The Venus flytrap is a symbol of strategic entrapment with beauty and flashiness that attracts prey; it strikes. The fast fashion industry is the Venus flytrap of the capitalist animal kingdom, attracting consumers with flashy trends, relatable marketing, and enticing words. Once trapped, consumers become caught in a cycle of overconsumption, ultimately leading to environmental harm.
The fast fashion industry is a significant environmental issue we must address promptly. Fast fashion involves quickly replicating recent trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost to meet demand.“Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand.” [1] The fast fashion industry has experienced substantial expansion over the past twenty years, posing an increasingly significant threat to the environment. This rise has popularised phrases such as “That’s so last season” and “outfit repeating,” implying that wearing the same outfit more than once is socially unacceptable. This societal pressure leads to overconsumption, as people feel compelled to purchase new clothing constantly. An ultimatum is a tactic to drive individuals to spend more money, effectively turning them into pawns in a much broader game. “The stigma around wearing the same outfit twice is fuelling consumerism, and pushing us to buy clothes we don’t need.”[2] Societal pressure against repeating outfits contributes to excessive consumerism, resulting in unnecessary clothing purchases. Rather than buying out of necessity, people are often driven by the desire to conform to trends and indulge in hedonistic impulses. Rapidly changing fashion trends benefit the industry but have detrimental effects on the environment, resulting in increased water and textile waste, as well as further pollution of the atmosphere.
According to an MDPI article, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater, contributing about 8% of emissions, which makes it the second most polluting industry. “The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, contributing 8% of all carbon emissions and 20% of all global wastewater, with an anticipated 50% increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”[3]
The destiny of thrown-away clothes tells a story about how much we consume and waste. They tend to be dumped in landfills like one in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Textile waste is usually dumped in landfills in developing nations, as it is easy to scapegoat it as aid for the people. Despite Africa not being a major clothing producer, it is burdened with the consequences of fast fashion. Countries in Africa and worldwide have become the unofficial dumping ground for textile waste. This not only hurts the environment but also damages Africa’s textile industry. As a result, people have sent second-hand clothing as foreign aid, which is cheaper than new clothing, reducing the demand for new fabric and clothing. However, the declining quality of the clothing being sent means that most of the clothes end up being dumped in landfills.“Close to 40% of the secondhand clothes that are imported into the two East African countries of Tanzania and Kenya are of such deplorable quality that they can’t be sold anymore—those are essentially textile waste dumped there in the guise of pre-loved clothing.”[4]
The fast fashion industry doesn’t just exploit the environment; it also exploits those in developing countries who are working day and night to make sure that these clothes are being pumped out to the public. Fast fashion companies often prioritize low production costs and high profit margins over the treatment of their workers, leading to workers in factories, particularly in developing countries, facing unsafe working conditions, low wages, and abuse.
The fast fashion industry employs approximately 75 million factory workers worldwide. Of those workers, it is estimated that less than 2% make a living wage. This leads to workers living below the poverty line, and the European Parliament has even described the conditions of factory workers in Asia as “slave labor”.Many garment workers work up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. The textile industry also uses child labor, particularly because it is often low-skilled, so children can be exploited at a younger age.” [5]
These exploitative conditions persist largely because fast fashion brands outsource production to countries with weak labor protections and minimal regulatory oversight. By operating through complex supply chains, many companies can avoid direct responsibility for the treatment of workers in their factories. Manufacturers in developing countries are under immense pressure to meet tight deadlines and keep costs low, which often leads to wage theft, forced overtime, and dangerous working environments. In many cases, workers who speak out risk being fired or blacklisted, leaving them even more vulnerable. While consumers in wealthier nations benefit from the low prices and constant influx of new styles, this affordability comes at the expense of basic human rights for those producing the garments.
In the end, the fast fashion industry thrives by masking exploitation and environmental degradation beneath a shroud of affordability and style. Like the Venus flytrap, it lures consumers with the illusion of beauty and choice, only to entrap them and the planet in cycles of harm. The environmental damage is extensive, from polluted waters to overflowing landfills, while human rights violations remain hidden behind outsourced supply chains and cheap tags. If we continue to prioritize convenience and trends over sustainability and ethics, we become complicit in a system built on exploitation. True change requires not only holding corporations accountable but also rethinking our own consumption habits. The power to shift this narrative lies in the choices we make, because every purchase is a vote for the kind of world we want to live in.
