How fast fashion is affecting global communities of color

By Aria Brent AFRO Staff Writer abrent@afro.com Earlier this year it was reported by theroundup.org that about 80 to 100 billion new garments are produced each year. The items are sold by fast fashion companies, however the garments are made by employees who are disadvantaged, overworked and underpaid. This mass production of items is alleged to happen in unsafe and inhumane working conditions in factories across Asian countries like China and Bangladesh.Fast fashion is a billion dollar industry that is profiting off Black people in developed countries all the while poisoning the ecosystems of Black nations like Ghana CREDIT:Nappy.co/ alyssasiebThe items are sold for ridiculously low prices, worn less than an average of 10 times and then discarded. This cycle of heavy turnaround has resulted in 92 million tons of textile waste each year– much of which is sent to places like Chile to be disposed of. And although this issue seems far removed from consumers in developed countries like the U.S., they’re also at risk due to toxic chemicals in the garments.& “Fast fashion is an extractive industry and it embodies that capitalistic model exploiting cheap natural resources, cheap labor and not facing any consequences or having any plan...