A day in the life of your fast fashion jeans

A little groggy after a night of restless sleep, the cotton bud awakes to start its day. It has taken up to 20,000 litres of water¹ (the equivalent of washing jeans up to 400 times), numerous pesticides and six to eight months to grow into one kilo of usable fibre. However, the cotton has quite a long jeans production journey before it can take the form of a stylish pair of fast fashion jeans. “I have to do something about this hair,” it thinks trying to pick out some of the motes that are cramping its style.

Admiring the vast expanses of land, it once called home – a part of 35 million hectares devoted to cotton crop production worldwide – the cotton gets whisked off across the border. Here, a combination of large machines, underpaid mill workers and questionable chemicals² help it to achieve a new level of cleanliness and transform into yarn. “I look slimmer,” the cotton fabric smiles, admiring its new spun physique.

A dip in a toxic bath isn’t exactly what the cotton yarn had in mind for the morning. “These new-age detox treatments aren’t all they’re cracked out to be,” it says, mildly irritated. However, after a moment, it has to admit that its new indigo shade is quite the showstopper. Sure, the chemical agent needed to bind indigo dye to its fibres will be released into the waterways², but beauty always has a price, right? Without much time to ponder slow fashion alternatives, it gets weaved into fabric, hops onboard a truck and travels to Xintang – the Chinese town known as “the capital of jeans”. 

“I have arrived!” the cotton fabric exclaims, then coughs. It always thought the smell of success would be less musky. “It’s a good thing I don’t have lungs,” it thinks, ready for its transformation into the latest must-have fast fashion item. The workers making its dreams come true don’t appear to be anywhere near as enthusiastic about the countless hours it takes to make this happen. They do work diligently, though, and before long the cotton fabric becomes a stylish pair of fast fashion jeans.

The jeans board two trucks, a ship and a plane to undergo one final epic journey. After 14,000 kilometres³ – about the average for a pair of fast fashion jeans – much to their delight, they find themselves in a European department store. An astounding 1.25 billion jeans are sold around the world each year⁴ and they are happy to be a part of the in-crowd. “Mama would be proud,” they gleam, as they are picked up by a chic woman who smells like citrus.

Post-store life is good, but the fast fashion jeans find themselves scrutinizing their seams regularly. They’re aware that the average item of clothing only lasts 3.3 years before being binned⁵. Feverishly, they Google: “How to stay young” and “5 Ways to keep your woman interested.” They learn about the impact of fast fashion and feel a little bad about themselves, until they discover slow fashion and realise that it’s never too late to make a difference. They learn that washing jeans with the right product as well as mending imperfections are not only great ways to prolong their life, but also significantly better for the environment than buying new. “Have you heard of Kintsugi?,” they ask their stylish owner, confident that it’s not too late to #Rethinkfashion.

Sources:
1. World Water Day: the cost of cotton in water-challenged India
2. The Environmental and Human Cost of Making a Pair of Jeans
The logical Indian
3. Figures were derived from a combination of sources including:
The Supply chain for jeans: assessing transport and energy consumption (Michael Browne, Julian Allen, Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, London, UK)
Energy Consumption in the UK Jeans Supply Chain (Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster)
4. Denim Jeans Industry Market Analysis
5. Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion