Buy it, wear it, chuck it: the price of fast fashion

Growing demand for cheap clothes is putting an increasing social and environmental strain on the world, a report has said. It questions the very sustainability of the "fast fashion" that is growing in popularity among UK shoppers.

Chains selling bargain outfits have boomed on the high street in the past five years, with many fashion followers throwing away garments after one season.

An academic analysis of the global textiles business indicates that such intense consumerism comes at a heavy cost to factory workers and the environment from intensive use of chemicals and greenhouse gases.

Written by Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing, the study - Well Dressed?- traces the impact of garments from the cotton fields of the US to the sweatshops of China.

Shoppers are advised to lessen their environmental footprint by buying organic cotton and fewer but better garments, washing them at lower temperatures and drying them naturally.

Laundering is crucial because it can use more energy than the entire production process, with tumble driers identified as the most wasteful.

British people have doubled spending on clothes in the past 15 years and the market is now worth £30bn a year. £1 in £4 spent on clothing is on "value" ranges at stores such as Primark and Asda

The report said UK retailers were increasingly specifying codes of practice for labour standards, but added: "There are difficulties in imposing these throughout the supply chain, leading to concerns about working hours, safety and use of child labour".

The throwaway culture was also a problem. Although the public recycle newspapers and bottles, only one eighth of clothes are recycled through charity shops, the study claimed. About 70 per cent goes straight to landfill or incineration. "Waste volumes from the sector are high and growing in the UK with the advent of fast fashion," it said. "On average UK consumers send 30kg of clothing and textiles per capita to landfill each year."

To illustrate their findings, researchers traced the life cycle of a typical T-shirt.

The raw material comes from the US, where cotton is often grown using pesticides. Farmers receive so much subsidy, they undercut those in poorer countries, the study said. The yarn is made into clothes in Asia, often by Chinese women working in tough conditions.

In Britain, stores make most of the profit on a typical £7 T-shirt. Each one uses 1.7g of fossil fuel, emits 4kg of CO2 and sends 450g waste to landfill sites.

Although most in the UK believed recycling glass bottles was good for the environment, they did not realise clothing production uses 10 times more energy than glass. Julian Allwood, the lead researcher, said if consumers demanded organic cotton, retailers would change production.

Regarding Chinese sweatshops, the report said: "Labour law restricts working hours to eight per day and an average of 44 per week.

"However, these rules may be overlooked. Working conditions can be hard and some workers may work up to 12-hour shifts, seven days a week."

Sam Maher, of Look Behind The Label, a UK campaign group against sweat-shop labour, said: "When you buy a T-shirt for a few pounds, it's only so cheap because someone else is paying the cost."

The tale of a humble T-shirt

GM cotton grown in USA

Cotton for a T-shirt is grown by subsidised farmers using chemicals and GM seeds. It is spun into yarn in America at 55p per T-shirt.

Shipped to Asia

Normally shipped to China but also India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. Here it is bleached, washed and dyed before being sewn. At the knitted fabric stage, it costs £1.08.

Made in Sweatshop

Although there is officially a 44-hour week, many Chinese - mostly migrant women - work up to 12 hours a day seven days a week. The average worker is paid 86 US cents (43p) a day. A finished T-shirt costs £1.96 at this stage.

Shipped to Britain

Finished garments end up at a wholesaler before transfer to the shops. The cost has risen to £2.65.

Reaches the Shops

Retailers pay rent, rates, staff, and other costs. Even so, they make handsome profits. A typical T-shirt sells for £4 to £10.

Washing

Assuming it is washed 25 times at 60C, tumble-dried and ironed, energy use is 65 mega joules, compared with 16 for the material, 24 for production and seven for transport.

Dumped in Landfill

The average Briton consumes 35kg of textiles a year, mostly clothing, with 30 per cent given to charity, the rest thrown away.