Fast fashion
Shein, Romwe, and Temu are all brands that produce fast fashion. The phrase is common, but what exactly is fast fashion? Fast fashion is the rapid production of inexpensive, trendy clothing often mimics high-fashion designs, aiming to capitalize on current trends and consumer demand. The execution of the seemingly harmless idea has irreversible effects on our society. Those employed to create these fast fashion pieces often work long shifts with minimal breaks. To put it simply, it’s unethical. Both the workers and our environment suffer. Due to short-lived fashion trends, buying these pieces means they’ll more than likely be thrown out within a month after purchasing.
What’s the solution?
With most of society being consumers, and consumerism being highly promoted, it’s hard to get around this problem. Almost all name brands produce fast fashion pieces, even if the prices aren’t as low, the products are made in the same way. It’s hard to buy clothes from businesses that ethically produce their clothing with reasonable wages and quality materials. Even when companies enforce policies that are better for the environment, the prices pose another challenge. Clothing becomes harder to obtain for people who struggle with money. It seems like even the solution is the problem.
Reuse
Out of the three R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle), reusing things that you already own is the number one most impactful thing that you can do. Not only is it extremely environmentally friendly, but what you choose to repurpose is already manufactured, so it eliminates the process of creating more clothing items. It is also cost-effective, so it’s either cheap or free to modify old clothes into something you’ll love again.
DIY
Clothes customization has no limits. The first and best option is to use what you already have: repurpose your old clothes using anything you can find. This can be anything from cutting up old shirts into a crop top or off-the-shoulder top to ironing patches onto old jeans. If you simply cannot find things at home, opt for a wallet-friendly solution. Get tie-dye to make plain old clothes more vibrant, or bleach to take some color out of clothes that are simply too bright. Embroidery is perfect for adding more decor to your clothes, while sewing is a good idea for adjusting the sizing and fit of a piece. Get clothing dye to change the entire color of something and customize it to make it perfect for your wardrobe once again.
Clothing trade
If you and your friends struggle with your wardrobes, try working together! Put all your old clothes that don’t fit or that you don’t wear into a bag and meet up with some friends. Have one person show off their clothes one thing at a time, and whoever says they want the item first gets it. Take turns showing the clothes you don’t want and double-check to make sure you actually want what you asked for. After getting your haul of new clothes, play dress up and try everything on. Trading clothes is a completely free way to find new things to wear, get rid of things you no longer care for, and have fun with your friends.
Thrifting
If you have clothes left over from DIYing and trading, drop them off at a local thrift store. Instead of only taking clothes to name-brand chain stores, try to take clothes to small businesses. Goodwill is a common option for clothes donation, but there are better places around town that you can go to. Building Blocks resells clothes at an affordable price and is locally owned. The Pearl City Thrift is veteran-owned and offers discounts to those who donate. The same goes for buying clothes, second-hand shops are the perfect place to look for a wardrobe refresh. Almost all stores sell clothes for less than retail price, and you may find something that would be impossible to find brand new. There are plenty of items with all different styles, the only thing you need is the patience to find something you’ll like.
Reselling online
If looking at in-person thrift stores isn’t your thing, finding second-hand clothes online is a convenient alternative. Websites like Depop, Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari have brand-new and second-hand clothing items. Unlike traditional thrift stores, you can easily find whatever you’re looking for and even barter for lower prices. Often, sellers will discount or send out offers on items that have been in their store for a while. This is a perfect solution to ordering fast fashion online, since clothes from websites like these are equally as trendy. Similar to donating, you can also sell your clothes on these platforms. If you have something that just doesn’t work for you anymore, but want to make some cash off of it, you can list the item online. The process is generally easy, and there are plenty of people looking for things that you might want to sell.
Why does any of this matter?
Although fast fashion is cheap and convenient, it’s not sustainable in the long run. Most quickly made clothing items are designed without the intention of lasting very long. The easily accessible materials mean that the clothing items will easily fall apart. For a long-lasting, environmentally friendly wardrobe, try to purchase clothing from a better source. If we as a society keep mass-producing clothes that will be thrown out within a month of purchasing, landfills will be overflowing with clothes everyone hates, and the consequences will come back to haunt us. Doing something meaningful for Earth Day doesn’t have to be as big as cleaning hundreds of pounds of trash from the ocean; it can be as simple as donating clothes from your closet or choosing not to check out with your Shein cart.
