Shopping Sustainably
March 14, 2022 2022-03-23 11:01Shopping Sustainably
Healing the Earth and Shopping Smarter
Many clothing brands infamous for low prices and trendy fashion are unfortunately proponents of the fast fashion industry. The fast fashion industry, while enormously popular, also has a devastating impact on the environment and the exploitation of workers.
Some of the problems with fast fashion originate from domestic companies outsourcing their labor and factories to developing countries. This is due to cheap labor and less regulated safety conditions in factories. As a result, employees in these factories work in dangerous conditions, often resulting in death and injury. To make matters worse, they are also not appropriately compensated, making a meager $20 a week for nearly 70 hours of work in some places.
Another issue with fast fashion is that the clothes are produced using unsustainable resources. The goal of fast fashion is to produce large amounts of clothing inexpensively, as quickly as possible, so the quality of the clothes is poor. Synthetic fabrics made of plastic and oil, such as polyester, release significant carbon emissions in production and are unsustainable.
“Thrifting is a suitable alternative to shop sustainably,” freshman Dalila Galarza said. “It is a more effective way to evade supporting child labor and the inhumane aspects of the fashion industry.”
Avoiding fast fashion brands when possible can lower your individual carbon footprint. Shopping from sustainable brands or thrift stores is a better alternative for the environment and exploited laborers.
It is true that fast fashion is often more accessible than sustainable brands. However, this is partly due to cheap materials that harm the environment and not compensating laborers. While it may not be a realistic choice to always shop sustainably, it is necessary to remain aware of these issues in fast fashion.
“It can be hard to find sustainable clothes in my budget, so I will put an effort to try going to the thrift store more often,” said sophomore Jadyn Bosket.
Fast fashion surrounds us, but the negative aspects cannot be ignored or downplayed. Therefore, sustainable shopping is our opportunity to support what is important to help safeguard the environment and workers.
