Zara - Your Fast Fashion is Warming the Planet

Fast fashion is the business model in which large retailers outsource their production in favor of cheap labor and quick, massive production. This business model attracts retailers like Forever 21, Zara, H&M, etc. whose success is based on keeping up with the continuously changing trends. Fast fashion prioritizes cheap and quick production to provide consumers with lower price tags and the latest trendy pieces, but what is the REAL cost of fast fashion? The environment.

• The fashion industry is the second most polluting sector after the oil and gas industry.
• Nearly 17 million tons of textile waste make its way into landfills every year.
• The average American contributes nearly 70 pounds of textile waste every year.
• One garbage truck of textile waste is dumped into landfills or burned every second in the U.S.

As the fast fashion industry produces clothing that is not meant to last and is inexpensive, textile waste continues to grow at an alarming rate. The use of unsustainable materials in the production of fast fashion garments results in the inability to recycle the waste. The fast fashion industry is also a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The fashion industry produces 10% of all carbon emissions . In the long term, if no action is taken this number could increase to 60%.  
Being a leader in the fast fashion industry, Zara has the responsibility to set a standard of sustainability . Rather than establishing this standard, Zara is one of the largest contributors to gas emissions and landfill waste. Over the course of a year, Zara alone produces about 840 million garments for its 6,000 stores worldwide. One kilogram of fabric production emits about 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases, so the impact of Zara’s yearly fabric production on greenhouse gas emissions is significant. As the company comes out with 24 new collections a year , their garments are also quickly disposed of and contribute to a large amount of landfill waste. We demand that Zara and its parent company Inditex fulfill the promises of environmental sustainability that have been made. Pablo Isla, Executive Chairman at Inditex , has stated that he would like to see their company be a force of change. Zara has promised to reduce its footprint of gas emissions and textile waste by 2025, but we do not see that they are on track to achieving any of these goals . We demand progress rather than empty promises of change.

• We demand Zara uses more eco-friendly fibers in their clothing. Synthetic fabrics are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and microfibers are polluting water sources. Zara must use organic, plastic-free fibers to produce their garments. Garments made with organic fibers are of higher quality and more recyclable.
• We demand that Zara creates a program in which they are able to encourage their consumers to donate unwanted clothing . Encouraging donation will reduce textile waste.
• Zara must reduce the number of collections it comes out with every year as well to encourage sustainable fashion and reduced waste. They cut down by at least 10 collections .

Fashion should not come before the environment. Trends come and go but damage to our environment and global warming is irreversible. As a generation, we are aware of the effects of global warming. It is our responsibility now to push for change to prevent further detrimental effects on global warming. Help us make a change and encourage the priority of environmental sustainability in the textile industry by signing our petition!