WHY I HATE THE FAST FASHION INDUSTRY

Although simply following the latest social media fashion trends and constantly buying new inexpensive items may seem like the easy and affordable way to add trendy pieces to your wardrobe, the environmental, ethical, and societal ramifications may make you think twice next time you’re shopping.

The reality is a large portion of our closet likely contains a number of items that are produced by companies who take part in widely unethical practices that are detrimental to society. Fast fashion has perpetuated the dangerous cycle of consumerism and external pressures to buy the latest items to keep up with the trends and get rid of “out of style” items. Consumerism is real, it is scary, and it is perpetuating overconsumption. It is engraved in our brains from a young age that more is better. More clothes, more toys, more accessories, etc. Society makes us think that if I just have that one new thing, I will be happy. But the harsh reality is, that is not the case.

First, let’s look at what fast fashion really is, what constitutes a fast fashion company and a few examples of companies that practice fast fashion.

“Fast fashion describes low-priced but stylish clothing that moves quickly from design to retail stores to meet trends, with new collections being introduced continuously” (Hayes, 2021).

There are a few key tell-tale signs that a company is categorizes as a fast fashion company. These include (Osmanski, 2019):

1. The company offers thousands of different clothing styles

2. The clothing offered by that company looks and feels cheap

3. The clothing offered by that company is always very on-trend

4. The clothing is available for only a limited period of time

A few examples of some of the big players in the fast fashion industry include Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Zaful, Shien and Fashion Nova.

I would be lying if I said I haven’t shopped at these brands before or contributed to the fast fashion industry through buying cheap items to stay up with the latest trends and I think anyone reading this would agree. Until recently, I never really took the time to look deeper into the industry and the companies I was shopping at. Part of me thought, the less I know the better and tried to validate myself that if I didn’t really know all the went on behind closed doors in the industry, it wasn’t as bad that I was shopping there. The reality is that no inexpensive, “trendy” piece of clothing is worth the environmental impacts, child labour, animal cruelty, sweatshops, exploitation, etc. It shouldn’t come down to widely unethical practices of exploiting workers in third world countries, paying them extremely low wages for working grueling long hours just so we as consumers can constantly buy new trendy pieces.

Along with fast fashion comes the external societal pressures to constantly buy new clothes to keep up with the latest trends and “fit in”. This results in consumers getting trapped in the dangerous cycle of continually purchasing new items not only because they feel pressured to keep up with the newest trends, but also because they are available at an affordable price.

It’s hard. I get it. It’s hard to always shop sustainably and avoid companies that practice fast fashion. That’s why we created Sustainably Styled. Sustainably Styled will contain a series of blog posts to help you navigate how to shop sustainably through thrifting and upcycling while sharing tips and tricks along the way.

References

Hayes, A. (2021). How fast fashion works. Investopedia. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp.

Osmanski, S. (2019). What is fast fashion? (plus alternatives that are sustainable and affordable). Green Matters. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-is-fast-fashion