During the 1990’s, fast fashion became a buzz phrase within pop culture after an article in the “The New York Times” was published about ZARA’s rapid design production. The article described the manufacturing process that created cheap and plentiful clothing. Fast fashion is driven by consumerism that ultimately leads to harmful outcomes to the environment, which is shown through this immersive experience.
“I think fashion, as we know, is one of the most globally polluting industries…the most sustainable that you can be is actually just to not shop at all,” said Megan Chen, 22, a creative designer and climate activist at Stanford University.
Her passion for environmental activism inspired her to create “The Urban Garden Initiative,” a nonprofit that focuses on sustainability and gardening education. Chen’s influential work aims to empower others to understand how to live sustainably through urban gardening. She believes that understanding earth-to-table sustainability will help people understand the importance of sustainable clothing as a whole.
Sustainable fibers are more environmentally friendly in comparison to petroleum-based fibers as they are dependent upon fossil fuels and are non-biodegradable.
Fast fashion’s effect on the environment includes chemical and microplastic pollution. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, this industry plays a pivotal role within the climate crisis as it includes 10% of carbon dioxide emissions.
Companies like Goodwill provide affordable price points for customers and offers an easy-to-use sustainable practice. Faliha Gilani, 29, works as a retail cashier at Goodwill in Houston and believes that people will benefit from second hand shopping.
“Second hand shopping sometimes is saving people a lot more money than first hand shopping just because they might have multiple kids or college students who probably can’t afford very high end expensive stuff right off the bat,” said Gilani.
Thrifting preserves the life cycle of clothing, which helps reduce pollution and waste, ultimately benefiting the climate as a whole. By thrifting, customers can also showcase their individuality through self expression.
“I’ve been just starting to get into customizing and thrift-flipping a lot of the pieces I have that I don’t get to wear as much, and that’s also a really cool way to make clothes feel a bit more individual and me,” said Chen.
The gentrification of thrifting has become a visible trend within the last decade. Noha Vinoya, 24, a Ph.D. student in communication at Stanford has 10 years of experience within the vintage retail industry. Vinoya sells clothes on Depop, which is an app that allows users to sell or buy unique vintage clothing items.
“One other point of contention that a lot of resellers get is ‘you’re taking away clothes from those who actually need it,” said Vinoya. “I think that point of waste is really important because if these clothes don’t get purchased, they just end up going to landfills anyway.”
Resellers typically source from places like Goodwill, but not everything gets sold which ultimately leads the clothes to go to either a Goodwill auction, a 99 cents store or abroad.
Kathy Walsh who works at SMART, a textile recycling organization said her company sells to international markets. According to Walsh, 5% of all donations eventually end up in landfills.
While some argue that fast fashion’s affordability benefits consumers, its long term effects on climate change outweighs its advantages.
“At the end of the day, I think you shouldn’t forget that one of your major motives for thrifting should be about sustainability and not necessarily about profit margining,” said Vinoya.
