By: Olivia Blondin
Why you shouldn't shop fast fashion for your summer/spring wardrobe reset and where you should shop.
Fast fashion is everywhere. From thrift stores to landfills, we are starting to see the long-term effects of fast fashion. We live in a time where overconsumption is rampant and craving constant, quick pleasure from purchasing clothes is on the rise.
Here are 4 reasons why you should STOP shopping fast fashion brands:
1. Poor quality
2. Exploit workers
3. Bad for the environment
4. End up in landfills
Poor Quality
According to Earth.org, “the number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36% in 15 years.”1 This is because fast fashion pieces are designed with materials like Polyester, Elastane, Rayon, and Acrylic, which are not designed to last. Clothing made by fast fashion brands is discarded after 7 or 8 wears2, while sustainable brands are meant to last a lifetime.
Exploit Workers
The 2023 Fashion Transparency Index concluded that “99% of major brands and retailers do not publish the number of workers in their supply chains paid at a living wage.”3 Additionally, in 2022, the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Divisions investigated several fast fashion brands and found that “80% of the contractors were violating minimum wage and overtime laws.”4 Specifically, they found some brands paying their workers as little as $1.58 per hour.5
Bad for the Environment
During production, there are lots of waste factors including textile waste and textile dyeing. According to the U.N. Environment Programme, 20% of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing and then the wastewater ends up in rivers and oceans, making the water dangerous for wildlife.6
End up in Landfills
The fast fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of the world's carbon emissions.7 Post-production, the majority of fast fashion pieces end up in landfills. Three out of five fast fashion garments will end up in a landfill within a year and 80% of all clothing is landfilled or incinerated.8 In the US, once textiles are discarded, 66% of them are sent to landfills where they decompose, which can take hundreds of years.9
Now you are probably thinking, How do I shop sustainably?!
Cardinal Closet— On-campus thrift store.
● Location: Gibbons Hall B17
● Instagram: @cardinalclosetcua
Thrift Stores in the DMV— Rosarios Thrift, Goodwill, Unique Thrift Store, Thrifty’s Georgia Avenue Thrift Store, Value Village, and Fia’s Fabulous Find.
● Hours can be found on their respective websites
Online Second Hand Clothing Apps— EBay, Depop, Poshmark, and Thread.
Local Flea Markets— Georgetown Flea Market and Flea Market at Eastern Market
● Georgetown Flea Market: Sundays 8 am - 4 pm
● Flea Market at Eastern Market: Saturdays & Sundays 9 am - 4 pm
There are lots of great options for sustainable shopping in the DMV and there is no reason why we can’t all work together to limit our fast fashion purchases!
Footnotes
1Igini, Martina. “10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics.” Earth.Org, 21 Aug. 2023
2“Fashion’s Impact in Numbers.” CNN, Cable News Network
3“14 Hard Fast Fashion Facts and Statistics.” Good On You, 10 Aug. 2023
4Rosalez, Ruben. “The Exploitation of Garment Workers: Threading the Needle on Fast Fashion.” DOL Blog, 2023
5Ibid
6Mulhern, Owen. “The 10 Essential Fast Fashion Statistics.” Earth.Org, Earth.Org, 22 Nov. 2023
7“14 Hard Fast Fashion Facts and Statistics.” Good On You, 10 Aug. 2023
8Ibid
9“The Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment.” SPH The Aftermath of Fast Fashion How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment Comments, 22 Sept. 2022
References
“The Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment.” SPH The Aftermath of Fast Fashion How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment Comments, 22 Sept. 2022, https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2022/the-aftermath-of-fast-fashion-how-discarded-clothes-impact-public-health-and-the-environment/
Bernardi, Alberta. “The 10 Most Used Fabrics in Fast Fashion and What You Need to Know about Them.” The Pretty Planeteer, 17 Apr. 2022, https://theprettyplaneteer.com/what-are-fast-fashion-clothes-made-of/.
“Fashion’s Impact in Numbers.” CNN, Cable News Network,
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/09/style/fashion-in-numbers-sept/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.
Igini, Martina. “10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics.” Earth.Org, 21 Aug. 2023, https://goodonyou.eco/fast-fashion-facts/.
Mulhern, Owen. “The 10 Essential Fast Fashion Statistics.” Earth.Org, Earth.Org, 22 Nov. 2023,
https://earth.org/fast-fashion-statistics/.
Rosalez, Ruben. “The Exploitation of Garment Workers: Threading the Needle on Fast Fashion.” DOL Blog, 2023, blog.dol. https://blog.dol.gov/2023/03/21/the-exploitation-of-garment-workers-threading-the-needle-on-fast-fashion.
“14 Hard Fast Fashion Facts and Statistics.” Good On You, 10 Aug. 2023, https://goodonyou.eco/fast-fashion-facts/.