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Peer Reviewed
The Health Impact of Fast Fashion: Exploring Toxic Chemicals in Clothing and Textiles
This is a peer-reviewed entry published in Encyclopedia Journal, full entry can be found at 10.3390/encyclopedia5020084

The fashion industry is widely recognized for its environmental challenges, but the health impacts related to textile toxicity remain significantly underexplored. Beyond the well-known issues of pollution and resource depletion, modern clothing often harbors a hidden threat: hazardous chemicals embedded within fabrics. These include dyes containing heavy metals, antimicrobial agents that foster bacterial resistance, and synthetic fibers that release microplastics. Unlike environmental discussions, the dialogue around the direct and long-term health effects of these substances is still limited. This entry addresses critical yet often-overlooked concerns, such as how chemicals in textiles contribute to chronic skin conditions, hormonal disruptions, and even carcinogenic risks. It also examines the proliferation of bacteria in synthetic garments, leading to dermatological infections and rapid fabric degradation. Furthermore, the globalized nature of production masks the contamination risks transferred from producer to consumer countries. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this entry highlights the urgent need for integrating scientific innovation, stringent regulation, and consumer awareness to mitigate health hazards in fashion. It calls for the adoption of safer textile technologies, sustainable materials, and transparent production practices, paving the way for a fashion future that prioritizes human health as much as environmental sustainability.

textile toxicity chemical pollution health risks sustainable fashion antimicrobial resistance microplastics fast fashion consumer safety
The fashion industry is one of the most environmentally damaging sectors globally, contributing significantly to pollution through multiple channels, including water contamination, carbon emissions, and textile waste [1][2]. Among its most severe environmental impacts, textile production is responsible for approximately 20% of global clean water pollution due to dyeing and finishing processes [3][4] and contributes substantially to global wastewater pollution [5][6][7]. Additionally, the industry accounts for 35% of oceanic primary microplastics, equivalent to approximately 190,000 tons annually. Fashion production is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for between 8% [7][8] and 10% [7][9][10] of global CO₂ emissions. Emissions from textile manufacturing are projected to increase by 60% by 2030 [11]. Moreover, the industry generates an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste per year, a figure expected to rise to 134 million tons annually by 2030 [12]. Fast fashion production also involves the extensive use of hazardous chemicals, accounting for a quarter of the world’s toxic chemical consumption. For instance, dyeing just 1 kg of textile material requires an average of 449 g of chemicals [13].
This environmental damage is directly linked to the fast fashion business model, characterized by mass-produced clothing distributed on a global scale. Modeled similarly to fast-food chains, this approach prioritizes speed and low prices, ensuring that trends move swiftly from the runway to consumers while simultaneously promoting short-term usage and disposability [14][15], with broader consequences extending beyond pollution. As a result, fast fashion not only exacerbates environmental harm but also perpetuates a cycle of overproduction and waste, amplifying the associated health risks of it.
Although the ecological consequences of fast fashion have been widely acknowledged by researchers [14][16][17][18] and recognized by international organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union [19][20][21], the discussions surrounding its impact on human health remain largely overlooked. Existing research on the subject remains scarce, leaving critical gaps in understanding how exposure to fast fashion products affects human health [22][23].
The highly globalized nature of the fashion industry further complicates these concerns, as its intricate supply chains span multiple continents [18]. The production of a single garment may involve cotton cultivation in China, India, or Pakistan; the production of wood-based fibers in Brazil or Russia; and the manufacturing of synthetic fibers in the United States (U.S.), Southeast Asia, or the Middle East. The process continues through yarn production in China or India, textile manufacturing in Turkey or South Korea, garment assembly in Bangladesh or Vietnam, and finally, retail distribution in Europe or the U.S. [18]. At the end of its lifecycle, the garment often ends up in landfills or secondhand markets across both developing and developed regions, including Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America [18][24]. This long and complex supply chain makes it exceedingly difficult to track and monitor the full scope of environmental and health impacts at every stage.
The fashion industry’s global supply chain is both vast and opaque, spanning multiple continents and concealing the chemical-intensive processes used in textile production. As production cycles accelerate, tracing supply chains becomes increasingly challenging, further distancing consumers from the realities of how their clothing is made. This lack of transparency benefits corporations reliant on outsourcing, impeding regulation and limiting consumer awareness of environmental damage, exploitative labor practices, and toxic chemicals present in their garments. From raw material cultivation to finished products, each stage exposes workers and consumers to harmful substances [25][26]. Addressing these hidden risks is essential, as they pose serious health and environmental consequences that demand stronger regulatory oversight and public scrutiny.
A key consequence of the fashion industry’s opaque supply chains is the widespread exposure of workers to hazardous chemicals at multiple stages of production. In cotton fields, laborers regularly encounter pesticides and herbicides, often suffering from acute poisoning, chronic illnesses, and long-term environmental harm [27][28][29]. Factory workers who process textiles face similar dangers, handling synthetic dyes, formaldehyde, and flame retardants that can lead to respiratory issues, skin irritation, and even cancer [23][26] In garment assembly plants, finishing treatments involving phthalates and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) further expose workers to toxic substances [30][31]. These chemicals do not disappear after production; they remain embedded in the fabrics, posing ongoing health risks to consumers through skin contact [32].
Amid growing awareness of the environmental impacts of fast fashion, the equally concerning presence of hazardous chemicals in garments remains largely overlooked. The industry’s globalized nature obscures these harmful processes, leaving consumers largely unaware of the toxic substances in their garments or the exploitative working conditions under which they are produced [25][26]. This lack of transparency benefits major fashion corporations, allowing them to prioritize profit over worker safety and environmental sustainability while keeping consumers disconnected from the realities of production [31].
This entry aims to highlight the health hazards associated with the fashion industry and the fast fashion production model, drawing attention to an underexplored dimension of its negative impacts, an area that has received limited scholarly and public attention to date.

