Fast fashion in China

After recent years of tremendous economic growth in China, fast fashion consumption made its way into the lives of not only Chinese people but worldwide as well. Brands such as Shein, Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, and Zaful have dominated the fashion world. Residents in populated cities such as Beijing are starting to favor fast fashion brands over big name brands in order to keep up with fashion trends.

Fast fashion can contribute significantly to the economy. In 2021, the fashion industry generated $31 billion globally.^[4] China in specific accounts for 32% of total brand clothing sales in 2017 alone.^[5] The rapid consumption lifestyle that China has taken on has contributed to the increase of fast fashion. The use of inexpensive materials and labor contributes to China's ability to maintain high production levels while keeping their economic debt minimal. By producing more fast fashion pieces, the economy benefits.^[6] However, rapid production of fashion comes at a cost of perpetuating the climate crisis, such as through marine pollution, cotton cultivation, and increased carbon emissions.

Fast fashion exists not only because it helps the economy, but because it fulfills a high consumption lifestyle popular in Western countries.^[7] In addition, the way in which fast fashion is marketed contributes to its fast consumption. Fast fashion clothing is meant to be worn for the duration of a short-term trend. Once the trend is over, it may be disposed of, and its affordability encourages lack of guilt over its fast consumption.^[8] The amount of clothing that is quickly bought and discarded increases the amount of waste produced, exacerbating its environmental impact.

Low wages and labor-intensive operations have historically characterized the garment industry. However, in the past two decades, China's globalization has led to the proliferation of the fast fashion industry, appealing to developing nations due to its inexpensive labor and lenient regulations.^[9] This has resulted in an industry marked by overconsumption and waste. In previous years, trendy fashion was a luxury and could only be bought at a high cost. But recently, this has changed as developing countries race to produce cheap pieces of clothing to satisfy their foreign investors overseas. Its success lies in its broad appeal to various tastes, attracting many consumers. A key aspect of fast fashion is that it is fast. Fast fashion brands produce their garments quickly so that they are sold to the market as soon as possible.^[10]

 

Uniqlo, a Japanese owned brand was founded in 1974 by Tadashi Yanai.^[15] They are known for their modern casual apparel and essential, multi-functional garments.^[16] Despite China's growing anti-Japanese sentiment, this brand has secured 1.4% of China's $350 billion apparel market in 2021 which is larger than any other brand that year.^[17] Uniqlo is not only a hit in China but the rest of the world as well with 43 stores in the US alone.^[18] The difference between Uniqlo and most other fast fashion brand is that Uniqlo's garments are well-made while still staying at an affordable price point.

Many Chinese people associate Japanese goods to the highest caliber of quality. Uniqlo's success story has to do with their timing, Yanai created the brand around when the Chinese middle class was increasing.

In terms of how ethical and environmentally friendly Uniqlo is, they have not made sufficient progress. As most brands, they have set a climate change target to reduce CO2 emissions. In their 2021 sustainability report, they outline steps to reducing water usage in jeans by 99%, reducing single-use plastic and educating cotton farmers agricultural chemicals.^[19] In 2020, Uniqlo's in Japan increased their use of LED lights leading to a 38.7% decrease of greenhouse gas emissions.^[19] While these statistics are on the brand's page, these targets are not accepted in the scientific communities as ways to limit global warming.^[20]

The most notable success story is Inditex, which owns companies such as Zara and Bershka. Since opening in 2007-2019 they have opened over 330 stores in China.^[21] But Zara is growing twice as fast as H&M due to their focus on value rather than price.^[22] Fast fashion, the term, was coined by the New York Times in the 90's due to Zara's ability to produce a garment from start to finish in less than 20 days.^[23] Inditex is a large brand with a new worth of $17.2 billion.^[24] With their abundance of wealth, it is expected that this company produces greener.

Inditex has targets to source fabrics more sustainably by 2025 and to have nothing sent to the landfills by 2023.^[23] It is not uncommon that brands have recycling progr^[25] am policies implemented but the true test is whether they follow through on them.

Xinjiang, a province in Northwest China is strategically important for China as it is not only the largest region there but also a central hub for trading. While it is one of their poorest communities, it has high economic development.^[26] It is important because it has an abundance of natural resources as well as the Silk Road Economic Belt Project. Xinjiang is essential for China's economic growth.^[27]

Xinjiang also sources nearly 90% of China's cotton outputting over 5.2 million tonnes.^[28] However, Xinjiang engages in detrimental human right's violations against the Muslim minority in China.^[29] Due to this, companies have started to target this region. The United States, for example, has imposed sanction on companies that are sourced from Xinjiang. These companies include H&M, Nike, and Zara.^[30] In response, H&M has completely cut off Xinjiang from its production chain.

