Research led by Concordia University is putting the spotlight on a clothing staple that has become a big part of fast fashion: the plain T-shirt.
By following cotton and polyester shirts from production in China to use in Montreal, this new study found that the environmental burden of the item builds at almost every step.
Here's what to know
According to a Concordia University news release, the researchers followed fast fashion T-shirts from production to disposal to pinpoint the stages with the greatest environmental impacts and find opportunities to reduce harm.
Their analysis, published in the journal Cleaner Waste Systems, tracked cotton and polyester garments from material sourcing and assembly in China through shipping, use in Montreal, and eventual discarding, per the release.
Low prices, frequent new releases, and clothing that is not meant to last long are core to the fast-fashion model. T-shirts can illustrate that pattern well because they are often produced in huge quantities, sold cheaply, used for a limited time, and quickly replaced.
Instead of isolating a single main source of environmental harm, the researchers identified impacts throughout the supply chain — meaning that they also identified multiple opportunities for improvement.
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Their findings suggest that everything from shopping choices to clothing care habits can make a meaningful difference while also helping households avoid overspending on constant replacements.
More background
T-shirt fabrics themselves pose different environmental costs. Cotton is associated with resource-intensive farming, while polyester is made from fossil fuel-based materials.
But across T-shirt types, a big part of fast fashion's pollution problem comes from a business model centered on constant output and rapid turnover. Keeping that cycle moving requires materials, energy, packaging, and transportation each time brands release another round of products.
Then, after customers take their purchases home, there's a whole other set of impacts to consider.
Washing, drying, and discarding clothing all contribute to the total footprint. And since many fast-fashion items aren't designed to last long-term, replacing them can add up not only for the Earth but for consumers too.
What can be done?
Clothing designed to be cheap and short-lived may seem affordable at checkout, but replacing worn-out items over and over often costs more than buying fewer pieces that last longer.
At the individual level, extending the life of the clothes already in your closet can reduce waste and stretch your budget. And when it comes time to purchase something new, choosing durable basics over ultra-cheap items that may lose their shape or wear out quickly can also help.
Centering one's wardrobe around fewer durable basics could feel out of reach financially if individual pieces cost more. But well-constructed pieces can often be found secondhand for less or even swapped with friends for free.
How clothing is cleaned at home matters too.
Washing only when necessary, using colder cycles when possible, and avoiding unnecessary machine drying can lower energy use, limit wear on garments, shed fewer fabric particles into water systems, and save money on utility bills.
When a shirt truly reaches the end of its life, reusing, donating, or finding textile recycling options can keep it out of the trash longer.
These steps will not solve fast fashion on their own, but they can help reduce personal waste and make a wardrobe less expensive to maintain. Meanwhile, shrinking the environmental footprint of large-scale clothing production will require more than household changes — big shifts within the industry will be needed to improve conditions across global supply chains.
Where can I learn more?
If you want to keep reading about the importance of studying environmental impacts across product life-cycles, you might want to take a look at these stories:
• Across households, purchasing far more than we need keeps demand for replacement basics unnecessarily high.
• For shoppers, modern clothes don't last long, reinforcing the buy-replace cycle fast fashion depends on.
• Gen Z is driving reselling that could keep more textiles from landfills.
• Back-to-school shopping can favor sustainable clothing choices over another round of disposable basics.
Staying up to date on lessons learned across countries and generations might make it easier to see how environmental impacts throughout the supply chain can play out in real life.
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