The Struggle with Fast Fashion
What is Fast Fashion?
In a nutshell, it’s cheap & trendy clothing made at an incredibly fast rate in order to reach consumers at its height of popularity. Some well known fast fashion brands are Forever 21, Fashion Nova, and Zara to name a few. These big brands typically create pieces that are similar to high end runway fashion and what’s most popular in the media with celebrities. A major problem with this fashion model is that because these items are made at a fast pace and for a cheap rate, the quality is usually lower. Lower quality garments result in consumers getting rid of them quicker because they simply won’t withstand the test of time (e.g. the washer & dryer). While some will donate their old clothes to places like goodwill, the sad truth is that a lot of that clothing still ends up in landfill. Goodwill has more donations than they know what to do with and they do not resell all of it, they can’t. The culture fueled by fast fashion typically pushes buyers to always want what’s new and to buy way more often than they need to. So not only are we buying low quality garments that won’t last long, we’re buying them at an alarmingly fast rate. Because we consume so much, manufactures produce even more and this has made the fashion industry one of the biggest polluters.
What is Sustainable Fashion?
Sustainable fashion takes into account the way clothing is made, by whom, how it’s marketed, and how it’s disposed of. There are several different forms of sustainable fashion that all offer their own pros and cons but are much better options when looking at the bigger picture of sustainability. In contrast with fast fashion one major difference is that sustainable pieces of clothing are high quality and timeless in design. Think of your wardrobe staples, you can wear them for years to come and they never go out of style. The high quality aspect of the design means the clothing will last much longer than fast fashion pieces. Another form(s) of sustainable fashion is clothing that is vintage or secondhand, upcycled or redesigned, and rented or swapped. Now, I realize that a lot of people are turned off by the sound of these more sustainable fashion options because who doesn’t love something new and shiny. However, keep in mind that fashion goes in cycles. What was once popular or trendy, will soon go out of style and what was once out of style will eventually come back around in one way or another. Many designers are exceptionally talented at making old designs new again and there are more than a few options for alterations. Lastly, sustainable fashion considers where and how the textiles are produced to make the clothing. The fair treatment of garment workers and the origin of dyes of the clothes that they’re making is crucial to being more socially responsible in the fashion industry.
The Solution?
First, let me say that I am not the solution. I honestly am not the most sustainable person when it comes to fashion or other aspects of my life for that matter. If you aren’t either, don’t feel bad! And if you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking well what am I supposed to do about an industry so far gone at this point. To that, I would say when you know better, do better. Now that doesn’t mean throw away all of your fast fashion purchases to rid yourself of guilt. In fact, do the opposite, keep them all! If you can’t fit it anymore try to find a specific person to give it to. If you’ve had it for years and hate it now, see if you can use pieces of it to create something new. Going forward try and purchase more high quality items that you can see yourself wearing for years to come. If you do purchase from fast fashion brands, try to purchase less often and take care with how you wash them so that they last as long as possible. I’ll be completely honest, I’ve had some clothing from fast fashion places that have lasted me much longer than they should have simply because I washed them in cool water and didn’t put them in the dryer. [Honestly, the dryer is your enemy when it comes to a lot of clothing pieces, HANG to dry or dry on LOW! Thank me later.] Long story short, there is no one simple solution to this issue but we can all continuously make better choices and changes to our daily habits that will have a positive impact on the future.
