Lily Bowers/Reuters
A customer shops during the grand opening of the Forever 21 flagship store in New York's Times Square, June 25, 2010.
- Fast fashion makes shopping for clothes more affordable, but it comes at an environmental cost.
- The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions, is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics.
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Some parts of modern life are, at this point, widely known to cause environmental harm - flying overseas, using disposable plastic items, and even driving to and from work, for example. But when it comes to our clothes, the impacts are less obvious.
As consumers worldwide buy more clothes, the growing market for cheap items and new styles is taking a toll on the environment. On average, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams.
What's more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year. And washing some types of clothes sends thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean.
Here are the most significant impacts fast fashion has on the planet.