Fast Fashion: Quick Waste

You’ve probably heard the words consumerism before. It means the culture that we have developed to give consumers what they want and when they want it. However, it is said that consumerism is a really big contributor to climate change. The reason being that a lot of big brands (such as Forever 21, Garage, and Shein) are not very sustainable to buy from because they are all made in far places and emit a lot of carbon when producing them (since they are made in such a bulk) and transporting them to you. This is ultimately the reason that consumerism is harmful to the environment.

However, there is a concept called “planned obsolescence”, more widely known as “fast fashion”, which many companies utilize, and it only adds to these harms. Planned obsolescence means intentionally giving a product a short lifespan, making the product useless after this given amount of time. Once the product wears down, the customer comes back to buy another one. In fact, a Harvard case study showed that clothes from Zara are designed to last only a few weeks before they become of low quality.

While this may be a profitable business plan, it is problematic for the environment. It means that consumers have to keep buying items over and over, when they don’t really need to. Customers buying more means more manufacturing, which means more emissions, as well as more resources squandered to make items that are just designed to deteriorate.

So, how can you help? It can be difficult to gauge which brands to buy from and which not to buy from, but the general rule of thumb is that you should avoid buying from the big chains which you can find everywhere.

One solution that always works is buying locally. You should always prefer local thrift stores and boutique stores over the large brands. Thrift stores are getting more and more common and accessible and they are a great way to get new clothes while benefiting the environment. This enables you to get things for a better price, without planned obsolescence, new styles to try out, all while being environmentally-friendly.

Another good rule to play by is buying clothes that will last for a long time, as opposed to buying cheap clothes and getting new ones every few weeks. Buy good clothes that will last you several months, even if you are going to buy from the big chains. When you want a change in style or scene, go thrifting.

A third solution is to just buy from sustainable brands, like Allbird or Patagonia. These brands are big, but it is in their mission to be sustainable and they take enormous active steps towards this goal. If you don’t find thrifting as something you enjoy, or if you are too used to shopping from those unsustainable large chains, there are many common brands that have sustainable commitments, which you can definitely shop from.