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“Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low that many consumers consider this clothing to be disposable. Some call it ‘fast fashion,’ the clothing equivalent of fast food.”
Luz Claudio made this statement in his article “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” for the Environmental Health Perspectives website. Fast fashion has taken hold as lines from top designers have hit almost every large retailer, including Target and H&M. It’s not that it’s a bad idea for high-end designers to create fashion lines for the masses; the issue is the cycle that Waste Couture promotes.
The quote above is important because green fashion doesn’t just mean organically grown or locally produced clothing. It also signifies the difference between a cheap sweater and one that will last for years, which saves money and reduces landfill waste. For a simple and easy way to advance this attitude in the industry, look to the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Students of all ages are headed back to school. At the beginning of August, the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops reported that resale was finally added to the National Retail Federation survey. Shops are opening everywhere that buy from anyone willing to sell items that aren’t worn out and are considered still fashionable. Vintage designers, timeless classics, and even barely-worn clothes from last season are accepted, depending on the resale store. According to the NRF, 18.2% of people are expected to shop resale and thrift for their back-to-school needs.
The upside? Claudio notes: “Domestic resale has boomed in the era of the Internet. Many people sell directly to other individuals through auction websites such as eBay. Another increasingly popular outlet is consignment and thrift shops, where sales are growing at a pace of 5% per year.”
Many consumers are changing their shopping habits due to the economy, which has also helped the resale community. NARTS members were surveyed to judge whether sales had risen or fallen during the second quarter of 2009. When the results came in, 64.1% of the 263 stores surveyed said that their sales increased.
In a poll on the BusinessWeek website, 55% of readers said they plan to spend less on back-to-school clothing this year. The article goes on to discuss what consumers will or should cut from their shopping lists.
I think this viewpoint is all wrong. Consumers have more than the two choices of buying versus not buying: they can choose to simply buy resale and thrift clothing.
The Frugal Dad blog promotes a conservative personal finance style. The Frugal Dad says: “Not only are these great places to generate some quick cash for cleaning out a closet before school starts, they are also a good place to look for deals on designer clothing, if that is something you’re after.”
In fact, many resale shops are beginning to sell mainly designer or high end fashion pieces. In Fast Fashions Effect on Planet Isn’t Pretty,” Maura Judkis of U.S. News and World Report says that although more expensive, long-lasting pieces seem to be the answer to the fast fashion dilemma, even “cheaply made, throwaway chic” like what is found at corporate retail stores can be resold or thrifted without need for any turned-up noses. Likewise, I have personally found designer pieces such as shoes from BCBG, shirts from Lacoste, and Diane von Furstenberg housecoats at thrift stores. It’s out there.
We all need a little back-to-school shopping to keep us feeling young. But as we take our wallet thickness into account, we should also examine the toll that fast fashion takes on our environment.
