Fast Fashion Is Old Fashioned

Climate change is an increasingly worrying issue that has been dominating headlines for some time now. Most of us are aware of the little changes that we can make to our every day lives to try and slow down the problem- minimising our use of plastic, reducing our water waste etc. But a simple method of aiding the environment that many of us forget is cutting down on fast fashion. I am the first person to admit that I spend way too much money on clothes way too often. I am forever browsing the internet for the latest deals and making new purchases with which I am sure many of you can relate. However in a bid to save our planet perhaps it is finally time that we wake up and realise that fast fashion is old fashioned.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, the term “fast fashion” is defined as “clothes that are made and sold cheaply, so that people can buy new clothes often”. Initially this sounds great. We have a timeless excuse to go shopping more frequently and we are spending minimal amounts of money as the clothes that we are buying are inexpensive. Although it is unrealistic to assume that our £14 Primark jeans are going to last a lifetime, for most of us our banks are not broken when it comes to buying a new pair. What isn’t mentioned in this popular thought process is that it is the short lifespan of clothing from fast fashion retailers which plays a part in harming the environment. Our desperate need to source new clothing at a persistent pace increases pollution levels as a result of rapid production. An article on Business Insider states: “the fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions.” This means that the field of fast fashion is the world’s second largest polluter, failing to overtake just oil. Not only that, but waste is an obvious issue caused by the constant act of throwing away our clothes. The website keepbritaintidy.org claims that “10,000 items of clothing are being sent to landfill every five minutes” signifying that the raw materials used during the production process are wasted too. The website reveals that “it takes around 1,800 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans”. That means that 1,800 gallons of water is wasted for every pair of jeans thrown away. Evidently, this is dangerously unhealthy for the environment. Something needs to change.

So what can we do? We don’t want to spend masses of money on our clothes, but we want to be environmentally aware of how our actions impact the planet. One small change that we can make to our buying habits is visiting our local charity shops. There are countless amounts on the high streets - Barnardos, Shelter, British Heart Foundation- all of them amazing causes. I have been speaking to Danielle Keatings, who is the assistant manager of Cancer Research UK Dunfermline, via Facebook who told me about the environmental ethics of their store. She said: “We make the assumption that in each bag of clothing donated we will receive 20 items of sellable stock, with anything un-sellable being sold onto a recycling company”. This has positive payoffs regardless of the outcome. For every item sold, Cancer Research UK Dunfermline are raising money for their fantastic fund and items that cannot be sold are reused in an alternative way. Danielle exemplified this by saying “in the same week our volunteers processed 1160 items of clothing to sell, with 975 being sold.” In this case only 185 clothing items were not sold resulting in those pieces being recycled. Even if purchasing from charity shops isn’t your thing, simply donating your old clothes instead of tossing them in the tip is already an eco friendly act.

From one fashion lover to another I know that it may seem difficult to break the cycle of shopping for current trends. Maybe it is time for us to push ourselves out of our comfort zones a little. Danielle put me in contact with Lisa Adams, a spokeswoman for Cancer Research UK. When asked about why she would encourage people to shop for clothes at charity shops she said: “By encouraging people to purchase from charity shops and by asking for donations of pre loved items to support this, less items will go landfill. There are so many amazing items you can pick up in a charity shop. There is so much potential.” If you are someone who likes to switch up your style and is subconsciously feeding the fast fashion industry, perhaps you’ll be able to find some quirky pieces in a charity shop. Perhaps you’ll find something unique that your usual retailer doesn’t stock. Lisa continued to talk about the availability of Cancer Research UK shops. No matter where you are in the U.K. a charity shop is guaranteed to be near you. Lisa says: “There are 83 Cancer Research UK shops across Scotland, from high streets to out-of-town superstores. Every item sold is helping fund life-saving research.” The accessibility of charity shops works wonders for the environment also as it reduces the need for cars and public transport which helps to decrease pollution.

I think we should all make a conscious effort to explore the rails of charity shops to feed our love for fashion. This not only benefits the funding for fantastic charities, but also helps us tackle the climate crisis. In this day and age, it is something we cannot ignore. It is time we take a stand, make a change and admit that fast fashion is old fashioned.