Effects of Fast Fashion Industry

Dry Cleaning History:

Dry cleaning can be dated back to the Ancient Romans. Dry cleaning shops were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, a city buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. In 1825 Jean Baptiste Jolly became the father of modern dry cleaning. This happened when conducted an experiment where he soaked a tablecloth in a bathtub filled with turpentine and noticed that it removed the stains on the tablecloth. Over time dry cleaners began to use a chlorine-based solvent with the chemical name tetrachloroethylene especially in the 1930s. The use of tetrachloroethylene is still a prominent choice for dry cleaners today. Dry cleaners are a popular option for those who might not have time to do loads of laundry, or for those who have garments of clothing that cannot be cleaned by the machine or by hand. Over time the popularity has hit a decline, especially when the pandemic hit. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the need for dry cleaners, along with the pandemic we saw a rise in different trends which also aided the decline of business. Fast-fashion pushed a rise in buying materials that do not need to be dry cleaned in order to maintain their sustainability.

Environmental Impacts:

Dry cleaner establishments are very common in the cities and other urban and suburban settings. Therefore, contamination from these dry cleaners are also very common in our society. Such contamination may create serious health issues due to its nature and resistance to environmental degradation. Specifically, chlorinated solvents ( PERC) are associated with dry cleaning activities. Such chemicals are hazardous and moveable in the environment. The chemical pollution they pose may exist for decades due to their inability to degrade.

Common Contaminants:

The following main contaminants (along with their degradation products) are usually associated with dry cleaning activities:

• Pollution with perchloroethylene (PERC)
• Pollution with Trichloroethylene (TCE) – which is also a degradation product of PERC
  • cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene (cis-1,2-DCE) – which is a degradation product of both PERC and TCE – the main degradation product of anaerobic dehalogenation of TCE, which is the degradation product of anaerobic dehalogenation of PERC
  • trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene (trans-1,2-DCE) – which is a degradation product of both PERC and TCE
  • Vinyl chloride (VC) – which is a degradation product of both PCE and TCE 1,1,1- trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) - marketed as a dry-cleaning solvent (Dowclene LS®).
  • 1,4-dioxane – an additive (inhibitor) usually added to 1,1,1-TCA

Other contaminants that were historically related with dry cleaning activities include:

• Carbon tetrachloride
• Freon 113 (1,1,2 trichloro-1,2,2-trufluoroethane also known under the commercial name of Valclene – for dry cleaning use)
• Stoddard solvent
• Kerosene
• Mineral spirits

Environmental Risks:

Historically, other contaminants such as petroleum based solvents have been associated with dry cleaning activities. The first known use of an organic solvent (spirits of turpentine) to clean clothing was in 1690.

While modern collection techniques and preventive regulations did somewhat reduce the occurrence of accidental spills and leaks at dry cleaning locations, the environmental impacts from decades ago are still influencing our environment in the present day. People living in close proximity to a dry cleaning establishment may be at risk to overly toxic groundwater. PECR is known to contaminate soil and the air as well.

Health risks:

These toxic solvents enter the human body through both breathing and skin contact. Symptoms associated with overexposure include central nervous system depression, damage to liver and kidneys, and irritation of the respiratory system and skin. Those exposed may experience confusion, impaired memory, dizziness, headache, drowsiness, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Repeated skin exposure often results in dermatitis. The other solvents used in dry cleaning may also cause central nervous system depression and irritation of the mucous membranes, nasal passages, and skin.

Measures & regulations:

Filtration and distillation are the main techniques used to recover solvents. Distillation removes soluble oils and greases not recovered by filtration. These processes convert PERC into a solid form that then renders it disposable as hazardous waste. The government regulates dry cleaning stores to levels of less than one hundred parts per million (ppm), but encourages them to operate at levels below twenty-five ppm. The main danger outside a dry cleaning store is to residences in the same building. Inexpensive technology, such as exhaust fans, can safely remove these potentially dangerous substances.

