Americans buy an average of 53 items of clothing a year. Last year, I bought 6. Three items of clothing were purchased because of the sudden cold in the winter (so I needed winter clothes), 2 of which were donated because they fit too tightly and were uncomfortable on me, and one to replace my beloved ratty lounge T-shirt. The last shirt being thrown was not out of choice but because my mother had thrown it away, citing her disdain for how tattered it had been. Now, I have an equally ratty and bleach-stained shirt that I love. All of these clothes I replaced were well-worn and fixed up with shaky stitching; all were from quality fabrics. Most of the clothes I buy now are polyester. After a while of wearing these new clothes, I realized I was drawn to them the least because of how awful the quality was; stretchy clothes, frequent holes, and body heat trapped within them were a few concerns. I only bought them because they were cheap, and like every other American, I assumed the quality would be the same. But the clothes proved me wrong, and that is because of fast fashion.
For the love of fast fashion.
People love the resemblance of luxury, even if they are far from reaching its monetary status. So, it’s not surprising that people buy a lot of clothes to show that they can buy, well, more clothes. But, interestingly, many people buy clothes because they are influenced to get them, rather than loving each piece. I’ve watched several video essays that argue our concept of fashion and clothing, and pretty much everything else has gone from a passion or love for what we have in the media, to profit. Basically, people buy clothes because they feel that people online (influencers) have a sense of value and passion for this clothing and that everyone else feels the same way. It’s so easy to click a button or swipe your card, and buying clothing is faster, cheaper, and overall, a better experience than ever before. Once we buy the clothing, we feel a dopamine boost and might wear it a couple of times. After a while, we might hate it, and down to the trash/donating bin it goes. But pumping all these clothes out is no small feat. So, what do we do to bring down costs? After all, these factories and companies making clothes have a sense of morals when it comes to fashion, right? Right?
And then, Private Equity happened.
Ah, private equity, the reason behind all our problems. But what is private equity? Basically, these firms will pool money from other investors in a specific company they
might be interested in and then buy that company from the capital to manage and improve it for maximum, you guessed it, profit! Profit, profit, profit. And these firms are quite insulated from profit loss because they get tax benefits. Because of private equity, these fashion companies shift their priorities to keep pumping out clothes and money. But how do we maximize profit? Private equity says to cut down the costs of labor. And we’ve all heard and seen how factory workers are being treated within these fast fashion companies. And it’s not just the fashion industry. Private equity buying out everything is the reason why we have higher housing prices, medical fees, poorer quality service providers, and so on. So, because of our continuous love for fast fashion, we are hurting the environment (polyester is made from plastic), the workers, and our wallets. Because buying 53 pieces of clothing, each approximately 30 dollars, is still a lot of money. And we’re not wearing all 53 pieces of clothing all the time.
A shift from fast fashion to fashion consciousness.
We can start by buying fewer clothes. If the average amount sounds like your spending habits, maybe it’s time to look at your closet and see if you truly value each piece. You can still express yourself and look good with fewer clothes. I started writing this article while watching a commentary on overconsumption and Stanley Cups. People have shelves upon shelves of reusable (the irony!) water bottles. Therefore, I think it’s also good to start educating your loved ones on the issues that come with fast fashion. It’s also environmentally friendly to begin looking for better quality fabrics. I think that’s part of why people are looking to thrift older clothing as part of their new closets: older clothing has better fabric and material used, and therefore it is much nicer to wear and longer lasting. These fabrics are also much gentler on our skin and cooler in the heat. Out of my own clothes, my favorites are all made mostly of cotton. But buying quality fabrics can be hard, especially when luxury brands are moving to polyester and other cheaper fabrics. I suggest thrifting, as mentioned before, but also looking towards smaller businesses. You don’t even have to buy new clothes. If you have time, learn how to sew or ask local tailoring shops for some help.
But will this solve the biggest problem of fast fashion and waste? Probably not. The big bad private equity firms are not going to go down so easily. And that’s totally okay. The people in power today have the ability to crack down on these firms and regulate them. Let’s start forming citizen groups looking towards environmental consciousness and talking with your government representatives, from local to national, about what we can do to make the planet a better place.