Planet has enough clothes to dress the whole world for the next 100 years

AS soon as the first rays of summer sunshine burst through the clouds, lots of Irish people go rummaging in attics, at the back of wardrobes and under beds for their ‘summer clothes’.

These are the shorts, t-shirts and sundresses that get an outing for a few weeks of the year, before returning to their vacuum packed storage space until the following summer.

If the weather gods are smiling, you might get to wear your summer clothes for four months of the year, but most of the year that summery stash of style waits in the dark to be summoned for when the temperature gauge goes over 17C degrees.

Every year, there is an explosion of summer clothes in shops promising a Riviera-esque lifestyle, with wafty kaftans, lurid bikinis and floppy sun hats, and we buy them despite the fact we already have a bag of kaftans, bikinis and sun hats packed away since last year.

Obviously, kids grow, clothes get old and need to be replaced, and bodies don’t stay the same shape forever, so there is a need for new clothes occasionally, but according to the British Fashion Council, there are enough clothes on the planet right now to dress the next six generations of the human race.

Think about that for a minute.

We have enough clothes already in existence to dress the whole world for the next 100 years.

Think of all the land, energy and effort required to grow, for example, cotton. The weaving, dyeing, cutting, sewing, shipping of garments around the world soaks up huge amounts of time, money and natural resources.

How can a cotton sundress cost just €17, considering all the elements that are required to produce that dress?

How bad fast fashion is for the planet and for garment workers has been explored in numerous documentaries and articles over the years, which is why I was surprised to recently see snaking queues on Opera Lane to access the pop-up shop of the biggest fast fashion online brand, Shein.

Has everyone forgotten the problems with fast fashion, or is the lure of a cheap new purchase fix irresistible?

Shein has been dubbed “fast fashion on steroids” or “ultra fast fashion”. It churns out cheap clothes in enormous numbers, satisfying consumers’ desire for something new or something fashionable on social media.

You can order a T-shirt for €4 and shorts for €6, and the company offers free standard shipping on orders over €19.

Shein uses social media influencers and sophisticated algorithms on its apps to drive consumption and sales. Consumers can’t get enough of its business model.

Some 75 million active shoppers around the world made Shein $30 billion in 2022, a 91% increase on the $15.7 billion it made in 2021. It is a fashion beast.

Last year, a Channel 4 documentary in the UK revealed that those numbers come with a huge environmental and human cost.

The documentary showed how Chinese garment workers got paid approximately 4 cent for every item they sewed, and toiled for 17 hours a day to earn just €20 a day.

Workers got one day off a month and worked in a relentless, pressured environment. These are conditions that contravene Chinese labour laws and Shein’s own company policy.

Shein was recently valued at $68 billion, which probably explains why IDA Ireland and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney were happy to smile for photos with company representatives at the opening of Shein’s EMEA headquarters in Ireland.

Shein will create 30 new jobs in Ireland this year, with the promise of more into the future, but I imagine those Irish workers will be earning more than €20 a day.

It’s ten years since a Bangladeshi clothes factory in Rana Plaza collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring 2,500 more. The deaths of those workers caused worldwide outrage and led to a landmark agreement between big fashion brands and trade unions to ensure safer working conditions.

Bangladeshi workers can now identify safety hazards in the workplace, report and have them fixed, and the agreement has made factories safer for the more than two million people who work in Bangladesh.

But where is the outrage for the 15 million garment workers in China?

They don’t all labour in the poor conditions identified by the Channel 4 documentary, but when will shoppers understand that if something is cheap, it’s because someone isn’t being paid enough somewhere.

How much would a #Sheinhaul cost if the workers were paid a living wage in acceptable working conditions?

The fashion industry has doubled its production in the last 15 years and 73% of the 53 million tonnes of clothing created each year are incinerated or landfilled. Total madness.

We all need clothes, but we don’t need clothes that are stitched together with the exploitation of our fellow humans and the planet’s finite resources.

Supposedly, there’s a sunny week ahead, so resist the lure of fast fashion’s summery offerings and go have a good rummage in your old summer clothes bag.

Spend your money on 99s instead!