Since the turn of the century, “fast fashion” has defined companies in the fashion industry that put profit over people and the planet. These companies favour lower-quality materials to make cheaper products with shorter lifespans. The result is consumers buying more clothes that they wear fewer times. In fact, Americans are purchasing four times more clothing now than they did in 2000. 65% end up in landfills within a year.

The environmental damage of this clothing waste extends from the pollution of land and waterways at production sites to global oceans where 9% of microplastics come from clothing. It’s anticipated that clothes made from polyester will increase in 2025 to three times the amount produced in 2007–the year when polyester became the world’s dominant fibre.  

Read More: Islamophobia, Housing Apartheid, and Climate Vulnerability in India

With so many fashion companies on the market, it can be hard to discern which are engaging in unsustainable and unethical production practices. One rule of thumb is reading the tag to see which companies produce clothing in countries with lax labour laws, particularly Vietnam, India, China and Bangladesh. By outsourcing this production to countries like these, clothing companies reduce their production costs and limit their legal liability to unethical labor practices. 

Source: Blum Center for Developing Economies, UC Berkeley, 2019

Muslims & Other Marginalized Minorities Working In the Indian Garment Industry

India is the world’s second-largest manufacturer and exporter of clothing in the world, with the United States and European Union accounting for nearly half of total clothing exports. Nearly 13 million people are formally employed in factories, with millions more employed informally in home-based settings. These informally employed, home-based workers often manage the “finishing touches” of garments including hand embroidery, bead and sequin work, and buttons. 

Source: Blum Center for Developing Economies, UC Berkeley, 2019

A 2019 study by the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley researched the exploitation of women and girls in the home-based garment sector across India and found that of these home-based workers, 85% work exclusively on products destined for the United States and the European Union. The report also found that:

• 99.3% of the workers were Muslim or of a minority community (Scheduled Caste)
• 99.2% worked for below minimum wage in conditions of forced labour as defined under Indian law
• 95.5% of the workers were female.

The lack of visibility of these workers in the reported supply chains of these products underscores how fashion companies ignore rampant exploitation in their labour force, including children. Another study showed that 36% of the children received no payment for their work in the home-based garment industry in Delhi.

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Make in India” campaign to bolster India’s status as a global leader in manufacturing–a title that China has held for decades. But in racing to claim larger shares of the global garment industry, both India and China besmirch their reputations through exploitative practices.

Forced Labor of Uyghur Muslims in China

China’s exploitation of Uyghurs and other minorities has been well documented by investigative reporting and deemed by the United Nations Human Rights Council as committing “crimes against humanity.” Not only has China forcibly removed Uyghur Muslims from their homes and into labour camps, but they’re also attempting to erase their culture. 

Source: Human Rights Watch, 2024

From manufacturing and garment-making to cotton picking in the Xinjiang region, Uyghur Muslims toil to produce the majority of the world’s clothes including 20% of the world’s cotton. As a result, “virtually the entire [global] apparels industry is tainted by forced Uyghur and Turkic Muslim labour.” 

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Prominent fashion companies–including both fast fashion and luxury brands–have been publicly named and shamed for their complicity in engaging Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains. The list of companies includes Shein who several rights groups have accused of allegedly using forced labour of Uyghur Muslims in its supply chain. Some companies have taken steps to change their sourcing, but many have not. Several Western governments including those of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada, have imposed sanctions. Yet, China continues to deny committing human rights abuses towards Uyghurs. 

Even with China and India’s well-documented unethical labour practices, fashion companies in the region strive to maintain business as usual. They will continue to dominate the industry until they start pursuing sustainable triple-bottom-line business strategies that value profits along with people and the planet. Despite the plethora of evidence pointing to successful business models that are also sustainable and ethical, the rhetoric of there being little incentive for businesses to change or reveal the truth of their production practices will continue. However, consumers worldwide can chart a different course by demanding a change.

