The Rise of Fast Fashion
In recent years, fast fashion has dominated the clothing market with its fast and cheap products. But as its true costs come to light, people turn to more eco-friendly fashion that offers sustainable and ethical fashion choices.
Fast fashion is the mass production of trendy clothing that’s sold at a low cost. The clothing is manufactured quickly and seen as cheap, so stores like Shein, H&M, and Fashion Nova sell them for what seems to be a bargain. But, these stores thrive on current trends that shoppers love and want to buy, and encourage people to buy new clothes frequently, wear them once or twice, before replacing them with the newest apparel.
Teenagers and children are the most influenced by fast fashion because they find clothing from these stores affordable and trendy. Customers often buy from fast fashion companies because they’re often the only affordable places for clothing. But trends change frequently, and that’s what fast fashion stores thrive on.
Over recent years, many have highlighted the harms of fast fashion. For example, when these fast fashion stores get a shipment of clothing to sell, they succeed when most of their clothing is sold. But, any leftover clothing ends up in landfills or is incinerated. From their production to their destruction, these products pollute the earth, especially with the dyes and chemicals they’re made with.
And the people who produce this clothing, who work with these chemicals, have a higher risk of developing cancer and other health issues, as well as being more likely to be exploited for their labor.
These are just a couple of ways fast fashion harms people and the environment.
The Side Effects of Fast Fashion
The Human Toll
In Mykhail Helm’s article, ‘Beneath the Seams: The Human Toll of Fast Fashion,’ he explains, “Millions of workers are trapped in a relentless cycle of exploitation, fueling an industry that depends on their labor but ignores their rights.”
“Fast fashion is one of the most labor-intensive industries, with each piece of clothing handmade along a complex supply chain that stretches across countries in the global south, such as Bangladesh, India, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia,” Helm writes. “These nations and others supply low-cost labor that fast fashion demands.”
Moreover, “The industry employs approximately 75 million factory workers worldwide, yet less than 2% earn a living wage. Garment workers endure unsafe conditions, wage theft, exhausting hours, minimal pay, and gender-based harassment.”
Environmental Toll
Leftover fast fashion clothing ends up in large piles of landfills, which leads to textile waste on the planet. All these piles lay sitting while the fast fashion companies continue this process every year. The chemicals used in the process are leeched into the surrounding ground and water, poisoning the land and the people living around the area.
Martina Igini’s article, ‘10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics,’ says, “Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. To put things in perspective, this means that the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up on landfill sites every second. If the trend continues, the number of fast fashion waste is expected to soar up to 134 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade.”
In March, Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy and announced that all of its stores in America were closing down. The reason is that other fast fashion companies like Shein and Temu are outshining Forever 21 in sales. This shows the overwhelming rate at which more fast fashion companies are rapidly increasing and conquering the market over the years.
Benefits of Eco-Friendly Fashion
Fashion trends have cultivated the world for centuries because people love to express and present themselves through their attire. But where they acquire their clothing is a major topic of discussion. Eco-friendly fashion involves buying from stores and people who sell their clothing and merchandise as second-hand. This includes local businesses like thrift stores and antique stores that sell used belongings.
Fun and Affordable
In the past decade, shoppers started seeing thrifting as an affordable and fun hobby. Every day, customers sift through the aisles to find thrifted goods and hidden treasures. Shoppers love the anonymity of not knowing what they will find and are filled with excitement when finding unique items.
Shoppers can also donate their belongings to the store, so ideally, nothing goes to waste. But, for this to work, people have to do more than just donate old belongings; they have to shop at the thrift stores too. Otherwise, things that aren’t sold are also shipped out to other countries and end up in landfills, too.
Something for Everyone
Thrift stores include sections filled with clothing for everyone of all ages, along with shoes, books, home decor, arts and crafts, and more. Shoppers always find themselves saving money when they thrift. Stores like Savers give you a 20% coupon if you donate your belongings. They will sometimes have a tag color of the day placed on miscellaneous things to offer better deals.
Reducing Emissions and Saving Money
In addition, purchasing goods from a local thrift stores reduces the amount of emissions that would otherwise be produced from ordering clothes and other products online or getting them from a major retailer that ships the product in. Not to mention, with the tariffs being placed on nearly every country, causing imported goods costs to skyrocket, thrifting will help you save money now more than ever.
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Thrifting Becomes Trendy
Now viewed as a trendy, people used to look down upon others if they found out you thrifted your clothing. People viewed you as cheap if you didn’t buy from the mall or big-name stores. Nowadays, things have flipped, and thrifting appears trendier.
Another hobby that thrifters like is reselling. Resellers dig deep into thrift stores to find rare vintage goods to sell for a higher price online. They decipher whether a piece of clothing is vintage or not by the smell, the single stitching, and the actual tag inside the clothing.
People view brands like Harley-Davidson, Levi’s, Juicy Couture, and more as great vintage finds. But they’re often pricey because of how long they’ve lasted. However, resellers are not well-liked in the thrifting community because they use the word “vintage” as an advantage to raise the price on any merchandise that is more than twenty years old.
This also reduces the sustainability aspect of thrifting as resellers ship their thrifted items. Meaning it’s much more impactful to thrift your own clothes than to buy thrifted clothes resold online.
A Local Take on Eco-Friendly Fashion
Velma Campbell is a co-owner of the Red Kat Vintage shop. She shared some of her views about eco-friendly fashion.
“I love eco-friendly fashion. My shop is a passion for me, and I live my life as an eco-friendly person. As an owner, I truly care about my customers, and I have a good relationship with them. I want my business to contribute to the community by giving people a place to shop sustainably,” she said. “We have 7,000 pieces, and we try to make it affordable for people who find something they love and want to take home.
Campbell went on to say that when it comes to fast fashion, she tries not to judge. “It is nicer when things are made to last longer, so we can pass it down to others. I feel terrible about the millions of clothing in landfills. It’s my mission to not do that, and I’m doing my share of keeping all my clothing out of landfills.”
#GetinMotion to Shop Eco-Friendly Fashion
We must be careful where we purchase our clothing from because it can have an everlasting impact on us and our planet. Sustainable shopping like thrifting, is a great way to make a difference, and it influences others to do the same.
If you love thrifting or anything that is sustainable shopping, you can shop at the Red Kat Vintage and other local thrift stores and vintage shops to reduce your carbon footprint.
You can also look into doing clothing swaps with friends, neighbors, and your community, as well as learn how to repair clothing and sew. Nothing is more unique than making your very own clothes. And, you can use things you find while thrifting to make an entirely new outfit!
And, learn more about thrifting and the history of fast fashion in some of the magazine’s previous articles on the subject.
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