One app for all your study abroad needs
Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment: Fast fashion may be cheap and trendy, but it comes at a heavy cost to the environment. This blog on the Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment is specially designed for students, featuring both short and long speeches that explain how the fashion industry affects our planet. Fast fashion is responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions, uses enormous amounts of water (about 2,700 litres for one cotton shirt), and contributes to pollution through microplastics and textile waste. With over 92 million tonnes of clothing waste generated each year globally, this industry has become one of the most polluting sectors on Earth.
Contents
Short Speech on the Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment
Good morning, everyone,
Today, I want to talk about something we all enjoy—buying new clothes. But do you know that our love for trendy clothes can hurt our Earth? This is what we call fast fashion, and it has a big impact on our environment.
Fast fashion means making and selling clothes very quickly to match new trends. It may sound fun, but it has many hidden problems. First, it uses a lot of water. Just one cotton shirt needs about 2,700 litres of water to produce. That’s enough water for one person to drink for 2.5 years.
Next, fast fashion creates a lot of waste. Every year, over 92 million tonnes of clothing waste is thrown away. Most of these clothes are not reused or recycled. They end up in landfills, taking hundreds of years to decompose. During this time, they release harmful gases like methane, which pollute our air.
Also, the dyes and chemicals used in making clothes often get washed into rivers and seas. This pollutes the water and harms fish and plants living in the water. The fashion industry is responsible for about 20% of global wastewater.
Another problem is that clothes are often made in factories where workers are not treated well. They are underpaid and work in poor conditions just to make cheap clothes quickly.
So, what can we do? We can shop wisely. Buy fewer clothes, choose better quality, and donate or reuse old clothes. We can also support brands that care about the Earth and use eco-friendly materials.
Friends, fashion should not cost the health of our planet. Let’s choose to be smart shoppers and help save the environment.
Thank you.
Must Read: 250+ English Speech Topics for Students
Long Speech on the Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment
Respected teachers and dear friends,
Today, I want to talk about something we see around us every single day—new clothes. We see them in shops, on advertisements, in fashion shows, and even in our own closets. Buying new clothes often makes us happy. But do we ever stop to ask: how are these clothes made? Where do they go when we no longer use them? This is where the problem of fast fashion begins.
Fast fashion means making clothes very quickly and cheaply to match the latest fashion trends. Big brands now launch 40 to 50 collections every year. This makes people buy more clothes, even if they don’t really need them. While this may look good, fast fashion is one of the most harmful industries for our planet.
Let me explain how.
First, fast fashion uses a huge amount of water. Making just one cotton shirt takes about 2,700 litres of water—enough for one person to drink for nearly three years! A single pair of jeans takes about 7,500 litres. Water is also polluted with chemicals and dyes from factories, which affects rivers, fish, and plants.
Second, the fashion industry causes air pollution. It produces around 8 to 10% of all global carbon emissions, which is more than the total from all planes and ships combined. Factories burn fuel, clothes are shipped around the world, and all this adds dangerous gases to the air, which warm the Earth and harm the climate.
Third, fast fashion creates too much waste. Every year, around 92 to 100 million tonnes of clothes are thrown away. Most of these old clothes end up in landfills or are burned. Less than 1% of all used clothes are recycled into new clothes. Burning and dumping clothes pollute land, air, and water.
Fast fashion also affects people. Many clothes are made in poor countries where workers are paid very little. Some even work 14 to 16 hours a day in unsafe factories. In some places, even children work to make these cheap clothes. This is not fair or safe.
So what can we do to make a difference?
We can start by being smart shoppers. Instead of buying many clothes, we should buy fewer, better-quality items that last longer. We can reuse, repair, and recycle our clothes. Donating old clothes or giving them to someone else is better than throwing them away.
We can also choose to buy clothes made from organic cotton or recycled materials. Look for brands that care about the environment and treat workers fairly.
In schools and communities, we can hold awareness programs like “No New Clothes Week”, second-hand clothes exchange, or upcycling competitions. These fun events help spread the message that fashion can be stylish and sustainable too.
Dear friends, fashion is fun, colorful, and creative. But it should not harm our planet or people. Small steps by each of us can make a big difference. Let’s wear clothes that help the Earth, not hurt it.
Thank you and let’s dress smart for a better world!
Also Read: ️Essay on Fashion
10 Lines on Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment
Here are 10 lines on impact of fast fashion on the environment:
- Fast fashion means making clothes quickly and cheaply to follow new trends.
- It uses a lot of water—one cotton shirt needs about 2,700 litres to produce.
- The fashion industry causes about 8–10% of global carbon emissions.
- Harmful chemicals and dyes used in clothes pollute rivers and oceans.
- Clothes made from polyester release microplastics into the water, harming sea life.
- Over 92 million tonnes of clothing waste are thrown away every year.
- Most old clothes end up in landfills or are burned, causing land and air pollution.
- Only less than 1% of used clothes are recycled into new garments.
- Many fast fashion factories treat workers unfairly and pay very low wages.
- Choosing eco-friendly clothes and buying less can help protect our environment.
FAQs
To write a speech on the impact of fast fashion on the environment, start by introducing what fast fashion means in simple words—clothes made quickly and cheaply to match new trends. Then explain how it harms nature, such as using too much water, polluting rivers with chemicals, releasing harmful gases, and creating huge waste. Add real facts and figures like how much water or waste is used to make clothes. Mention how it also affects people, like underpaid workers in factories. After sharing these problems, talk about solutions like buying fewer clothes, using eco-friendly brands, recycling, and donating old clothes. End the speech with a strong message encouraging everyone to care for the Earth by making better fashion choices.
Fast fashion has a harmful impact on our environment as it uses large amounts of water, releases toxic chemicals into rivers, and creates massive textile waste. It also causes high carbon emissions—about 8–10% of global total—due to factory production and global shipping. Clothes made from synthetic materials shed microplastics that pollute oceans and harm marine life. Most fast fashion items are worn only a few times and then thrown away, with less than 1% being recycled. This makes fast fashion one of the most polluting industries in the world.
Fast fashion has three major negative impacts: it causes environmental pollution by using large amounts of water and releasing harmful chemicals into rivers; it leads to high carbon emissions, contributing to climate change; and it results in massive textile waste, with most clothes ending up in landfills or being burned, harming both land and air.
Around 85% of fast fashion clothing ends up in landfills or is incinerated, meaning it is either buried under the ground or burned. This happens because most of these clothes are made from low-quality materials that are not reused or recycled, leading to massive waste and serious environmental pollution.
We can stop fast fashion by buying fewer clothes and choosing better-quality items that last longer. Supporting eco-friendly and ethical brands, reusing and recycling clothes, donating instead of throwing them away, and avoiding unnecessary shopping can reduce waste and pollution. We can also spread awareness through schools and communities to encourage sustainable fashion habits and protect the environment.
RELATED BLOGS
| Success in Life Speech | Speech On Girl Child Education |
| Speech on Dr BR Ambedkar | Speech on If I Were the Prime Minister of India |
| Speech on Tobacco Should Be Banned | Short Speech on Technology |
For more information on such interesting speech topics for your school, visit our speech writing page and follow Leverage Edu.
