The Importance of Shopping Consciously and Environment Friendly
Fast fashion stores such as Forever 21, H & M, and ASOS have shown in a research that, ”84 percent of unwanted clothes in the United States in 2012 went into either a landfill or an incinerator” (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)). This is where recycling and donating come into play with helping the environment. Old or unwanted clothes, I have witnessed myself, are thrown into a trash most times or donated to a church, family, or other stream of donation. The process of making clothing is heavily based with chemicals, bleach, print, and dyes and when these pieces of fabric or thrown into an incinerator, all those toxins are released into the air. Due to this, fabrics and synthetic fibers can take hundreds, or even a thousand, years to biodegrade. To give an example, Polyester is the most popular fabric used for fashion. But when polyester garments are washed in domestic washing machines, they shed microfibers that add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans. These microfibers are small and can easily pass through sewage and wastewater treatment plants into our waterways, but because they do not biodegrade, they represent a serious threat to aquatic life.” (Independent UK). Another drawback to shopping through fast fashion stores is the contribution to sweatshops. Sweatshops are factories where workers make clothes for little pay, work in poor conditions like extremely old buildings, where health hazards are at a high, and where even a child as young as six may be present working as well. “A shirt that sells in the United States for $60 can cost less than 10 cents in labor” (Brandon Gaille). All of these are results of unconscious shopping and fast fashion. Here are a few ways you can help the environment when going shopping for new outfits:
- Educate yourself
Do research on the stores and companies that you shop at most and check if they are sweatshop free, ethical, are environmental friendly, and even look at if they give proceeds to the environment or the percentage of chemicals that they use in their clothing.
- Thrift and Apps
To avoid contributing to these causes, you should shop at your local thrift stores and on apps like Depop and Poshmark which are also second-hand clothing. Although you may find pieces in a thrift shop that come from these same fast fashion stores, you are not doing the initial purchase from that same company and are only paying the thrift shop. Therefore, no harm done.
- Spread knowledge to others and support local shops
There are always individuals who create their own pieces without creating any harm to the environment and sell around you. It may be a pricier option at times but think of where your money is going and of what you yourself are contributing too. One of the most important parts of helping any cause is spreading knowledge to your friends, family, and other people you know on the harms and causes of fast fashion.
These tips go for any issue that you understand needs help and attention. More and more people will get involved through your word and it will help make a difference faster. Many do not know what goes on behind clothing stores and are do not have the feeling to even research it but that is why those of us that do know, must be leaders to these kinds of issues that need critical help. A read a day helps keep the harm a way and little by little sweatshops can be diminished and the way clothing is made can be reevaluated.