Background Information
I watched an episode of The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj titled, "The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion." Not knowing what fast fashion was, I just watched the episode because I thought Hasan Minhaj was funny. I didn't know how much of a wake-up call it would be for me. In case you don't plan on watching a thirty-minute episode of TV before returning to this post, here's the short version. Fast fashion is used to refer to inexpensive clothing that is quickly produced in large amounts by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trend. That might not seem like a bad thing if you're like me and know nothing about the fashion industry from a production standpoint. However, this actually means that the returned clothing will go to waste as soon as it is out of style. Not only this, but the clothes are being produced unethically (meaning not all employees receive fair treatment and livable wages). Basically, fast fashion companies will see a trendy outfit and copy it. They will use the cheapest fabric they can get their hands on and use children and/or people in unsafe factories to manufacture it. This not only means that it is unethical but your cute outfit is literally created to break. This way you turn around and return to the company for more clothes when something else is trendy or your clothes fall apart shortly after purchase. Also, the fabrics these companies are used are basically plastic and will never break down when you toss it.
Why Does This Matter
As humans on earth, it is our responsibility to make sure the earth and other living things on it are not destroyed or killed because of our actions or inactions. As I explained earlier, we know that the fast fashion industry doesn't always pay or treat its employees fairly (the ones producing the fabrics or in factories). We also know that the fabric used is usually polyester because it is very cheap to produce. The problem with that is a synthetic petroleum-based fiber. This means it is carbon-intensive (has a large carbon footprint) and non-renewable (unsustainable). The petroleum part also relates to oil. You know? From the devastating oil spills associated with gasoline. 70 million barrels of oil are used to create polyester every year. After washing clothes made from polyester, little plastic microfibers come off the material and enter the water supply. This can harm marine animals and even the food we eat. Another problem is that polyester is not biodegradable. This means it just sits in landfills forever. Enough about polyester, though. There's one more issue with fast fashion that I want to point out. Companies are merely copying and stealing other fashion designers' products. The fashion designers have spent years working on their products only to have them cheapened by another brand. It just feels like a bigger version of copying homework to me. Think about it. Another student does all the homework and someone else receives the same grade if not better. They aren't caught for cheating because of a couple of small tweaks to the assignment. Fast-fashion may make money now but it won't last–it literally can't. Did you know that the clothing/apparel industry is the second-largest industrial polluter? If we keep on consuming and producing clothes as we are, there won't be any earth left for people, plants, and animals to live healthily. Before the late 1900s, there was no such thing as fast-fashion and clothing-wise everyone was doing well enough.
But I donate and recycle all of my clothes
Most of this sounds like stuff that is out of our control. It's all the companies fault for mass-producing clothes and effectively advertising! Aaaaggghhhh! As consumers, we do share a little bit of the blame. By continuing to buy clothes from these brands, we are telling them that fast-fashion works.
What do you do with your clothes once you don't like them anymore? Do you toss, donate, repurpose, or recycle them? If you don't toss your clothing, give yourself a little pat on the back, but don't let that become a big pat on your back. So you always donate your clothes to Goodwill, local thrift stores, recycling centers, etc. What's the problem with that? It helps everyone, less trash, and less money wasted. Plus, you can get a tax whatchamacallit to save money. While donating and recycling are great options for some clothing, not all of them will sell. Unsold clothing will end up in the dumpster without anyone–at least, the average people like you and me–realizing. According to The Atlantic, 10.5 million tons of clothing go to landfills from America, alone. What about brands and stores that have a recycling program? H&M is a major fast fashion producer. Even though they have a new "recycling" program, H&M sells donated clothes that can be remade into usable fabric in order to continue making money while seeming ethical and environmentally friendly. While they may be reusing more fabrics and materials than they used to, it is not sustainable like they may claim. The whole concept of fast fashion isn't "sustainable." You can't have both when you're destroying 4.3 billion dollars worth of brand new, never-before-worn clothing each year.