Toxic Chemicals in the Clothing Production Chain: How Chemicals Infiltrate Our Wardrobe

Toxic chemicals permeate every stage of fabric production, from the moment a cotton seed is planted to the final touches on a garment. Although cotton crops cover only 2.4% of the world’s cultivated land, they account for 6% of global pesticide use, more than any other crop [29]. In addition to pesticides, synthetic dyes and finishing agents introduce hazardous substances into textiles. Azo dyes, a class of synthetic nitrogen-based dyes, are commonly used for textile coloring, while finishing treatments often include formaldehyde, NPEs, phthalates, alkanes, benzyl benzoate, benzophenone, biphenyl compounds, butylated hydroxytoluene, and other chemicals. These substances provide assets properties such as wrinkle resistance and flame retardancy, while also reducing production costs, further accelerating the pace of fast fashion [23][32][33][34].
As fast fashion becomes increasingly rapid in production and distribution cycles, toxic chemicals are infiltrating wardrobes worldwide, posing risks to both consumers and garment workers. A striking example is the recent safety tests conducted by South Korean authorities in May 2024, which revealed that children’s products from SHEIN contained dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals used to soften plastics. These included phthalates, which are known to cause hormonal disruptions, heart disease, fertility issues, and even cancer. One pair of shoes tested contained 428-times the permitted level of phthalates, the highest concentration ever recorded in the Seoul tests, while three handbags contained 153-times the legal limit. Similar safety tests of products from Temu and AliExpress showed that 43% of the 90 children’s products examined, including watches, clay sets, toys, and pencils, contained hazardous substances [35][36].
This is not the first time SHEIN has been implicated in toxic product scandals. In 2022, comedian and fashion blogger Sarah Holcomb claimed in a viral video that SHEIN nail products poisoned her, resulting in an emergency room visit. The controversy gained further traction after an independent investigation by Greenpeace Germany. The study analyzed 47 items purchased from SHEIN websites across five countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland), including clothing and footwear for men, women, children, and infants. The results revealed that 15 of these items (32%) contained hazardous chemicals in alarming concentrations, while 7 products exceeded EU regulatory limits, 5 of them by 100% or more [37].
Additional research has confirmed widespread contamination in fast fashion products. A 2021 investigation by CBC News, conducted in collaboration with climate chemist Miriam Diamond from the University of Toronto, tested 38 children’s and adult products from SHEIN, ZAFUL, and AliExpress. The findings were concerning: one in five items contained high levels of toxic chemicals, including lead and multiple types of phthalates [38].

Environmental and Health Consequences for Global South Communities

The impact of these toxic chemicals extends beyond consumers, disproportionately affecting communities in clothing manufacturing regions, primarily in the Global South—generally economically less developed countries located primarily in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania. Many of these communities bear the brunt of environmental health hazards due to unregulated exposure to textile industry pollutants [5]. For example, in Cambodia, where the fashion industry accounted for 88% of all industrial manufacturing as of 2008, textile production was responsible for an estimated 60% of national water pollution [39].
The environmental matter of fast fashion does not end at the factory gates. Even after production, these garments continue to pose health hazards, particularly in regions where secondhand clothing accumulates in vast quantities. In West Africa and Latin America, where secondhand clothing is usually shipped from Europe, U.S., and Canada, it is common for retailers to burn unsellable items to avoid waste disposal fees. This leads to severe air pollution, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among local populations. Burning garment waste also releases highly toxic substances, including dioxins, known carcinogens, if combustion conditions are not carefully managed [9][40]. Additionally, discarded clothing—often designated to the Global South—contains hazardous chemicals such as chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, and ammonia, along with heavy metals, polyvinyl chloride (largely known as PVC), and resins used in dyeing and printing processes. The improper disposal of these textiles exacerbates environmental contamination and public health risks, reinforcing the urgent need for stricter regulations and industry accountability [9][41].

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