Why Every Purchase You Make Has An Environmental Price Tag

by Julian Stegmann

Online Shopping Return, photo by Julian Stegmann, 2024

A new T-Shirt costs more than you think. And no, we’re not talking about your bank account. The real price tag is higher than what’s on the label. Behind every purchase lies a hidden cost: polluted beaches, overflowing landfills, exploited workers and a climate in crisis. Shopping today is just a click away, but the costs often remain out of sign.

Large amounts of fashion waste have been found on several beaches along Colombia’s Carribean coast (Rangel-Buitrago et al. 2022). The waste harmed the entire beach ecosystem and reduced the quality of the visitor’s experience (Deudero and Alomar 2015; Battisti and Gippoliti 2018). Each square meter of beach contained about 0,93 clothing waste on average (Rangel-Buitrago et al. 2023). The constant cycle of buying and discarding produces a significant amount of waste. Don’t just focus on whether the T-Shirt is trendy but also what happens to it after it’s thrown away.

Only one percent of discarded clothing waste is recycled. Fast fashion leads people to buy more fashion and discard them sooner. After Europeans discard their clothing, it is mostly sent to countries in the Global South where it must be burned or stored in landfills (European Parliament 2025). We can only shop and throw away like this in Europe because it comes at the expense of other countries and millions of people pay the price for our cheap fashion.

There are no fair wages or labour rights in fashion production. Millions of workers in the Global South are exploited by fashion companies. The companies try to hide these practices. People who want to change something are fired. In some factories, workers are physically punished to make them keep working (Hinzmann 2025). Millions are systematically exploited by the fashion industry and even though we know this nothing changes. Companies must be required to take responsibility for their production.

Fashion companies are not environmentally friendly. The fashion industry contributes to chemical pollution, CO2 emissions and excessive water consumption (Niinimäki et al. 2020). Fashion products should not be taken for granted. The entire production process should be questioned. Every single purchase or non-purchase counts.

More and more consumers are becoming interested on environmental impact. They care about the future and use their purchasing decisions to make a change (Butler 2018). This trend will keep growing and will not be stopped by current economic problems. Fashion Companies that care about the environment will gain long-term trust from their customers. Fast Fashion’s low prices come with a price tag that we don’t always see. Exploited workers and the damaged environment are the ones who truly pay the price. It’s important to reflect on our actions. Small changes can lead to significant improvements.

Bibliography:

Battisti, C., Gippoliti, S.  (2018). Not just trash! Anthropogenic marine litter as a ‘charismatic threat’ driving citizen-based conservation management actions. Animal Conservation

Butler, A. (2018). Do Customers Really Care About Your Environmental Impact? Forbes New York Business Council

Deudero, S., Alomar, C. (2015). Mediterranean marine biodiversity under threat: reviewing influence of marine litter on species. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears

European Parliament. (2020). Umweltauswirkungen von Textilproduktion und -abfällen (Infografik). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/de/article/20201208STO93327/

umweltauswirkungen-von-textilproduktion-und-abfallen-infografik, April 9, 2025

Hinzmann, B. (2009) https://www.bpb.de/themen/recht-justiz/dossier-menschenrechte/38751/arbeits-und-menschenrechte-in-der-textilindustrie/, The Federal Agency of Civic Education, April 9, 2025

Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P. Rissanen, T., Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment 1, 189–200

Rangel-Buitrago, N., Williams, A., Micallef, A., Neal, W., Pilkey, O. (2022). Not all that glitters is gold: Can the real scenic value of the Colombian Caribbean coast be restored? Ocean & Coastal Management, 227

BIO:

Julian Stegmann is a young economist focused on Human Resources & Innovation Management. He completed his studies in Business Administration and Economics at the Technical University of Dortmund. His work in fashion retail, insurance and the social sector has given him the versatility to adapt quickly and create innovative strategies across industries.