Sales, especially summer sales, are a highly anticipated moment for shoppers. Store windows, both physical and digital, fill up with billboards and ads with tempting discounts, new arrivals and seasonal promotions and consumers rush to hunt for the best deals.
The sales season becomes a real hunting season for the best price. But behind this frenzy of purchases lies a significant environmental impact that often goes unnoticed.
The environmental impact of discounts and promotions
Sales are a marketing strategy used by the fashion industry - especially fast fashion - to clear out warehouses and sell off leftovers from past seasons. Usually, large companies, but also smaller stores, offer high discounts to attract customers and stimulate sales, taking advantage of the general flow of purchases that during the sales season reaches very high peaks. However, this practice has negative consequences for the environment.
One of the main impacts of sales on the environment concerns the production and waste of clothing. The fashion industry is already one of the most polluting in the world: there has been much talk, even in other articles of our blog , of the enormous environmental impact generated by this sector for the production, transport and disposal of clothing products. During sales, the production of new garments increases further in order to satisfy the enormous demand of consumers, produced by the frenetic climate of the season, who are bombarded by promotions and attractive offers, leading to a greater consumption of natural resources, an increase in CO2 emissions and an exponential increase in work for people who are subjected to work rhythms that are normally unethical and suffocating.
The fashion industry machine never rests. During the sales season it increases its production cycle, burning important resources available in limited quantities.
Sales contribute to the phenomenon of "compulsive shopping". The tempting offers and the atmosphere of unbridled shopping push consumers to buy more than they actually need. This leads to the impulsive purchase of clothes that may remain unused or be thrown away after a few uses. The result is a huge waste of clothing, which ends up polluting ecosystems and filling landfills.
Another environmental impact of sales concerns the materials used in the production of garments. Often, during sales, cheap and low-quality materials are preferred to reduce production costs, which are already at very low levels. The huge companies therefore prefer synthetic materials, such as polyester and acrylic - derived from petroleum - which require a large amount of fossil energy to be produced and are among the most difficult to recycle, which is why their disposal often causes the release and formation of microplastics in the environment, in soils and seas that are our source of food supply.
Active discounts, but not on the environment
As conscious consumers, it is important to consider the environmental impact of sales and look for more sustainable alternatives.
A good example would be to adopt a conscious shopping approach, buying only what we actually need: seasonal offers and promotions are a way to save on purchases that we already intend to make.
We can then decide to choose garments made with sustainable, certified materials with a low environmental impact. It is therefore important to try to continue purchasing, especially during the sales season, clothing and accessories in stores that throughout the year are committed to ensuring ethical and eco-sustainable standards in the fashion sector, which sell quality garments, made with natural and recyclable fibers.
In conclusion, the fashion industry's summer sales have a significant impact on the environment, contributing to clothing production and waste, increased CO2 emissions, and the use of unsustainable materials. As consumers, it is important to be aware of these impacts and adopt a more sustainable shopping approach.
We must not make any concessions on the quality of the products, nor on the lives of the workers of this industry. It is good to remember that even as simple buyers we participate in a production cycle that has far-reaching consequences.
In this way, we can help reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and promote more responsible and eco-friendly fashion.