In today’s world of fast fashion, new trends surfacing weekly, and new styles constantly at our finger-tips, it’s hard not to get swept up in the constant current of consumption we all face daily. I’ll be the first to admit how much fun (and easy) it is to add new pieces to my wardrobe weekly from everyone’s favorite online retailers. And when there’s free shipping? It seems that no harm can be done – but this is when we need to look at the big picture and really think about what this seemingly harmless shopping is doing to our environment.
You might not realize it as it happens, but as you are constantly buying new items, you are constantly getting rid of the items you don’t wear anymore. The poor quality of garments sold by our generation’s favorite online retailers also leads to an accelerated cycle of having to replace items as they wear out. Both of these lead to our old garments filling landfills all over the world. The average American throws out about 70 pounds of clothing each year, which amounts to a whopping 14.3 billion collectively.
This figure doesn’t even take into account the countless amounts of synthetic dyes and finishing chemicals that are being dumped into lakes and streams during production processes in factories around the world – or the thousands of gallons of water needed to produce one cotton t-shirt. In fact, the fashion and textile industry is the third of the list of the top polluting industries.
Not cool, right? This is where you come in. It really is time to stop this trend of waste. Now, while I wish I could tell you to stop shopping at stores like Zara, H&M, and Forever21, I know that’s not completely realistic for our college-student budgets. However, I urge you to take these few steps to help cut back on the damage the fashion industry is ultimately causing.
This way, when you are shopping, you will know exactly what will fit into your wardrobe, and will be less likely to buy things you won’t end up wearing! (tip: go read Man Repeller’s article on Slow Fashion)
I know, it’s so easy – that’s why it’s dangerous. When you’re shopping in the store, you are actually able to try items on and check out the quality of the garment. If it’s poor quality and doesn’t fit, skip it! You’ll end up buying less, but better quality items if you opt for shopping in person.
H&M Conscious Collection, Stella McCartney, and Reformation – just to name a few!