According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Fast Fashion is “An approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” Fast Fashion companies find a way to mimic trends and create them in the cheapest way possible. Unfortunately, being quick and cheap is harmful to the environment, society, and the customer’s well-being overall. Here are our top seven reasons why you should stop shopping at fast-fashion retailers.
1.Quality-- Fast Fashion retailers use the cheapest fabrics and dyes to ensure their products are in stores and ready for purchase as quickly as possible. This results in poorly made clothing and accessories that fall apart soon after they are purchased. This causes an endless cycle of consumers repurchasing their goods which brings in a constant stream of revenue and profit for the fast fashion industry.
2.Design-- Because FF retailers are racing to create new products and a lot of them, the overall design is rushed and compromised. Consumers are ultimately stuck with a second-rate design that could have been brainstormed further. By shopping more sustainably, you could enjoy a better-designed product.
3.Children -- In many countries Overseas, fast fashion corporations hire children to pick cotton and work in their factories. According to the International Labor Organization, “Around 170 million children (or 11 percent of the global population of children) are in employment, with many making clothing to satisfy the demand of consumers in Europe, the U.S., and beyond.” This number is astronomical and not to mention that many of those children are mistreated, abused, and earn ridiculously low wages for their work. When you shop in fast fashion, a small child across the globe becomes at risk.
4.Society -- Fast Fashion empires impact society as a whole. The economy and the environment are influenced by these retailers and this ultimately hurts society and the people in it. The synthetics and toxic dyes used to make cheap garments are also harmful to the consumer’s health. When you purchase products from a sustainable retailer your health and the glob will thank you!
5.Animals-- When you don’t shop sustainably, stores that test their products on animals get away with harming innocent wildlife. By using products that come from cruelty-free retailers, you will be taking away profit from the companies that use their money to harm animals.
6.Environment-- Because the quality is so poor, millions of fast fashion clothing items are thrown out each year and they sit in a landfill releasing toxins. According to the goodtrade.com, “These garments, full of lead, pesticides, and countless other chemicals, almost never break down and spend their life releasing these toxic chemicals in the air. Fast fashion’s carbon footprint is giving huge industries like air travel and oil a “run for their money.”
7.The domino effect- Ultimately, your purchase matters. When you support the Fast Fashion industry your health, the global environment, people across the world, and your wallet are all impacted. End the chain of income and revenue for Fast Fashion by shopping more sustainably and ethically.
Sources:
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/why-shop-ethically
https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/why-you-should-stop-making-excuses-to-buy-fast-fashion-2/
Merriam-Webster