The Injustice of Fast Fashion

Introduction

Ask: Who likes new clothes? As growing children you need new clothes every so often, but what happens when people buy too many? We can pass on clothes that don’t fit any more to younger siblings and friends, but what happens to the clothes that are discarded? Take all answers.

Ask: Clothes and things like sheets and towels and so on are called textiles. How big an impact do textiles have on the environment?

Say: The truth is, it’s a big impact, and a pretty negative one, on the environment and consequently on the lives of the people who make them. We’re going to look at some of the facts.

Objectives

• For students to see that fashion driven consumption is not
  sustainable
• For them to understand the social injustice of the impact on
  (predominantly) women in developing countries as workers
• But also on the environment in the location of industries and in
  general

Learning outcomes

By the end of this learning scenario, students will be able to:

• Explain why fast fashion is both unsustainable and a cause of social
  injustice.
• Know that there are alternatives and that they can step away from
  it