So many other brands like Zara, Forever 21, Topshop, Target, Asos, Gap, and more are all major players in the fast fashion industry. I must admit that I have supported almost all of these at some point. However, with my new knowledge, I won't anymore (as long as I can help it). And I must say that this doesn't mean I'm judging you for buying clothes that are a result of the fast fashion industry if you continue to do so. I know not everyone has the time, financial resources, internet, or whatever to be able to support more ethical fashion. I know I can't pay $400 for a dress. That's just ridiculous. However, if you are interested in buying more eco-friendly and ethical clothing, don't despair. I have some great ideas for you.
Making Your Own Clothes
This option is not for someone who doesn't have any time or hates crafting. However, I still want to throw it out there. When I was little, I made my own pair of pajama pants. It wasn't super difficult and I remember being very proud of myself. I wore those pants until there were too many holes and I had also grown out of them. You don't have to sew to do this, though. You can use fabric glue or even scissors and tie things up with knots. I'll come back to sewing in a second. If you have an old shirt that doesn't fit you the way it used to, you can actually make a couple of cuts and turn it into something completely different. Instead of sewing, you can cut two-inch strips from the edge of the shirt and tie them together or you can use fabric glue to hold your new item together. If you want some inspiration for this, I have an eco-friendly board with an upcycled clothing section on my Pinterest account that you can check out here.
Back to sewing from scratch, though, many people used to make their own clothing in the past. Don't let the thought scare you. As I mentioned with my pajama pants, it can be really rewarding and fun. It doesn't have to be super complicated. I am not the end all be all resource for eco-friendly sewing but I can help get you started if you're interested. You can obviously use old clothes, bedding, towels and any other fabric you may have to sew something new. It isn't your only option, though. If you want to sew a shirt, the first thing you need to do is decide what type of shirt you want. You can find lots of free patterns on Pinterest and on the internet (you can trace the dimensions and shape onto cardboard or print it usually). If you want to be old fashioned, though, you can go to a fabric store. They will have a collection of books and magazines to read through. Then, there will be patterns stores in boxes and drawers everywhere and you must find the right pattern from the book. Every pattern will tell you how many yards of fabric you need to complete the project. Always, buy extra just in case you make a mistake. Some eco-friendly fabrics include hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, organic linen, organic wool, recycled fabric, rame, and many more. Now, all you have to do is follow the pattern. Most patterns require sewing machines but easier patterns can usually be done by hand. Once you get the hang of sewing, it's actually pretty easy.
Thrifting
I'm assuming you have access to the internet because you're reading this post right now. With that in mind, there are now online thrift stores that specialize in selling popular and trendy clothes. Thrifting like this means you aren't supporting a massive company profiting from fast fashion and you are keeping clothes out of the landfills. This way you can still buy all of the trendy clothes you love. My personal favorite online thrift stores are ThredUp, Mercari, and Poshmark. If you want to go all out for the environment when you thrift, you can always go to your local thrift and consignment shops. You'll probably save money on shipping, too.
Eco-Friendly and Ethical Companies
Another way you can stop supporting fast fashion is by purchasing from companies that produce ethical and environmentally friendly clothes. For the most part, these will be more expensive since they are paying all of their employees livable wages, using local resources, using and discovering sustainable resources, etc. Like H&M, some companies use greenwashing to sell. Greenwashing is defined as expressions of environmentalist concerns especially as a cover for products, policies, or activities. This means companies will make claims that their products are environmentally friendly when they actually aren't. Fortunately, I have some good news for you! My personal rule for deciding whether a company is greenwashing is if they don't have published lists of ingredients, records of finances, and/or program supporting research, conservation, or something else related to environmentalism. All this means is that the company has tons of information about their products and their money easily accessible by the public. Pact has a perfect example of a shorter explanation and The Body Shop has a much more detailed explanation. Both of these companies are solid examples of real eco-friendly clothes.
Without further ado, I present the ultimate list of semi-affordable and sustainable (again not legally defined) fashion brands. These all have products that are under $100 (still ouch, though), regular sales, sales sections, and/or coupon codes. Keep in mind that not all of the items on each site are reasonably priced (from the consumer side of things).
I hope you enjoyed learning about fast fashion and finding eco-friendly and ethical clothing with me. Let me know if there's something else you'd love for me to learn about and write a post on. I really enjoyed doing all this research. Bye for now!
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