Changing Consumer Habits

Fast fashion leaves an indelible mark on the planet, and it is marred by rampant labour exploitation. The demand and rapid production of garments require significant amounts of raw materials, which causes habitat loss, excessive water use, and pollutes local land, air, and water. It’s estimated the industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.   

Shifting consumer habits away from fast fashion is an important step towards reducing the industry’s impact on the environment and putting an end to labour exploitation. Here are some steps you can take to curb fast fashion and be a part of the solution:

• Buy less, and more thoughtfully, including upcycling or purchasing second-hand
• Choose higher quality, non-polyester products and wear them for longer
• Repair, resell, or repurpose what you own instead of throwing it away in landfills
• When buying new, prioritize local stores or those with high sustainability and ethical standards
• Hold fast-fashion companies accountable for their unsustainable and unethical practices while avoiding purchasing from them unless practices change positively.

The post Unveiling the Exploitation in the Global Fast Fashion Industry appeared first on Muslim Climate Watch.

In one week, I used 5 plates, 6 utensils, and 5 to-go containers for leftovers, all made of plastic. Of these, I deposited the to-go containers into a municipal recycling bin, and the rest were tossed in trash bags headed for a landfill. But where did those to-go containers go?

Fasting during the month of Ramadan raises awareness of our daily consumption; not only of food and water, but also of our consumption of the material world. Suppose we extend that mindfulness to the entire lifecycle of products we may use for just a few minutes. In that case, we can begin to reduce the amount of plastics that can end up in other countries where they pollute waterways and harm the health of people living there. 

Even when plastics are placed in the correct bins, municipal material recovery facilities may still not recycle them. Plastics are not widely recycled in the U.S., the main reason being it is not economical to recycle lower grades of plastics. These lower grades are classified by their plastic resin identification codes as #3 through #7. These codes can be found on the bottoms of most plastic products. 

When plastic items are not recycled back into a form where they can be used to make other products, it is estimated they can take up to 500 years to break down; however, they never fully disappear. Plastic products break down into smaller and smaller microplastics and nanoplastics that persist in our environment and can end up back in our bodies. 

Given that the U.S. generates the lion’s share of plastic waste per capita in the world, our lack of plastic waste recycling infrastructure contributes to a global problem. Shipping containers carrying mixed plastic waste can be out at sea for months, which makes it among the dirtiest and least desirable waste in the trade.

China served as the world’s primary plastics importer until they banned plastic waste imports in 2017, which shifted the landscape of plastic waste trade around the world. In just a couple of years, the plastic waste we generated quickly made its way to other countries in Southeast Asia, turning rural agricultural lands into dumping grounds for the U.S. Some of the countries that import plastic waste from the U.S. today are Muslim-majority or have large Muslim populations including Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and Turkey. Investigative reports have found when plastic waste reaches these countries, none of which have the infrastructure to meet U.S. demands for plastic waste, the plastic waste is still not recycled and is ultimately left in open dumps or incinerated.

Since then, amendments to the Basel Convention and other UN-backed waste conventions have attempted to address the 21st-century problem of plastic waste colonialism, but the U.S. continues to be one of a few nations that have not ratified the Basel Convention.

Developed countries like the U.S. contribute to this global environmental justice problem, which disproportionately harms people living in poverty who receive, process, and ultimately live amongst this plastic waste, and face greater health and environmental inequities. 

The UNEP estimates that half of the plastic products produced in the world are designed for single-use purposes, which include (in descending order): cigarette butts, plastic drinking bottles, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straws and stirrers, other types of plastic bags, and foam take-away containers.

After assessing my plastic waste generation this Ramadan, I realized that the to-go containers (marked with a #5 plastic resin identification code) were probably not recycled in the U.S., and may already be in a shipping container overseas. 

While disheartening, I quickly realized how much plastic waste I simultaneously avoided by carrying a reusable water bottle to every iftar and prayer. For next year, I will commit to also carrying a reusable utensil set and collapsible to-go container, which can double as a plate. 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Muslim Climate Watch’s editorial stance.

The post How Plastic Choices During Ramadan Shape Global Sustainability appeared first on Muslim Climate Watch.