No one needs another $7 T-shirt.

Some of us would rather stumble to our car, arms overflowing with groceries, rather than admit we forgot our reusable bags. Yet we don’t think twice about purchasing yet another $7 T-shirt. How are the two connected? Let me explain.

Nobody needs a $7 T-shirt — especially not the planet.

That $7 T-shirt is made out of synthetic fibres, so while you think it is a great buy — you’ve bought a single-use plastic bag in disguise and are supporting the polluting fast fashion industry.

To keep costs down, most fast fashion clothing items are made out of synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon that are… you guessed it, plastic! You may be familiar with the term ‘micro-fibres’ and, in fact, synthetic fabric is where most of the micro-fibres in our environment come from.

When fabrics are exposed to friction, just through daily wear and tear, the plastic in them breaks up into tiny strands called micro-fibres. So every time you wash your polyester top or your polar fleece, you are draining plastic micro-fibres into our waterways.

Global studies have shown that 9 out of 10 fish ingest microplastics and that we consume enough plastic to make a credit card every week. I don’t know about you, but that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Unlike traditional fashion brands that release four seasonal collections, the fast fashion industry aims to release 52 micro-seasons in a year. That is one collection every week, with the sole purpose of creating trendy clothes, cheap enough to entice you to fill your closet.

We are conditioned to think that new is best. But new things, especially cheap new things, are a big part of why our world is drowning in rubbish.

Yes, absolutely, more affordable clothing is a necessity for the many families who are struggling day-to-day. This is not aimed at those of you who fit into this categoru — you do what you need to to survive. I am talking to the people who buy a new dress everytime you go out for dinner, or a new pair of pants every second weekend. Those who buy new PJs for a pajama party, or a onesie just because it’s cuter than your other one. I get the appeal, I do, but please, for the love of our planet and people, think before you buy more.

Fast fashion is a crippling industry, both environmentally and ethically. It is responsible for producing 20 per cent of our global wastewater and uses 93 billion cubic metres of water annually. That is enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people every year, according to The World Bank.

The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change too, responsible for more than 10 per cent of annual global carbon emissions, more than all air travel and maritime shipping combined.

The World Bank states that at this pace, the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50 per cent by 2030.

It is the second most polluting industry in the world, after oil.

Why does this matter? Our lives depend on water, it’s that simple. Water covers 71 per cent of the Earth, but despite its abundance, only 0.3 per cent is accessible or able to be consumed by humans. By 2025, water shortages are expected to impact almost two billion people through sickness and conflict as they resort to polluted water and fight for ownership.

Further estimates indicate that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water-stressed regions by this time. Are you starting to re-think that $7 T-shirt?

Natural fibres are not free of water concerns either. Cotton is an incredibly land, pesticide and water-thirsty material.

Other natural fibre options such as bamboo, hemp and hessian have lower environmental impacts but if we switched all of our textile production to bamboo, cotton, hessian and hemp, and continued the same level of production, we would need an incredible amount of land — much more than we have.

Fast fashion items also have a deeper, darker cost that you can’t read on the tags. 40 million people work in the garment industry today and most of them do not have the same workers’ rights or protections that we have in New Zealand.

They often deal with hazardous substances and unsafe production processes. Cases of underpaid, overworked and underage labour within the production line of many of the world’s largest fast fashion names is not uncommon.

In 2013, a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed due to structural failure killing 1134 people and injuring 2500. This is not an isolated case of innocent lives being taken or the violation of workers’ rights in the name of fashion.

Fast fashion should no longer be supported. Throw your support behind brands that have more thoughtful processes with ethical supply chains and conscious material selection.

So what can we do? No need to go out and start making your own clothes (though that would be great!) and you don’t need to go without in the name of the environment. But there are changes you can make that will collectively have an impact.

· Think twice before you buy. Consider what you already own before buying something new.

· Shop natural fibres. Natural fibres often last longer and won’t end up polluting our waterways. There are plenty of other options for fabric fibres such as wool, bamboo, hemp and even new discoveries like pinatex (leather made from pineapple leaves). Mushrooms are proving an interesting source of fibres too, with even some car seats now made of mushroom leather.

· Shop second hand. It saves you money and saves clothing from ending up in landfills. To give perspective on that impact, it takes about 20,000 litres of water to make a single T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

· Rent or borrow. If you have a big event coming up, why not ask your friends or family if they have anything you can borrow or rent. Renting a suit or a dress is often a more cost-effective way or dressing and you will be supporting a local business.

· Ask questions. If you are unsure about what ethical and sustainable policies your favourite brands have, ask them. If their answers sound too generic, do your own investigating.

· Ethical ratings. They aren’t perfect but ethical fashion ratings, such as Tear Fund, are audits carried out by third party organisations that rank a business’ ethical practices.

· Change the way you wash your clothes. If you already own synthetic fibres, spot wash them instead of using a washing machine or use a microfibre catcher bag that will help reduce microfibers in our waterways.

The best thing we can do is stop buying fast fashion all together. If enough people refuse to buy fast fashion then brands will have to start taking notice. Nobody needs a $7 T-shirt — especially not the Earth.