Georgiana Nason (O 22): Impact of Fast Fashion on The Atacama Desert, Chile

The Atacama Desert, located in the North of Chile, is one of the driest places on earth and hosts a giant landfill of illegally discarded clothes that are imported via the port of Iquique. According to the most recent UN figures, Chile is the third largest importer of second-hand clothes in the world with over 66,000 tonnes dumped in the Atacama. Most of the garments received are from the USA and Europe due to the unsustainable fast fashion practices and failure of the industry to implement effective waste management solutions to address the burgeoning environmental challenge. As a result of the free trade zone in Iquique and limited regulations, significant quantities of textiles are disposed of in the Atacama desert.  

Having watched the Simon Reeve documentary about South America, I developed an interest in the mountainous landfill site outside the remote port city of Iquique – I was shocked by how the visual prominence of the thousands of tonnes of clothes encapsulated the extent of the contemporary fast fashion crisis. Consequently, I was intrigued to learn more about the issue, and so I developed a network of contacts in Chile so that I could investigate more dimensions of this global scale crisis.   

When in Chile, I collaborated with a variety of individuals and organisations to enrich my understanding of this topic. I conducted interviews with charities working on recycling clothes from the clothing dump such as Ecocitex, Desierto Vestido and Ecofibra. Additionally, I interviewed academics and researchers from universities in Santiago to develop my understanding further. Moreover, I visited the British Embassy to learn more about the links between Britain and Chile regarding sustainable future solutions and whether they are working on shifting to focus on elements of the environmental disaster related to fast fashion. Through these various methods and approaches, I managed to disentangle more information to understand how to progress and alleviate the crisis.   

At the British Embassy in Santiago, I met the Climate Change Officer Erika Larsen and the HM Ambassador Lousia de Sousa who discussed the sustainability projects of the Embassy as well as the growing relevance of the fast fashion crisis. They highlighted the challenges within Chilean politics to prioritise environmental policies due to the short-term focus of political cycles. We discussed the role of the youth in overcoming environmental issues but recognised the lack of tangible progress. It was interesting to hear about the embassy’s work on carbon tax, green buildings, the clean air agenda and reducing carbon emissions.   

However, they highlighted how the UK-Chile Climate Agenda has not prioritised fast fashion due to a lack of human resources and the inherently limited capacity to control all concerns: due to the limited scope of policies that can be targeted by the embassy in Chile, there is less of a focus on the fast fashion crisis. 

I concluded from the discussion that other countries need to take responsibility for the escalating fashion crisis in Chile as most of the clothes are imported from other countries. There is certainly a need for stricter regulations in the Iquique port zone. Yet the issue also must be mitigated by reducing overconsumption of clothes. For example, we discussed the potential benefits of tracking the clothes so that the main drivers of the problem could be revealed. By improving regulations on fast fashion via a legal route they believe more success can be achieved.  

It is challenging for consumers to alter their behaviour because it can be more expensive and less accessible to buy second-hand clothes. Therefore, producers must be held responsible. They discussed how the youth in Chile have similar values to the youth in the UK in terms of rejecting fast fashion and focusing on sustainability – it was interesting to draw this parallel between the youth across the world. We also talked about the fluctuating focus of the global media meaning that although the clothes deposit in the Atacama went viral, the attention shift means awareness of the crisis remains limited.   

To truly suppress the problem, they illuminated the need for a fast fashion team and more human and government resources to raise community awareness, target large producers and improve regulations. They touched on the relevance of circular economy approaches – Santiago is a leader within this area having been labelled as a circular economy hotspot. Therefore, there are great opportunities for Chile to harness to make a difference and have a tangible impact. Overall, my discussion with the embassy members was fascinating and I learned about many new dimensions of the problem as well as the Chilean context of the issue.    

Having met a variety of organisations and individuals and culminated their various perspectives, I decided that it was vital to reflect on my view of the most effective solutions to the crisis. As a member of the younger generation I am constantly exposed to the marketing techniques of large fast fashion companies through social media and influencers. Simultaneously, I am exposed to the expanding second-hand clothing market which encourages more sustainable consumption through companies such as Vinted and Depop which many of my age group actively participate in.   

I have concluded that a collaborative combined approach would be the most constructive way to trigger change. This would involve multiple actors including consumers, producers and those upcycling clothes. I would say that through pressurising large producers and undermining their influence the problem could be mitigated. But this will have to be partly facilitated by the consumers who drive the success of the large fast fashion companies. Therefore, individual behaviour shifts are essential because of how consumers can impact the large producers. I think an effective approach would be continuing to raise awareness about the detrimental impacts of fast fashion particularly through heightening awareness of Atacama Desert clothes deposit. I hope in a small way that I’ve made a contribution to increasing awareness through my trip to Chile and be talking to many people in both Chile and the UK about the problem. Alongside these shifts I believe that larger-scale upcycling and recycling of clothes needs to occur. 

Therefore, due to the complexity of the fast fashion crisis and globalisation of the supply chain, I believe the solutions must also be multifaceted:  

My generation must take some responsibility and alter consumption patterns in order to drive large fast fashion companies to reflect on their unsustainable practices. My own experience is that fast fashion companies initiatives are largely tokenistic and can be viewed as green washing.  

The Chilean government must also take more responsibility too and introduce stronger legislation to improve the Chilean border regulations and foster more upcycling of clothes that have already been deposited.   

Overall, I had a fascinating trip where I truly enriched my knowledge on the fast fashion crisis; by engaging with a variety of different individuals and organisations as well as immersing myself within the local area, I expanded my understanding significantly. I would love to continue exploring the fast fashion crisis and through the connections I established in Chile continue to engage with innovative solutions to mitigate the issue. I believe that our generation has a key responsibility so through remaining engaged with the crisis I would like to try and raise awareness and alleviate the challenges through shifting perceptions and identifying the direct impacts of society’s unsustainable actions.   

I would not have been able to have such a successful visit to Chile without the help of many people but a particular thanks should go to Wellington College for supporting me and the Anglo Chilean Society for making vital connections for me in Chile such as the British Embassy and some of the key individuals, both British and Chilean, helping to solve this global problem which unfortunately manifests itself in this beautiful country.