As someone who has a deep interest in fashion, it saddens me to see the rise of fast fashion among my generation. Fast fashion is extremely affordable but created to follow short-lived trends and has poor material quality. Fast fashion’s negative impact increased concurrently with the growth of brands which focus on the sales performance of micro-trends rather than sustainable, long-lasting products.
Overconsumption creates a large amount of waste due to the frequency at which people in the West churn through their wardrobes. According to the Washington Street Journal’s Dana Thomas in “The High Price of Fast Fashion,” Americans purchased an average of 68 garments each in 2018. The practice promotes the exploitation of foreign garment workers, requires the disposal of production waste into once pristine waterways, and allows companies to undercut the prices of sustainable competitors. Still most young Americans turn to fast fashion companies as their first option when it comes to purchasing clothes, and this paradigm doesn’t seem to be shifting fast enough.
Fast fashion stems from consumers creating a space where fast fashion companies can thrive. Some consumers are unable to see the detriment that their low-cost, low-quality fashion pieces are causing. Many consumers are aware but believe their small choices do not impact the whole. The whole, unfortunately, is made up of all the small choices that we collectively make as consumers. Additionally, the rising costs of living push everyday Americans to buy more affordable clothing as well as renting everyday clothes from online venues.
The continued demand for fast fashion will prop up company profits, and there will soon be no market for middle-range pieces. Pieces by creatives who make their work by hand, which are not aligned with any major brand, will have no space to exist. There will be only high-end trendsetting companies and fast fashion brands that make their low-price duplicates. For some, this future may not be a problem, but those who value the creativity behind fashion and the choices for consumers are outraged.
Another major point to consider is the Sam Vimes theory of economic unfairness, or the “boots theory” — the more the pieces rip and shred with each use, the more they will have to be replaced, and the total cost of cheap clothing passed onto consumers may be higher than wearing durable, sustainable pieces. Sometimes, investment in a better-quality piece is worth it, and I fear people lose sight of that in an instantaneous decision to buy a pack of three tank tops for five dollars, which about 3,098 people have in their bag.
Fashion is truly about creating a sense of style for yourself. There is no bad fashion — except for when it hurts creators and consumers. This may not be a change most are willing to adopt in their lives because it’s a hard change to make. Personally, I know many people who turn to fast fashion for their wardrobe choices. Their one decision to not shop from a fast fashion brand will not be the reason that these companies shut down. However, they and millions of young Americans who make the change together can shut it down. Change truly comes down to a collective effort on the consumer’s part to not create room for these malicious companies.