my notes on fast fashion

a.m.
Sep 24, 2019
5 min read

i took some time to learn about the fast fashion industry... you should too.

in what will perhaps be the most hypocritical piece i ever write, i needed to take the time to research and share about the fast fashion industry. i have been overwhelmed with a sudden interest in learning about this industry and the damage that it is doing to our planet. with discussions on climate becoming more common every day it is time for the world to take a step back and realize that metal straws are not going to make a significant enough impact on the way our planet is deteriorating.

fast fashion is a concept that has been picked up by affordable clothing brands to move the styles from the catwalk to your closet as quickly as they can before the style is old and people are wanting something new. hence, the name fast fashion. companies are willing to get these pieces out into stores and into our hands as cheaply and as quickly as they can because with technology in this age we are able to move to and from different trends within days. these brands rely on replication, rapid production, low-quality fabrics and materials, and cheap/unethical labor to get clothing out to the public for as little a cost to the company as possible.

the fashion industry has quickly risen to become one of the leading causes of pollution on our planet. the fast fashion industry, in particular, shows no signs of slowing down and eventually, it is probable it will become one of the main sources of earth's pollution if we do not begin to change what we buy. why is fast fashion such a big polluter? as the fads come and go so quickly brands are left with overwhelming amounts of clothing that they do not sell and don’t know what to do with. while many companies are “recycling” this new, unused clothing it still ends up in landfills. according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, one garbage truck of textiles is taken to the landfill every second. this is the impact that these

fast fashion brands are having on pollution. on the consumer side of this issue, people look for high fashion at low costs, which is why the fast fashion industry has grown so rapidly. when consumers begin to see the same clothing trends in stores for affordable prices that they have seen being worn by fashion icons in the media, it is hard to not give in and to want to be a part of the trends. however, the issue with this is that as the trends are changing so quickly we find ourselves to become buried with clothing and need to get rid of it or, since the clothing is being made so cheaply and with low-quality materials, the clothing tends to fall apart and be useless much faster.

after taking a deep dive into ethical beauty influencers on instagram and youtube i found one channel that i was able to watch and be completely captivated by and found myself jotting down notes the entire time. youtuber Kristen Leo devotes her channel to ethical living, fashion, and veganism. She has several videos talking about fast fashion, but the one that helped me out the most was her video titled “How to Shop Sustainably and Quit Fast Fashion”. the video is filled with helpful explanations of the industry and advice for how to be more ethical with our clothing habits.

Kristen talks about the 5 R’s of sustainability as opposed to what you may already know as the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle)

Refuse

- Say no to impulse purchases

- Say no to buying something just because it is cheap

- Say no to buying things just because they are in style

Reduce

- Reduce the amount of clothing that you are buying

- You might like it all but how much of it do you really need?

- Does it add value to your life?

- Can you cut down even if you do like all of what you are buying?

- Cut down on the volume of things that you are buying

Reuse

- Reusing clothing that you already have until they are not wearable anymore

- We buy a lot of things that we like and might think we need and end up not wearing them

- You must wear an item about 30 times to make up for the environmental cost that it took to make that item

Repair

- Taking clothes that are damaged or don't fit well and changing it so that you are able to keep wearing them

- Here's Kristen’s video on how to upcycle old clothing:)

Recycle

- Not the best solution

- Last resort

- First try to find a home before you donate or recycle them!

- Try to give them away!

- Find a home for it and make sure it gets used!

- Could very easily end up in a landfill

when researching exactly which companies practice the idea of fast fashion i was surprised when i found stores that i have been shopping in for years on end. H & M is known as one of the biggest players in the fast fashion industry and recently has been accused of burning 60 tonnes of usable clothing since 2013 as a result of their efforts to keep up with the trends. one of the fast-fashion giants is clothing company Zara. as a result of their 15 day process to designing and selling a product, they are the first example of where we see the

term "fast-fashion" arise. yet, these are not the only two that are guilty of the trend, many stores that you may find yourself constantly shopping in are known to be fast-fashion retailers. some examples are Forever 21, Topshop, Uniqlo, Gap, Primark, Charlotte Russe, and Wet Seal to hit some of the most popular physical store retailers. however, there has also been a rise in the popularity of online retailers. while this allows for smaller sustainable brands to get their name and clothing out into a bigger audience it has also resulted in the start-up of several fast-fashion websites such as Romwe, Zaful, Wish, Shein, Nasty Gal, ASOS, Princess Polly and Fashion Nova.

as a college student i recognize the appeal of these fast-fashion retailers and in the past have not only taken part in shopping at them but have wholeheartedly endorsed them to friends and family as a treasure for finding fashionable clothing for cheap prices. if we do not care to look into where our clothing is coming from and how it is being manufactured we can live in this bubble of bliss while the environment crumbles around us, but it is time for us to

open our eyes and make intentional decisions about what clothing we buy and what we do with the clothing that we already have. by no means do i want to lecture you about going out and buying from only ethical clothing brands, as i would be the world's biggest hypocrite but i know personally i won't be able to continue shopping at these stores that are producing such unethical products without thinking about how it got to me.

so, begin by making small changes. instead of going shopping at these fast fashion retailers, try heading to Goodwill and see what they have. when you go through your closet and pull out clothing you want to get rid of, try to give it to a friend or sell it online through websites like Poshmark. when a piece of clothing begins to get to an unwearable point, see what you can do to repair it or upcycle it into something brand new. if we begin to be more intentional about the decisions we make we will be able to start a shift in the popularity of these fast-fashion giants.

-a.m.

sustainable fashion influencers:

instagram,

youtube,