Everyone has basic needs in their lives: we all need to quench our thirst, eat, sleep, and have a stable place to live. Although these are considered essentials for survival, a 2020 UNICEF report found that 1 in 4 people did not have access to safe drinking water—despite the world wasting about 9.5 trillion liters of water a year. The World Health Organization states that in 2020, 30 percent of the global population did not have sufficient year-round access to food. That same year, Habitat for Humanity cited that 1.6 billion people did not have adequate housing.
These issues stem from many causes, including poverty and low-paying jobs, drought, increased deforestation, rising global warming and greenhouse gases, the spread of toxins and chemicals, pollution, depletion of natural resources, mismanaged waste, and much more. Yet beneath all these problems lies a common thread—a single, everyday force that quietly fuels them. If we follow that thread and connect these issues to one major and ubiquitous source that the average person interacts with daily, it leads directly to the fashion industry.
“Beneath all these problems lies a common thread—a single, everyday force that quietly fuels them.”
What is Fast Fashion?
To learn that the clothing we wear is a major contributor to many of the world’s issues might be shocking. How can a fabric on your body connect to another person’s food, water supply, shelter, or even sleep? To break it down, think about the last time you went to a clothing store, mall, or even walked through any public space—how quickly did trends change from one month to the next? This rapid turnover is a deliberate practice known as fast fashion.
Fast fashion refers to clothing that is designed to be produced and sold quickly, worn only a few times, and then discarded for newer, trendier items. This system uses significant amounts of the Earth’s resources, exploits workers worldwide, and creates enormous waste, affecting the livelihoods of billions of people globally.
The Impact of My Clothing: Wasted Water
So, how exactly does fast fashion deplete natural resources, exploit workers, and create waste? According to Clothed in Conservation: Fashion & Water by Taylor Mogavero, the fashion industry ranks second in global water usage—a startling statistic considering that 2.7 billion people currently experience water scarcity. Renee Cho from Columbia Climate School reports that the fashion industry uses 93 billion metric tons of clean water annually, about twice the amount Americans drink each year, and is responsible for over 20% of total global wastewater.
In addition, 72 toxic chemicals have been identified in the water used for dyeing fabrics, contributing to 15–20% of global industrial water pollution and making clean water even scarcer.
The Impact of Cotton
Mogavero notes that 60% of clothing in the US is made from cotton—one of the most water-demanding crops, requiring 7,000 to 29,000 liters of water per kilogram. Cotton also relies heavily on pesticides and insecticides, which pollute soil and water. According to Cho, fertilizers often run off into nearby rivers and lakes, oversaturating them with nutrients. This causes eutrophication, leading to massive algal blooms.
When algae die, they sink to low-oxygen layers, where bacteria decompose them through aerobic respiration, consuming oxygen faster than it can be replenished. This creates hypoxic zones, or “dead zones,” where most aquatic life cannot survive. Eutrophication also reduces water quality: decomposing algae release large amounts of carbon dioxide, lowering the pH of seawater in a process called ocean acidification. Acidification slows the growth of fish and shellfish, reducing seafood yields and making it more expensive.
The Effect of Fashion on Food
As seafood prices rise, many Americans shift to red meat or poultry, which increases greenhouse gas emissions and public health risks. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization reports that meat and dairy account for 14.5% of global emissions. Ruminant animals like cows and sheep produce methane—a greenhouse gas 28–34 times more powerful than CO₂—through digestion, emitting about 220 pounds per animal annually. Emissions also come from slaughterhouses, contributing to climate change.
Health-wise, overconsumption of red meat is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. A reduction in seafood can also lead to nutritional deficiencies in communities where fish is a staple food.
Fast fashion also contributes to microplastic pollution. Synthetic fibers shed microplastics during washing, some of which pass through wastewater treatment and are applied to farmland as sludge fertilizer, entering the soil and food chain. People ingest an estimated 20 kg (44 lbs) of microplastics in a lifetime. Others escape into rivers and oceans—35% of oceanic microplastics come from the fashion industry—eventually entering the atmosphere through evaporated water droplets, worsening pollution and climate change.
The Fashion Industry and Fossil Fuels
The fashion industry relies heavily on fossil fuels for manufacturing and distribution, emitting 1.2 million metric tons of CO₂ annually and accounting for 2–8% of global greenhouse gases. Polyester, a fossil-fuel-based plastic, makes up 65% of all clothing and consumes 70 million barrels of oil per year—a ninefold increase over the past 50 years.
Polyester is not easily recyclable; less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments. Fibers weaken with use, dyes and contaminants are hard to remove, and mixed fabrics cannot be easily separated. As a result, 53 million metric tons of clothing end up in landfills or are incinerated each year, where synthetics release methane as they slowly degrade.
The Exploitation of Fashion Factory Workers
Fast fashion depends on underpaid, overworked laborers in unsafe conditions. According to Fair Trade Certified, 80% of garment workers are women. Good On You reports that many women bring daughters as young as ten to work alongside them because one salary is not enough to support a family. Some workers even sleep in factories due to lack of housing. This cycle traps millions in poverty.
The Goal of This Blog
Returning to the question—how can the fabric I wear affect another person’s food, water, shelter, or sleep?—the answer lies in making connections between everyday products and global systems. Understanding these links is the first step toward solutions. Since fast fashion harms people and the planet, alternatives are essential.
What is Sustainable Fashion?
Sustainable, or ethical, fashion is clothing designed, produced, distributed, and used in eco-friendly ways. It reduces resource waste, supports humanitarian needs, ensures fair labor, and can even save you money.