What happens when fast fashion is your only choice?
It’s time to talk about fast fashion…
The fashion industry has created an enormous sinkhole that our consumerist society sinks farther and farther into every single second. The designing, manufacturing, photography, and shipping of one item gets reduced into one single wear, maybe an instagram picture, then an eternal destiny hidden in the shadows of your closet. Sustainability and veganism are on the rise, it’s trendy to care about the planet. But we cannot let this trend die. The strain fast fashion brands put on the industry is immense: commercialism has gone power crazy with some online brands bringing in new stock everyday. The industry has turned into a revolving door, and a highly destructive one.
While fast fashion is very topical and rightly so, is it elitist? Sure it’s easy to reduce your wardrobe size when you can afford to invest hundreds into a Burberry coat, or Balenciaga trainers, with premium quality that will last you through the months, but what about the majority of society? The ones who shop in Primark, not because they have a dark craze to kill the environment, but for them, a £10 jumper is all their budget allows for? The harsh truth is that most people have more financial responsibilities such as buying food for their family, paying rent, paying bills, paying extortionate travel costs, that they have no option but to turn to fast fashion.
Fast fashion is all about being ethical, and reducing your expenditure on clothes. But this does not mean you have to live in the same moth-bitten New Look jumper for months.
Here are some alternative, low-budget, fast fashion barriers:
- Depop - an amazing way to not only sell your clothes and make a bit of cash, but to buy second hand pre-loved items that aren’t straining the production system
- Charity Shops - while admittedly they are very hit and miss, charity shops, similarly to Depop, are a great way to recycle clothes, find some hidden gems, and save some cash!
- No impulse buys! - put thought into purchases, if not just for sustainability, but isn’t shopping so much more rewarding when you’ve admired an item for ages and finally buy it? You’re likely to treasure it more, and wear it more.
- Don’t give into sales - yes it’s 50% off but does that mean you’re really going to wear it loads? Don’t get drawn in by attractive discounts, consider if you will wear it a lot, and style it up in your head before you buy it - and if you can only get under three outfits with it, it’s not worth it!
- Clothes swaps/sharing with your friends - it’s amazing what you can find in your friend’s wardrobes that they’ve fallen out of love with, and you’ve fallen in love with
- Customise those shoes/clothes you’ve fallen out of love with - bored of a denim jacket? Or your pair of Air Force Ones? Get them embellished, or painted, or dyed! There are so many ways to recycle those pieces that you’ve neglected, and turn them into something vibrant and unique
- Get your shoes professionally cleaned - we’re so quick to throw out shoes when they get a bit dirty; but, support local businesses: there are more shoe cleaners around than you think; pay for your old Stan Smiths to have a good clean and I promise you’ll be glad you didn’t pay the extra £70 for a new pair
Fast fashion can be combatted, it’s not going to happen overnight, but as the demand for fast fashion brands decrease so will their margins, and thus so will their strain on the industry. Do your bit, the opposite of fast fashion isn’t just high fashion, it’s making an effort in your every day life, which often hardly costs a penny…
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