet. Hence, mass-manufactured cheap goods get priority.  “Because of such quick trend cycles, a lot of unethical ways of production has become very common.Dressing the ProblemWith the value of global fashion industry touching three trillion USD, and an estimated annual consumption of 80 billion pieces of clothing globally, it is high time we take responsibility for our actions and move towards sustainable ways. Call it a warning or a pink slip from nature, but the increasing rate of natural disasters across the world is just the beginning of an unprecedented apocalypse in waiting. For example, a pair of denim uses tonnes of water during its multiple washing processes. These dyes pollute our rivers and waterways due to unethical ways of disposing water waste,” she adds.”The Problem of PlentyFast fashion, simply put, is clothes produced faster and in larger quantities, in comparison to the classic fashion system of four seasons. With the production of clothes almost doubling since 2000, nearly 5% of all landfill space is now consumed by textile waste. Someone somewhere is paying the price — the Rana Plaza building collapse accident is an example of how fast fashion and competitive pricing can claim lives,” adds Medhavini. 

These clothes are produced at low costs in order to push customers to buy more week after rubber wheels Manufacturers week, explains Mahima Gujral, founder of Sui, a brand that’s aiming to promote and create awareness on green fashion. These are easy to throw away and are generally nondegradable. He reiterated that labels must stop engaging in a “contest” to make so many clothes.Designer Anita Dongre believes in the need for educating designers on sustainable fibres and reducing fabric waste. “More than 50% of fast fashion goes to a bin without even the tag being removed,” she adds. The message hit hard, and the image, originally shared on Instagram, perfectly encapsulated the fashion industry’s environmental impact.