SCRIPT
Script của Phương Giang
hello everyone, welcome to our presentation
my name is Giang, we’re from group short girls and this is my group members
- Today, we’re going to give you a short presentation about the consequences
of fast fashion which will give you a deep understanding of how serious fast
fashion is, so it will encourage us to take further action.
There are 4 fundamental impacts of fast fashion that I want to mention which
include air pollution, water issues, exploiting worker, and animals
- Fast fashion is a term used to describe cheap and low-quality clothing that is
rapidly produced and cycled in and out of the market quickly to meet new trends
So We don't need to spend a lot of money to have a trendy shirt anymore
because many shops have released the same versions with affordable prices for
many people to pay.
-The Fashion industry accounts for between 2% and 8% of global carbon
emissions. due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and
transportation to meet the extremely high demand for clothing.
+ textile factories are major consumers of energy, therefore emit a lot of
greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that up to 80% of energy used in the
fashion industry is in the production of fabrics, the electricity needed to run many
machines . People also need large amounts of heat for washing, drying and dyeing
fabrics
+ From transporting clothes between production facilities, clothing stores around
the world also largely contribute carbon emissions into the environment.
+ Fast fashion products are not sustainable, easy to go out of fashion, and
specially difficult to recycle. Those clothes that we only wear a few times end up
in the trash, which makes increase the waste and pollution we release on our
planet. Annually, there are about 92 million tons of waste from the fashion
industry .Thus, when they were burned, emitting large amounts of greenhouse
gasses.
Script của Hà Phương
Today, my part will be focusing on water issues which include water consumption and water
pollution.
Water consumption: Clothing consists of a variety of materials, commonly a mixture of different
fibers. Cotton is present in 40% of all clothing, while synthetic fibers (such as polyester and
nylon) are present in 72% of clothing. Although polyester is made with oil, cotton takes a lot of
water and pesticides to produce. Therefore, cotton textiles are a water-consuming factor in the
fashion industry.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), one pair of jeans consumes
3,781 liters of water. And one cotton t-shirt takes 2,700 liters of water, which is the amount of
water consumed by a human in two and a half years (World Resources Institute).
Nowadays, with the speed of production, the fast fashion industry consumes a lot of resources
and energy, especially water. But fabric production isn't the only thing affecting water sources.
Water pollution: According to the World Bank, the fast fashion industry accounts for around
20% of global wastewater. And this untreated wastewater is pumped back into the water system,
contaminating the water with toxins and heavy metals.
Moreover, a dangerous problem we are unaware of is that microplastics have entered the human
food chain. Both nylon and polyester partially decompose in washing machines into
microplastics then released into the environment. new clothes are the highest waste products of
microfibers, possibly because low-priced, low-quality clothes break down faster than high-
quality clothes.
As a result, all these things not only negatively impact water quality, but also affect our health.
Script của Lan Anh
2 The negative effect of fast fashion on workers:
- Low wages are a thing that we can see in the fast fashion industry. Fast fashion companies are always
trying to get more profits and the best way to do this is to reduce the manufacturing process cost. And
companies do not require high-level skills. Obviously, those things lead to very low wages for the workers.
They have no other options but to accept low wages to have income that can afford their family. Over 80%
of the employees within the fast fashion industry don’t even earn a living wage – this keeps them in a cycle
of poverty.
- Not only do the workers get low salaries, but they also work in unsafe working conditions with no benefits
or protection. Many workers are in developing countries where labor laws are not enforced, and factories do
not provide adequate safety equipment for employees to wear during work hours. Due to a lack of safety
standards, a textile factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killing over 1000 workers. As a result, workers
have to directly face many hazardous chemicals or fabrics that can cause problems like respiratory problems
or skin irritations. There is also a rise in cancer and respiratory disease due to the harmful effect of the
chemicals on human health.
- In addition, many fast fashion retailers have used child and underage women labor. They have hired
women and children as young as 12 years old to work long hours for extremely low wages. Many women
start working underage because they need a way to support themselves. For example, it was reported
recently by the Clean Clothes Campaign that garment workers in China work for 13 to 14 hours non-stop a
day. The combination of long working hours, low wages, and extremely unsafe conditions can result in
depression, dejection, loss of confidence and create other social problems such as relationship breakdown,
crimes even worse suicide.
Script của Anh Thư
Nowadays, the fast-fashion industry has long been criticized for its destructiveness on the
environment.. However, few consumers recognize its specific impacts on animal welfare.
Direct Exploitation of Animals
The fast fashion industry has imposed many direct harms on various animals:
Every year, billions of animals suffer and die for clothing and accessories. Skin is torn from them to
make leather, birds are held down while handfuls of feathers are ripped out of their sensitive skin,
and small animals are caged for life before being killed for their fur. Sheep are often beaten and
mutilated by workers stealing their wool and their skin for shearling. Goats are similarly abused for
cashmere and mohair.
Wool is a very cruel animal fiber. It's used to make warm clothes such as shirts, coats, jackets,
sweaters, leggings, and slippers.
More than 95% of all wool comes from mass production globally. And mass production isn't
[Link] of the animals used for wool must suffer immense pain, walk very long distances, and
live in crowded conditions. Each year, billions of animals are mutilated and cut into slavery to make
wool globally. The fast fashion industry raises animals for wool to make profits. So the welfare of
animals is rarely considered.
Indirect Impact on Animals
While the direct exploitation of animals is more recognized by people due to the campaign in recent
years, we should also realize the impact of the fashion industry on the environment that indirectly
harms the animals.
These microplastics can be easily ingested by aquatic animals, including fish, turtles, penguins, etc.
The microplastic not only contains toxic chemicals, but will also block the animals’ digestion tract
and damage the stomach lining, leading to reduced feeding and starving to death.
The production of clothing also requires the use of dyes, which use millions of gallons of water and
pollute rivers all around the world. In China, 70% of rivers and lakes are polluted by the 2 billion
gallons of wastewater emitted by the textile [Link] dyes used in production are mostly artificial
rather than natural, so toxins in them are killing wildlife in rivers and lakes.