There’s a saying often attributed to Yves St Laurent that goes “Fashion fades; style is forever.”
Nowadays, that seems less and less true. Clothes just don’t last like they used to, and social media places enormous pressure on us to have a fresh new look every time we leave the house. It’s expensive, wasteful, and frankly exhausting!
How did we get here? You can blame in part the rise of fast fashion brands like Forever 21, Top Shop, Zara, and H&M. These brands use a method called Quick Response Manufacturing to flood the market with knock off versions of designer styles the minute they hit the runway manufactured in small supply using synthetic fabrics (read plastic) and cheap labor from the global south.
This process allows average consumers to afford high fashion in dozens of mini-seasons over the course of the year. For example check out these $690 Balenciaga sneakers and their $90 Zara knockoffs. They’re practically identical save the logo.
While it may be fun to have new options every couple of weeks, it comes at a big cost for the planet. Americans today buy an average of 68 new pieces of clothing per year, and nearly half of those pieces are worn three times or less before being thrown away. In 2018, fast fashion created more emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
In 2020, most of us know that this type of consumption is unethical and unsustainable but can’t afford to stop. We buy poorly constructed and low quality clothing to save money, and then when those pieces fall apart after the second wear, we feel like we have to buy more. It’s a vicious, addictive cycle.
I’m not asking you to stop buying fast fashion; I’m asking you to buy used when possible and to do a little work to make your pieces last longer. Studies show that wearing one piece of clothing for 9 months longer than usual reduces its carbon footprint by 30%. If every American bought one used item instead of new, it could save six pounds of CO2. That’s the equivalent of removing half a million cars from the road for one year.
Learning to make simple adjustments and repairs (sewing a button, patching a hole, replacing a broken zipper, etc) can help make your garments last longer. And if you still want a fresh look, try customizing your clothes and trading pieces with friends to reduce waste. It all goes a long way to making fashion more sustainable.
If you’re interested in learning more about the fast fashion industry and its effects on the environment, I recommend Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas. She goes in depth into all the technological, political, and psychology factors that enabled the rise of fast fashion. And if you’re feeling inspired to learn some basic tailoring and repair skills, I recommend Evelyn Wood on Youtube. Her Mending Clothes series is easy to follow and super informative:
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