Abstract

Fashion is the way of styling oneself in most popular fashion trends. An opportunity in trying out something new and trendy has resulted in fast fashion. It provides a fashionable, progressive and modern lifestyle at affordable prices. It is called as fast fashion because at present, fashion changes frequently resulting in fast production of trendy clothes which are made of cheap quality fabrics at low costs in order to meet the increased demand of people. However, the fashion industry today is vast, inherently unstable and seasonal whose credibility is validated by the social media to express inspirations through a dress which connects clothing and body ideals to a contemporary culture. While contextualising this issue for a fast-developing economy like India, where industrial sector puts considerable good amount of its share in setting up and operating a manufacturing unit, which has given a boost to the issues of environmental pollution and hyper consumerism. The apparel and textile sector in India contributes to widespread pollution that needs to be addressed along with international competitiveness. There are no specific environmental laws for apparel industry though there are industry specific standards for setting and operating an industrial unit. The environmental protection laws in India, along with its international promises for sustainable consumption needs to be reconsidered so as to curtail the environmental pollution caused by the textile industry. Moreover, the excessive mindless buying by the consumers to stay up to date is destroying our planet and therefore, green consumerism becomes a necessity to reduce unsustainable consumption which is other cause of the environmental injustice conundrum. The present research endeavour is hence, an attempt to analyse the environmental consequences of fast fashion in India and how international law can be used as a beacon light for Indian environmental legal system.

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