The truth behind fast fashion - Are fashion retailers honest with their customers? | DW Documentary

Fast fashion is cheap, worn briefly, then discarded, leaving behind mountains of used clothing. Producers and retailers promise sustainability and recycling, but how sincere is their promise to make new clothing from old?
Over 120 billion garments per year are produced worldwide, and the mountains of textile waste are growing accordingly. The fast fashion industry is responsible for a significant part of this. Where they once brought out four collections a year, cheap clothing chains now create up to 52 micro-collections annually. Environmental organizations have long criticized this waste of resources and the mountains of textile waste it produces. Greenpeace is demanding an end to our ‘addiction to fast fashion’. Fast fashion retailers promise their customers they will treat the used clothing sustainably, touting their recycling system. But the giant mounds of worn clothing are too much for second-hand traders to handle. The disposal system is about to collapse. The clothes end up being used as fuel to heat people’s homes. Which political measures are being taken to tackle the problematic flood of textile waste?
#documentary #fashion #freedocumentary
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[@whatif8408]

I have been sewing all my own clothes since 2007. When you spend a week or longer making a really nice outfit, you never throw it away or let it hang in the closet unworn.

[@kennethrussel7009]

So recyclable clothes are not really recycled. Thanks DW for opening the consumers eyes through this well made documentary.

[@sixthousandblankets]

The irony of a psychiatrist addicted to shopping.

[@drkmgic]

i like how thrifting is becoming trendy now but it still annoys me how expensive thrifted things are now.

[@StephiSensei26]

This program was just too short. There needs to be a follow-up program. The topic is too important to simply leave it here. Thank you DW for your fine programs of world impact.

[@MelissaMarshman]

I try to buy "lasting pieces" and shop less rather than shopping all the time for bad quality clothing that doesn't last and that is cheap.

[@rainbowhazeshop]

Imagine the privilege of wearing something just once, then chucking it in the landfill and laughing about it on camera. These influencers should be held accountable just as much as the actual brands. But why do that when you can make money, then fill up landfills of third world countries while vilifying them about the way they deal with the waste. Get your priorities straight!

[@tazldn6463]

It's a shame we can't go back to towns having a couple of tailors and seamstresses making elegant clothing with a regional and local style to them that last, instead of corporate giants selling the same crap to everyone that's only worn once.

[@Hotspur62]

Thanks to informative documentaries such as this I stopped buying fast fashion items about six years ago. I started to buy the best that I can afford from local artisans and craftsman. It's not cheap, but I know I'm supporting individuals and not a multibillion dollar conglomerate. Moreover, because it's high quality it lasts and lasts.

[@user-hw9yf2wn4v]

I have so much expensive clothes given to me by friends who are impulsive buyers. I have HUGO BOSS 800-EURO boots from a friend who passed them down to me after he wore them once. He said he had no more use for the boots and they are beautiful. Another friend gave me a leather jacket practically brand new. He said he had it for two winters and wore it a few times. I have had that leather jacket for years, have worn it hundreds of times and still looks good. Same for furniture. I got a brand new couch from a friend who said she got tired of her leather couch. She confessed she had had it for a few months. The other day a friend was saying she wanted to get rid of her fridge. Her fridge is gorgeous. I said, ""will you sell it to me?" She said, ""No, you can have it for free.'" There is nothing wrong with their trendy beautiful fridge. But we are living ina world where people get tired of things. Now there are throw-away-husbands and throw-away-wives and throw-away-everything. We are a society of selfish individuals.

[@sydney8734]

It's all about money. 'Environmental friendly' is just an overused term to hide the truth behind business

[@ThePizzaGoblin]

and here I am, finally replacing the old worn out hoodie I bought in high school 15 years ago

[@bbygrlpt2]

Im in my 20s and never buy anythin that ‘influencers’ wear. If I need and like somethin Ill buy it and usually second hand. Not only big retailers have fast fashion theres plenty of smaller clothin stores that are cheaper and the material is also cheap AF. Its horrible what were doin to this planet.

[@mikemarrtinez]

H&M clothes can last a long time if you take care of them! I have few clothes from these stores from 2013, 2014 and 2017 and they are still in good shape. I wash them with cold water and line dry them. I don’t like throwing clothes in the trash because then I’ll feel guilty knowing that someone else could use it and because our landfills already have too much trash and there is no need to produce more.

[@Uncommonsensetoo]

This is absolute insanity. When he said the average German buys 26 kg (57 lbs) of clothing every year my jaw hit the floor. Can this be for real that people buy this much clothing? I, and I assume many like me, buy very little once or twice a year maybe, so that means some people must be buying way more than 26 kg. This is just beyond stupid and such an incredible waste.

[@RiaSwiftHealing]

I lived in Manhattan in the 1970's. One of the things that blew my mind the most was that every 6 months you could see, it seemed like everyone, wearing the next greatest fashion. It was exhausting. If you went to a club, at 6 months later, people would be wearing the latest 5th avenue trend. I could not understand how they could afford it. They wanted to keep up with the 'jones' of NY. It was very weird and even weirder that they all bought into. That is where this all started. It has been going on for decades. We have a sick culture, a very insecure culture that has no sense of it's self or its real value. So incredibly superficial. It is our lack of self worth, and I don't mean our ego aggrandizement, that is our problem. We think to have expensive things makes us worth something. It doesn't. It makes us stupid, ignorant and mostly out of touch with who and what we really are.

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

Great topic for a video! If you think H&M is bad, wait until you find out about Shein.

[@n3493]

This video was needed. Thank you again DW.

[@John-gm5mf]

I buy very expensive clothes that I wear often and last a long time. I can't even imagine having something in my wardrobe I've not worn 30+ times.

[@lindatisue733]

H&M has been caught burning clothes three times in Sweden. Haven't seen anything at H&M in years I would take home if they were giving it away.