It’s easy to shop online for cheap clothing. Consumers often opt for large hauls of clothes, hoping to find at least a few decent pieces; with a low price point, the stakes for choosing long-lasting, beautiful clothing feel minimal for most.
What’s not minimal are the lasting environmental impacts of this type of clothing consumption. In a video posted by sustainable shoemaker RABA Shoes (@raba.shoes), thousands of textile remnants are seen scattered on a beach in Accra, Ghana. They’re floating in the water, caked and buried on the sand, and plastered to the beachside bluffs.
@raba.shoes this beach is a victim of fast fashion. this is a video taken by RABA’s founder at a beach in Accra, Ghana. discarded and donated clothing from the US often ends up on beaches abroad. this is why at RABA we embrace sustainable practices. many of our shoes are from dead stock/reclaimed fabric. lets keep our Earth beautiful. #fypシ゚viral #sneakers #sneakerhead #africa #fashion #fastfashion #sustainablefashion #deadstock #vintage #sustainability #landfill #beach #fashiontiktok #earthyblackgirl #blackfashion #designer #textiles #blackcreatives #shoes #streetwear #nyc #africanprint #kente #mudcloth #ghana #congo #burkinafaso ♬ Killswitch Lullaby – Flawed Mangoes
“This beach is a victim of fast fashion,” RABA’s founder captioned the video. “Discarded and donated clothing from the US often ends up on beaches abroad. … lets keep our Earth beautiful.”
Commenters were horrified at the sight. “This is actually so sad,” one wrote. “A lot of ppl don’t know the reality,” another agreed.
Fast fashion — the practice of manufacturing cheaply made, high-volume clothes — is responsible for a tremendous amount of pollution and energy use each year. The UN Environment Programme reported that the fashion industry is directly responsible for 2%-8% of the world’s planet-warming emissions (detailed here by the Environmental Protection Agency). The industry is also the second biggest consumer of water in the world, per the UNEP.
The amount of textile waste produced is also staggering. About 101 million tons of garments end up being landfilled each year, according to Earth.org; in the U.S., the average consumer throws away over 80 pounds of clothing each year.
Unfortunately, while those clothes are out of sight and out of mind for their purchaser, they end up in places like Ghana.
“This needs to be shown to everyone,” one person commented on the TikTok post.
Others were more skeptical, arguing that many people do know the harms but continue to opt for the ease of fast fashion for personal reasons. “People will still continue to buy from temu and shein,” one person vented.
“This is why I only thrift,” another offered.
RABA’s founder also suggested that “continuing to wear or use clothes you already have, rather than supporting new fast fashion production, is something you can do to decrease overconsumption.”
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