Editing Material (U7: P6)

 P6 (U7): Use sub-editing skills to finalise the article for publication.

Final edit:

Our addiction to clothing trends is killing our planet!

Currently, the fashion industry is valued at $1.7 trillion as of 2022. This industry is clearly very successful across the globe as the increase for following the trends produced by fashion companies is rising. But at what cost?

It is estimated that the global fashion industry is responsible for approximately 10% of annual global carbon emissions. Scientists have warned that this is devastatingly harmful to our environment and say that buying just one t-shirt is comparatively equivalent to driving 35 miles in your car.

'Fast fashion' might not be a term everyone is familiar with but it is having a huge impact on our planet. The concept of 'fast fashion' first began in the 1990's as the New York Times coined the term after the Zara clothing conglomerate began producing clothes soon after they appeared on the runway. This level of mass production of trendy clothes caught on quickly with many other labels following in Zara's footsteps, forever changing the consumption of clothing.

Whilst proving popular, fast fashion has proven increasingly harmful to our existence, having damaging impacts on our environment as well as our humanity. In addition to the environmental impacts, there are also many human rights issues linked to the industry. In order to produce these mass quantities of clothing each year at a profit, big brands employ workers at very low wages and often without much regard for fundamental human rights and safety regulations. Some of these brands include your favourites such as Zara, Shein, H&M, ASOS and even Nike! 

Few are unaffected by these shopping habits and it needs to change before the world starts feeling the impacts on a more personal scale. The planet is suffering, with landfills heaving with our discarded clothes that are no longer 'in season' or 'on trend'.  Toxic dyes used to produce the clothing, are poisoning both flora and fauna by affecting groundwater and oceans.

In the UK, more clothes per person are consumed than in any other country in Europe. One should ask if one is happy being associated with this fact? Does one want to be personally responsible for the demise of our planet? How can the individual change?

According to primary research amongst audiences aged 16-25, over 75% of consumers will buy their clothes online and in malls from fast fashion brands, discovered to be influenced primarily by the current clothing trends. This is an alarmingly high percentage of consumers being negatively influenced to buy from fast fashion companies. Of this group, only 50% say they actively try to practice an alternative to fast fashion.

Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist stated, "We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people." It feels undeniable that the problems facing the environment are down to human fault. The emissions caused by fast fashion are bound to increase by 50% by 2030 if current growth continues. These facts need to be recognised and that a change in our actions needs to occur rapidly or else there will be dire ramifications.

What positive changes in our actions can be made?

One should actively shop with brands known to be sustainable and that hold environmentally-friendly values within the production of products. By shopping at second-hand shops unwanted clothes can be recycled, thereby ensuring they never end up in landfills, thus preventing the pollution of our planet. Additionally, one can repurpose old clothes by using one's unwanted garments for other activities such as cleaning rather than using environmentally unfriendly paper towels. 

People can also boycott brands that practice fast fashion habits such as low wages for mass production. In this way, the guilty brand is more likely to re-evaluate its actions and overall reduce carbon emissions. Another option is to buy from sustainable brands producing high-quality garments in order to reduce the need for new clothes. By reducing the need for new clothes money can be saved while also saving the planet for everyone. 

It is obvious that our addiction to clothing trends is not going to go away anytime soon but it appears there is hope. Environmentally-friendly consciousness is on the rise and with it the desire to seek out companies seeking to do the right thing. One could say, sustainability and a responsibility to our planet whilst looking good, is becoming more fashionable. 

Regulatory bodies and legal constraints

Within my article I have followed the rules of the regulatory body, IPSO. I was sure to not breach any of their restrictions such as not making the article too violent for the readers due to the younger target audience my article is written for. If this had been breached, the article would have been investigated and taken down by the regulatory body for being inappropriate. In addition, the article cannot defame any people or brands without proof so I needed to carry out research in order to make sure the claims I made about the brands discussed were true, avoiding legal issues. Finally, I made sure not to discriminate against any brands or individuals as this would cause a legal issue so I made sure all my writing was fair and true, not discriminating against anyone.