Fast Fashion Environmental Impacts:

The fashion industry depends on water and without it then the fashion industry wouldn't survive or even exist with all of its manufacturing processes. It usually takes 200 tons of fresh water to produce a lot of dye fabric. This makes the fashion industry the largest cause of pollution on Earth after the oil industry, which is why it is named fast fashion. Big brands who produce low-quality clothes are designed to just be worn a few times and then with the purpose to be thrown out which contributes to the problem of overflowing landfills. Not to mention the chemicals used also play a role that causes the water pollution.

Impact on Businesses:

On most occasions, it is not in one's frame of thought while purchasing clothing that what you are investing in right now could affect another person's life. Investments are a part of everyone's day-to-day life, what you invest your time, money, and energy into is what is ultimately going to shape your future, or at least a part of it. With that said, it is undeniable that today most people prioritize different investments over ones that were once the top of priorities a decade ago and clothing is not one of them. In recent years, within the fashion culture clothing is not necessarily seen as an investment as it once had been, but it is just an accessory used to keep up with trends and aesthetics. Today, this concept has been taken up a notch as with social media and circulating photos, it is no wonder that trends come in and out so quickly, especially due to the concept of “outfit repeating” and influencers/ normal people not willing to post the same outfit twice. Even more so now with quarantine forcing people to rely wasting their free time on social media, trends have been booming in and out so quickly that if your shipping takes too long to get to you, the trend is already over. All of these things are what contribute to the dying industry that is dry cleaning and laundry businesses. After many people had become more conscious of their dry cleaning expenses, they had realized that taking an item to be dry cleaned weekly could surpass the cost of replacing the item entirely. While there could be many reasons why a person would have to rely on cheaper outlets to find clothing, it should stop a person from carefully choosing an article of clothing that they know they could cherish for a long time rather than opting out to buying cheap clothes for the sake of just buying cheaper clothing. While lower income earners from lower socio-economic classes may need to purchase from such fast fashion stores because other options are not financially available for them, this does not include those who make six figures or more, including influencers, to support the fast fashion industry. These options are not a necessity, but are a choice for people who can afford to live sustainably yet choose not to.

Social Media and Trends:

Influencers have the power to effect purchasing decisions made by their followers and it is a power that they should utilize to promote sustainability, not fast fashion. Influencers often promote these businesses and themselves to be purchases of normalcy, but it needs to be said that influencers themselves are not consumers, they should be considered as businesses and this is different from those who shop fast fashion out of necessity. While influencers are paid to promote these fast fashion products, their followers carry out their plan as they are influenced to purchase from this industry. Social media has played such a huge role in the fashion industry, allowing for trends to be easily picked up on, and just as easily left behind, thus  causing a cycle that can not be broken unless real change is made to live more sustainably. This includes investing in garments that are not poorly made and will last for years if you are to take care of them, i.e., taking them to the dry cleaners for professional care. Just 20 fashion brands control over 95% of industry profits, such as Nike, Marshalls/ TJMaxx, Ross, Zara, Lululemon, Gucci, and Adidas, to name a few. The clothing produced from fast fashion is so badly made that most articles of clothing often can not be resold and will end up in landfills or rot in large bodies of water. Sales for dry cleaning businesses across the country are down to 92%, forcing many of these dry cleaners and laundry businesses to close down for good. Due to all of these factors, many dry cleaning businesses will never recover from these trends as long social media influence increases, unless real and magnitude change is made.

COVID-19 Pandemic:

    The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected all kinds of businesses around the world, including dry cleaning businesses. The transition for many people from working in person to remote work or "working from home" has created an environment where casual attire is more acceptable, therefore the usage of higher quality work clothes has reduced, leaving dry cleaner services less necessary for those people. Many Korean immigrant owned businesses have experienced this impact first hand in Southern California, they associated the reduction in work due to public and special events being canceled such as weddings and gala fundraisers.
    The pandemic has also brought with itself fashion trends that reduced the necessity for dry cleaning services. With most people working at home, current trends such as sweatpants and comfortable athleisure have risen. Higher quality work clothes or special event clothing has been stored away, making dry cleaner services less necessary. The reduction of the need for dry cleaner services is also associated with the sweatpants and casual attire trend needing less care to maintain. Sweatpants and athleisure pieces require less care, therefore they are washed in washers and dryers from home rather than being sent to the dry cleaners.

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