Celebrities have openly cut off connections with these companies. H&M is facing a huge boycott from Western apparel brands because they have not taken action against the allegations.^[31] Actor Huang Xuan, a brand ambassador for H&M in 2020, told CNN that they would never work with the company due to the recent allegations.^[32] Beijing sent out a statement that these allegations are false and that the West is spreading lies.^[25] Nonetheless, many H&M shops in China have been forced to close despite their protests to the allegations.

As with many other industries in their peak, COVID put a pause on the textile industry. China implemented a Zero-Covid policy in August 2021.^[33] This reduced the amount of goods that could be shipped into China during a period of time. This policy negatively impacted fashion brands because it slowed down their production and reduced their shipments. But COVID-19 did not stop fast fashion altogether in the future.

Zara's sales in 2020 made less than half of Shein's sales which is a threat due to Zara's continued popularity.^[34] Shein doubled its sales during 2020, with 35% of those sales accounting for Western clients. The reason for Shein's success, even during a pandemic, is due to their incredibly inexpensive clothing. Especially during a time of economic crisis and income shortages, cheap was the way to go.

Despite the economic boost that the textile industry is providing, it also contributes negatively to the growing climate crisis. The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.^[35] In recent years, fast fashion has majorly contributed to more plastic entering the ocean, overconsumption of goods, and increasing carbon emissions. In 2018, more than 10 different UN organizations pledged to establish a UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion.^[36]

The fashion industry is the second most-water intensive industry worldwide.^[37] Around 90 billion cubic meters of water are used every year for the fashion industry.^[38] Most of the clothing pieces made come from cotton and cotton requires more water for production than any other crop.^[39] Water is considered a luxury in some countries and the textile industry, consuming masses amounts of water add to this scarcity. Water usage accounts for 6% of all CO2 emissions in China.^[40] Thus, the fashion industry usage of water negatively impacts our climate.

On average, between the years 2000 to 2014, worldwide we have bought 60% more clothes and much of this growth is driven by China's new craving to keep up with cheap new trends.^[41] It is not only the consumption of new clothes that drives this marine pollution. Polyester, a common material used in clothing manufacturing, sheds thousands of microfibers each time it is washed leading to a total of 500,000 tons of microfibers, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles, dumped into the ocean each year.^[41] It is estimated that one load of laundry produces up to 700,000 microfibers and microscopic forms of plastic, though invisible to the naked eye, are not harmless. A large portion of these plastics end up on the ocean floor and do not decompose. They are consumed by fish and other marine species allowing them to enter into the food chain. This not only causes harm to marine life, but also poisons the food that us humans rely on as well. As China enters this new age of extreme consumption, similar to the west, it also enters an age where fast-paced clothing trends increasingly poison our food and pollute our oceans.^[42]

To produce 1 kg of cotton, it takes nearly 15,000 liters of water.^[43] Since not all cotton is grown in rain-fed areas, it requires additional irrigation which also adds to CO2 emissions on top of water usage. More than 60% of all cotton production comes from irrigated farms.^[35] In places that where cotton is grown in rain-fed areas are also areas that face drought issues. After the piece is made from cotton, it needs to be dyed which takes in a lot of heat, releasing harmful chemicals into surrounding waters and air.

Viscose is marketed as a sustainable alternative to cotton polyester. It is made from trees, so inherently it is not toxic to the environment. But because of the mass amount of viscose needed for the growing fast fashion industry, is manufactured cheaply.^[44] Viscose is mainly manufactured in Southeast Asia with China representing 66% of production in 2015.^[45] These manufactures also dump untreated wastewater containing a multitude of chemicals. One major chemical is carbon disulphide, a solvent that is linked to severe medical conditions.^[46] Upon touch it can burn through skin and cause severe eye damage. This is one of the many chemicals that's dumped in oceans hurting marine life.

 

The wood pulp that viscose is made out raises high concerns for the environmental committee as dissolving this material wastes 70% of the tree.^[47] This production has been linked to deforestation specifically in the Indonesia rainforests. Deforestation is one of the main contributors of climate change.^[48]

Pesticides pose a major problem to our crops. Cotton is the most pesticides sprayed crop. Due to this heavy amount of chemicals, cotton production needs massive amounts of freshwater to wash it out.^[49] In addition most cotton that is grown is genetically modified to pest which lead to the problem of super-weeds later on. These weeds need to be treated with more pesticides that is harmful to not only humans but livestock as well.^[50]

Global consumption of apparel has risen to around 62 million tonnes per year.^[51] Due to the cheap production of clothes, they are worn only a few times before they are tossed. Nearly 85% of textiles end up in landfills every year.^[52] Unlike clothing that is made sustainably with better materials that can be worn for years and passed down. In order for brands to keep up with current trends and continuing competing in the market, it is vital for them to fulfill consumer's demand. This leads to a constant cycle of overconsumption of goods. Especially in recent years, the time it takes for a trend to go out of style has decreased leading to an increase of clothes being thrown out.^[53] As consumers and producers continue to welcome the era of fast fashion, clothes will be worn less and less times.

