The True Cost of Fashion: Textile Waste, Wages and What Brands Aren’t Telling You

Are we riding shotgun in fashion’s waste and human rights crisis? The global fashion industry is driving a disaster, and whether we realise it or not, we’re all along for the ride - especially in Australia. 

From fast fashion churning out trends to inflating our addiction to online shopping, the fashion industry is one of the most globally impactful, with a carbon footprint greater than that of aviation and shipping combined as well as ongoing human rights issues.

Lately, fashion has shifted its focus to sustainability, pinning its hopes and budgets on the latest buzzwords like ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘sustainable’. From clothing tags to online product descriptions, we’re presented with environmentally-charged slogans claiming positive outcomes for the planet. 

But despite fashion’s claims of progress, why is it that still, the average Australian you meet on the street couldn’t tell you where their clothes come from, who made them, or where they end up at their end of life? 

Why is it that despite all the claims of progression towards a more sustainable future for fashion, in Australia alone, an average of 56 garments per Australian are purchased each year? It’s a number that punches well above our weight in comparison to national population size, surpassing larger countries like the United States’ 53 items, the UK’s 33 items, and China’s yearly consumption per person at 30 items.

The numbers don’t lie - Australians are contributing significantly to global fashion's consumption crisis and making us one of the largest offenders in the world. On top of our overconsumption habits, over 200,000 tonnes of clothing in Australia ends up in our landfills annually. 

That’s equivalent to almost four times the weight of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

And now that we’re treating our clothing like garbage? About one third of Australian clothes waste ends up in landfill, with the remainder going to donation or clothing collection.

Despite fashion brands’ eco-friendly claims, we are still arguably fighting an uphill battle towards sustainable fashion. Is it that most of us still lack the connection to the story of our clothes, especially regarding the environmental impact of what we buy and what to do with our clothing when we no longer want them? Is our disconnect to the story of our clothes too vast to bridge with eco-friendly claims and sustainability mission statements?

But it’s not just the textile waste and environmental concerns that fashion brands claiming sustainability should be addressing. Anyone who wears clothes deserves to know the full story. The potential for human rights concerns is a known element to insiders of the fashion industry – such as the Xinjiang region in China, where Uighur forced labour is used. 

Image: HUMAN TOUCH via Vogue Taiwan

Despite sustainability claims, which should include human rights considerations to be accurately aligned with sustainability principles, major fashion brands can’t prove that workers in their supply chain are paid a living wage. This is a basic human right that covers necessities like food, housing, healthcare, and education. 

The absence of communication across the board about where and how our clothes are made, and by whom, leaves many of us scratching our heads and others completely oblivious to the real costs of our clothes beyond our own wallets.

The truth is, we don’t know the stories behind our mass-produced clothes. It’s difficult to find information about the origins of the raw materials that make the fabrics of what we wear, and the process of how our clothes come to be through the supply chain. As it currently stands, we’re all largely unaware if our clothing is even made in safe working conditions for the people who form the backbone of fashion’s garment maker workforce – primarily women which make up 80% of garment workers across some regions.

Shouldn’t this type of information be openly available in a sustainable fashion industry?

The lack of transparency in fashion has never been under more scrutiny than it is now. Sustainability legislation pushing for greater accountability by brands for the products they make and sell is already rolling out, especially in Europe. 

It’s a long overdue shift.

After all, everyone wears clothes, meaning that everyone is tied to fashion. As part of the global fashion industry, worth $1.7 trillion dollars per year globally, we are all economically and collectively connected to the people who make our clothes and the planet that absorbs the burden of our fashion addiction.

Ordinary people have a right to take the wheel and help steer the future of fashion. We have a right to know the full story behind the clothes we wear everyday and demand that the brands we’ve placed our money and trust in are held accountable. We have the right to cash in on the reality cheque that comes with our purchasing power, because our money talks, and it’s time it said something worth hearing.