Fast fashion: Where do all our unwanted clothes end up?

There are enough garments in the world to dress the next six generations. Yet the number of clothes in the global north is soaring with devastating consequences

Piles of discarded textile waste on the shores of Chorkor beach in Accra, Ghana. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

This is how the conversation always goes whenever my 12-year-old daughter, Evie, asks me to buy fast fashion for her. “Please, please, please can I have this,” she’ll say (it’s usually from Shein). Sorry but no, I’ll reply — I’m sure we can find an alternative on Vinted. 

“One person buying something new won’t make any difference,” she argues. “And besides, it’s so cheap!” There is sulking (her), tutting (me), and dissatisfaction all round.