CO2 emissions are a huge contributor to climate change. China emits 13% of total CO2 emissions globally estimating around 7.7 tons per person.^[54] China participates in the Paris agreement where nations hope to achieve peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions before 2060.^[55] On estimation, if China were to continue emitting CO2 levels at the rate it's going, they would use a-lot of the carbon budget by 2050.^[54] The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global CO2 emissions. In 2018, the fashion industry was also responsible for 2.1 billion metric tons of GHG emissions. This percentage equates to total amount of GHGs used for the entire economy of France, United Kingdom, and Germany combined.^[56] The reason for this ties into the speed at which clothes from fast fashion brands are made. They are made in factories that have little to no safety regulations and push out clothes at an unbelievable pace.

As seen in the picture to the right, the highest GHG emitter regions also happen to be the richer region such as Beijing and Shanghai. Both these provinces are also the leading fashion hubs in China. Not only that, but Beijing and Shanghai make up almost 50 million people.^[57] That is why these cities emit the highest GHG emitters, due to not only the mass production of clothes but also other products.

After the piece is made, the carbon footprint does not stop there. While not all fast fashion brands produce their clothing in China, to make a piece, the materials can come from all over. This requires the transportation of goods through boat or plane. Transportation accounted for 15-20% of the total percent of emissions each year.^[58] Regardless of whether you are buying clothes online or in person, the garment has already set its carbon footprint. Companies can reduce their carbon footprint if they source materials locally instead of sourcing foreign materials. It doesn't have to be multiple different items from multiple different countries, one item is enough to make an impact on the global footprint. Combine that with the actual multitude of different supplies needed from everywhere, the CO2 emissions are expected to rise higher every year.

It is not uncommon to know that behind pieces that have the label "made in china" is a production team that are severely overworked. China did not have labor laws until 1994 where workers could only work 44 hours a week with no more than 36 hours of overtime per month.^[59] But these laws are regularly surpassed as many factories in China have shadow factories where workers are paid daily if they work overtime.^[60] These shadow factories are unknown to the government and thus are able to surpass the rules. The Chinese culture for these workers is to work in these conditions for a short amount of time so that they do not have to work later on in life.

Many factory workers lives end in premature deaths due to their prolonged exposure to not only dangerous chemicals but other health issues that arise with being overworked. In 2008, more than 200 million workers in 16 million companies were exposed to harmful chemicals that led to conditions such as the black lung and silicosis.^[60] But workers are not the only ones exposed to these chemicals, consumers are too. Dermal absorption, a natural body process that allows skin to absorb over 50% of chemicals is a consequence of these products.^[61]

The sad fact is that many of the world's largest retailers engaged in forced labor. In Xinjiang, as many as 1 in 5 cotton products are products of human rights violations.^[62] Even if the brand is not produced in China, many of these companies still have close ties with Chinese contractors receiving supplies from them.

Uyghurs are predominately Muslim people found in the city of Xinjiang. Xinjiang has imprisoned over 1 million Muslims in re-education camps and the rest are subjected to everyday surveillance on them. Since 2014, Uyghurs have long faced discrimination for their Islamic beliefs. President Xi Jinping has destroyed many of their mosques and ruined neighborhoods that house predominately Uyghur people.^[63]

Some of the world's biggest fast fashion brands are complicit with the human right's violations done on the Uyghur group. Up to 1.8 million Uyghur and other Muslim people are forced into working for sweatshop factories.^[64] Since China is the number one producer of cotton, virtually every article of clothing is tainted somewhere with Uyghur people's forced labor.

The United States stepped up to take action against the unlawful violations happening in Xinjiang. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed into agreement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act that ensures products that are produced with forced labor are not allowed to be exported to the United States.^[65] Although this is a step in the right direction, the Chinese government has found ways around it. The exploitation of Uyghur people by forcing them to work adds to the fashion industry's success.

In 2017, the United Nation's member states came together to create 17 SDGs to be achieved by 2030. These include reducing poverty, gender inequality and climate change.^[66]

Goal 13 outlines steps for climate action. As the fashion industry uses mass amounts of fossil fuels to produce their garments, in order to reduce the warming of the planet, brands have implemented steps to achieve this SDG. COVID-19 helped reduce greenhouse gasses by 6% in 2020 due to travel bans.^[67]

Goal 14 speaks on ways to improve the quality of water. Wastewater treatments are planned to be 65%-90% effective at filtering out microfibers.^[67] It's estimated that the textile industry produces 0.12 million metric tons of microfibers per year.^[68]

• Textile industry in China
• Chinese clothing