By: Julia Yuro
Shopping Habits and COVID
People had to find ways to entertain themselves while being forced to stay home during the pandemic. One of those things people turned to for entertainment was online shopping. Mindlessly scrolling through websites offered consumers comfort and receiving packages brought them joy during difficult times. E-commerce sales were at their highest in 2020 when they increased by 43% (Brewster, 2022). Consumers were ordering products they did not need and these online shopping habits have continued even after the pandemic has ended. In 2023, e-commerce sales reached its second highest level in history since 2020 (Miglani, 2023). Retailers have convinced consumers that more is better and that you have to continuously buy new clothes to keep up with the trends.
Overconsumption and the Environment
The fashion industry has never been as wasteful as it is right now. Consumers constantly fall for micro trends and buy fast fashion. The fast fashion industry has harmful effects that are linked to microplastics in waterways and habitat degradation. Right now, the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world following the oil and gas industry (Grewal et al., 2022). Overconsumption increases air pollution and worsens climate breakdown. There is an urgency for a change back to "slow" fashion to minimize these effects and everyone should be conscious about their shopping habits.
Tips to Shop Sustainably
To fight the effects of overconsumption, consumers should try to shop sustainably. To shop sustainably, consumers should separate their necessities from their wants. Before you check out, you should take a second look at the items you have to make sure that what you are purchasing are items that you actually need (Okamoto, 2024). You should avoid purchasing fast fashion and occasionally invest in high-quality staples that will last a long time. By shopping this way, waste will be minimized, and you will slowly build an eco-friendly closet that has the staples you need for any occasion.
A Thrift Store on Our Own Campus 
Even when you purchase high-quality pieces that can be used for multiple occasions and are durable, there are still times when you do not have what you need in your closet. Instead of purchasing new clothes that you won't re-wear again after this specific event, you can go to a thrift store and find what you are looking for. Purchasing clothes secondhand reuses textiles and avoids the negative effects on the environment that would result from producing new clothes. There are many different thrift stores in the D.C. area, but as Catholic University students, we are lucky enough to have our very own thrift store on our campus. Cardinal Closet is a great place to go to look for clothes you need for an event that you do not already have in your closet. They have anything that you could need from business clothes to casual clothes to shoes and accessories. Cardinal Closet is located in BI7 in the basement of Gibbons Hall and is open every Thursday from 11 am to 2 pm Everything is free at Cardinal Closet! All you have to do is bring a piece of clothing you do not want anymore and you will get to take something in exchange. Cardinal Closet helps to fight overconsumption and better the environment.