Student survey explores the true cost of fast fashion
FIFTH class students in Scoil Bheinín Naofa Cailíní in Duleek are doing their bit for the environment with a project exploring the effects of fast fashion and the damage the current throwaway culture has on the planet.
The pupils surveyed the 52 girls in fifth class in the school and asked them a number of questions based on their fashion habits.
The girls explained: ‘We wanted to help change people’s fashion habits and to create awareness about this problem. We hope that this report will help create awareness of the fast fashion problem.’
The study found that 24 of the 52 fifth class girls surveyed buy clothes on average once a month.
‘We also found that 30 girls spend €50 or more on clothes each month. 58% of those surveyed admitted to never thinking about the environment when purchasing the clothes in their wardrobe.’
60%of the girls surveyed have clothes in their wardrobes that they have never worn and only seven of the 52 who took part believed that they wore over 75% of their wardrobe.
‘ This means that 86% of those surveyed believed that they don’t wear at least a quarter of the clothes they own. 85% of those surveyed admitted to not knowing what their clothes were made from,’ the girls explained in their findings. ‘As most clothes are being made from polyester this means that these clothes will never biodegrade and will remain on our planet,’ they explained. However, it wasn’t all bad news as 31 of the girls surveyed revealed they give their clothes to someone else when they are no longer suitable for themselves.
‘ This is one great way to decrease the environmental impact of the current culture of fast fashion,’ said the girls.
At the start of the survey, 58% admitted to never thinking about the environment when buying clothes.
At the end of the survey, the girls explained to all participants that polyester is a polluting type of plastic made from fossil fuels and cannot biodegrade - which means that every piece of polyester clothing ever made is still on our planet.
Over £140 million worth of clothing goes into landfill each year.
‘We then asked what future impact the survey might have on your fashion buying habits to which a staggering 68% replied that they would be more conscientious towards the environment when buying clothes in the future.’ The girls said they were very pleased with the response to this question as large porportion of those who took part in the survey said they will try to make a change in their fashion habits to help the environment. ‘We believe knowledge is power and we hope that this article will create even more awareness of the growing problem of fast fashion,’ they added.