In recent years, you might have noticed people pushing for others to shift their shopping away from fast fashion brands like Shein or Forever 21, and instead shop at more local and sustainable brands. This is in an effort to help slow down global warming and to give smaller businesses a chance to thrive. However, what many people who argue against fast fashion don’t realize is that it isn’t always possible for people to shop locally or sustainably. Fast fashion is as popular as it is because it’s easy to order the clothes online and it’s a lot cheaper too. You can get a shirt from Forever 21 for $10 and the same shirt might cost around $60 at a local store. Cost-wise, it just makes more sense to shop fast fashion.
Fast fashion becomes a much bigger issue when people are buying tons of clothes from a certain fast fashion brand for the purpose of a “haul.” This is where people will buy lots of clothes and post videos of themselves trying them on, whether on YouTube or TikTok. However, many of these clothes end up not actually being worn by the buyer and instead end up in a landfill. Many people who shop fast fashion will purchase a few articles of clothing that they end up wearing for years and getting more than their money’s worth out of it. They take care of their clothes and don’t throw them away. Yet they are being shamed for buying fast fashion.
So many people focus their attention on targeting the individual who is shopping through fast fashion rather than the corporation itself. They shift the blame so that the person who is buying their clothes through companies who are considered a part of fast fashion industry feels guilty for doing so. Though I can see the point of individuals needing to be conscious of what they are consuming, it shouldn’t be directly on the individual to stop global warming. Companies need to make the first step and adopt sustainable practices that will help our planet in the long run. But so many people do not push for companies to change. Instead, they try to get people to change, which doesn’t make as much of an impact. It just makes people feel bad about their purchases, even if they know they will make good use out of them.
If you are able to shop locally and sustainably, by all means please do so. It’s a great way to make a difference in your community and can help small businesses out a ton. However, if you aren’t able to do so, this isn’t a bad thing. There are so many other ways to be sustainable and make a difference that don’t cost as much money. It’s great to be conscious of your actions and how they impact the environment and community, but just know that the responsibility doesn’t just rest on you! Help out however you can — it’s the best thing you can do.