In today’s world, millennials and Generation Z individuals have built up a society that is fashion forward and fashion focused. Through the abstract and embracive styles, there has also been a push to expand the variety of clothing options in your closet, along with constant swapping of clothing items.
Within this idea, there has been much controversy over fast fashion brands and the ethical issues surrounding them. Fast fashion brands are those that can significantly increase the rate of production of clothing making the decision to purchase, the supply, the delivery, and the fashion trend all happen fast. While the convince of this idea is in the liking of many, the ultimate effects of this consumer-producer relationship is toxic for many.
The pressures that arise from solely the cheap prices of clothing is a problem within itself. Customers are more pressured to buy more items or continuously purchase items to stay “on trend” with the low prices, which in return forces the production line to make bulk amounts of clothes in addition to producing new styles to stay trendy.
This pattern of constant need, has lead to the underlying label of fast fashion as, “disposable fashion.” Within an article provided by Ethical Consumer, a statistic was listed that in 2019 it was reported that Generation Z individuals wear a clothing article about 14 times before getting rid of it, but some surveyed considered wearing an article once or twice was enough. Aside from the fact that the pressures to stay updated on the latest fashion causes this belief, fast fashion companies are also not creating durable clothing leading to a large waste factor from the use of fast fashion.
Brands such as Shein, Forever 21, H&M, Zara, Fashion Nova, Primark, etc. all have this reputation of giving customers that look that they want to achieve for several uses and then never wear it again. But why are these brands so popular if they are known to cause sustainable issues in society?
Now more than ever between the economy and the reality of being stuck in a pandemic, people have been forced to do more online shopping and also find the best deals to conserve money. Fast fashion companies are the prime vendors to serve society right now due to the vulnerability of wanting something to feel like a human in society, while also maintaining a healthy wallet. While there are growing motivations to stop these companies, the alternatives are no where close to competing with the reality of society at this time.
Some of the proposed solutions against fast fashion have been finding more ethical clothing brands to support, buying higher quality items but less often, participating in a clothing swap, renting clothes, and repurposing or recycling items. All these are all solutions that are very much doable, but just like fast fashion come with several consequences.
Before getting into one of the largest proposed solutions today, a quick overview of some of the consequences are the price to participate in these alternatives (especially in buying higher quality items or the cost it takes to constantly drive to donate/swap clothes). Most of these solutions combat the ethicality of fast fashion brands and work to achieve a more appropriate fashion world, yet once again with the reality of COVID-19 not everyone has the income to support these companies even with the small business movements.
Moreover, one of the biggest alternatives to fast fashion brands recently, has been the rise of thrifting. Through both donating clothes to thrift store such as Goodwill or Plato’s Closet, a large population of millennial and Generation Z individuals have found a new sense of fashion. The reputation of thrift stores have gone from something that is a last resort to a goldmine for anyone looking to spice up their closet or find expensive clothes for cheap without supporting fast fashion.
Within this movement, there has even been a rise in online thrift stores or second hand stores that allow people to online shop with the pandemic and still not support fast fashion. Although the shipping process still seems costly to the environment, a study done by MIT found that online shipping is more eco-friendly then shopping at brick-and-mortar stores due to the decrease in fuel emissions. Ultimately, online shipping includes a truck taking multiple orders to various people. While fuel is still being emitted, it is significantly less than a truck delivering goods to a store to sell to then have individual customers each take a mode of transportation to and from the store to shop.
Companies such as ThredUP, Poshmark, Depop, even Facebook Marketplace are all brands that are utilized by those who are reversing the fast fashion pressures on society right now.
Another company that I personally want to remark on as an uprising trend is through the means of renting clothing to wear for an event and then sending it back rather than buying it to never wear again. Rent the Runway is an online clothing company full of various styles, sizes, and types of clothing. Personally, I rented a dress for homecoming in high school from them and it was one of the best decisions I made compared to the other homecoming dress that I bought and have just hanging in my closet.
Overall, the current reality of society being influenced by the younger generations along with the COVID-19 pandemic, has effect many areas of life, but more specifically the sustainable and not-so-sustainable effects of fashion recently. Although it has been strongly encouraged lately to stop supporting fast fashion companies and start supporting local, small, and more ethical fashion brands, the reality of the economy and societal pressures has made the movement of canceling fast fashion more difficult. In the end, I believe that there is a movement to be made to start a more progressive wave away from fast fashion, yet I too fall into the trap sometimes. My strongest recommendation to do this is to research and find companies with realistic values to begin supporting. A website that I found that goes over online second-hand clothing stores that are sustainable is: https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-fashion/best-online-thrift-stores/
Sources:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/fast-fashion-how-to-be-sustainable/
Hey Elizabeth, I loved this blog post. It’s great how you fused a fun topic like fashion with an analytical spin on a growing problem. As someone who is not a big shopper, I never really thought about buying “disposable” clothes, since I usually buy more durable articles that last for years. Of course, I am somewhat of a victim when occasionally splurging on something, but aren’t we all? I would agree that some of the stores you listed are pretty cheap, both from a monetary and fabric standpoint, and I am also curious as to why people are so driven to get the latest material from these places specifically. The solutions you offered to fix this issue are great; a couple of my friends are into thrifting and they have some of the best styles. It’s also nice that you can speak personally about this topic and your success story of renting your homecoming dress makes these smaller businesses more credible and pretty much worth it. I will definitely consider alternative clothing store options in the future, so thank you for this inciteful post!
Hi Elizabeth! Great post. I have to be honest, I have definitely fallen victim to the fast fashion trends around. My excuse is that it’s cheaper, but like you said cheaper cost also means cheaper quality! I once bought leggings from Forever 21 and as soon as I tried them on, I literally ripped through them with my own hands! I thought that was insane. I am a huge Plato’s Closet fan. I was able to get 2 pairs of jeans for $24 once and if you compare that to the price you pay at American Eagle for one pair of jeans…well let’s just say it’s a pretty big difference. Rent the Runway sounds like something I might even be interested in too! I find that the people who support thrifting and more sustainable fashion tend to have a better fashion sense than me, so I think it’s worth it to try something new in that sense. I really enjoyed your input about this topic and thought you provided reasonable alternatives rather. Thank you for all of the great information and I look forward to your future blogs!