13 Solutions To Avoid Fast Fashion
2-Shop from sustainable brands
3- Buy Better Quality and make it Last
4- Rethink Before Throwing Out Your Clothes
5- Consider Second Hand, Swap, and Rent Clothing
7- Swap with friends and family
9- Donate your gently used clothes
10- Choose Natural and Organic materials
13- Encourage Others to Adopt Sustainable Fashion
In the past 20 years, the fashion industry has grown rapidly, causing so many environmental issues that need solutions. Women, especially, are picking up disposable and cheap trendy clothes at high-street stores daily. The fashion industry wants to answer consumers` demand for new trends, but it's not sustainable!
While fast fashion encourages people to buy the latest trends through transient influence through social media influencers, we`re offering 13 solutions to avoid fast fashion for people who want to start an eco-friendly life.
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion is a term used to describe the current trend in the fashion industry. This is the trend of producing inexpensive and quickly made clothing that is designed to move from the catwalk quickly to retail stores. This is to meet new, rapidly changing consumer demands. Fast fashion brands often use low-quality, cheap materials, and labor to produce garments, and then sell them at very low prices to consumers.
For example, popular fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and Forever 21 produce large quantities of clothing that resemble trends that are popular among consumers. They do this by cutting corners in terms of material quality or by exploiting cheap labor in countries where the cost of production is low. The result is a flood of cheaply made clothing that quickly falls apart and contributes to an unsustainable and unethical cycle of consumption. The negative effects of fast fashion industry have a significant environmental impact. For example, it generates large amounts of waste and uses excessive amounts of energy and water in the production process.
How to Avoid Fast Fashion?
While fast fashion harms the world, there are some solutions to avoid fast fashion and save the world. In spite of the temptation to blame big business alone, nearly all of us have contributed to the consumption and waste cycle. We can all do our part to break the cycle. Now that you`re reading this article, our hope is shared for the future of our planet.
Let's see what we should do to avoid fast fashion's harmful impact.
1- Buy Less
Quitting fast fashion is like putting yourself on a diet. It's a cycle that needs to be broken. In reality, we only need 1 or 2 of the 10 we buy. The problem is that people think they`ll be so happy if they purchase more clothes, even if they don't actually require them. To solve this problem and avoid fast fashion, we should reconsider our lifestyle. To avoid buying more, try to avoid:
Discount stores
Notoriously fast brands
Strip malls
Following new trends
Following fashion influencers on social media
Following fast fashion brands
2-Shop from sustainable brands
Conscientious consideration of environmental and social implications in manufacturing is increasingly adopted by sustainable fashion brands.
To make certain that your clothing choices don't negatively impact the environment or human beings, it's essential to be mindful of where you purchase them. By doing so, not only will your carbon emissions decrease, but it will also aid in the advancement of equitable labor practices worldwide.
Eco-conscious brands are meticulous with their supply chains, taking care to source recycled materials and ensuring fair wages for garment workers. To make an informed purchase, familiarize yourself with a brand's mission, values, and social and environmental policies. You can also check a brand's ranking on the Fashion Transparency Index to learn more about its commitment to sustainability.
3- Buy Better Quality and make it Last
When we look for cheap clothes, quality doesn't matter anymore. We buy re-doing clothes every now and then when the last ones lose their appeal and shape. It doesn't matter how expensive clothes are, quality isn't guaranteed, and some of them are likely to look old the moment we get them. If we start buying clothes of high quality, brands will be pushed to improve the quality of their clothes. It can help us keep our clothes longer and it`s good for the environment as well as our wallets. Despite companies convincing us that we need the latest styles in our closets to be happy, these styles are usually made of low-quality materials that do not last, so we have to spend more money on them in the long run.
Don`t you agree that one t-shirt made from 100% cotton is better than 3 t-shirts made from thin fabric? With the first one not only will you dress better, but you'll feel better about having a high-quality t-shirt and helping the environment.
4- Rethink Before Throwing Out Your Clothes
You might want to consider redesigning your clothes before throwing them away. You can turn a dress into a Halloween scarecrow or another custom dress. You can use their pieces of cloth to make handicrafts or pillowcases. As most of the garments contain synthetic, non-biodegradable fiber and can pile up in the landfill and harm the environment, don`t throw them in the normal bins. Instead, you can use your imagination to repair or redesign them or put them in the textile recycling bin.
5- Consider Second Hand, Swap, and Rent Clothing
It's not necessary to forsake your individual style or fashion sense to adopt sustainable fashion. Instead of purchasing brand-new garments, consider exploring some alternate avenues:
Second-hand shops: It's a widely embraced practice worldwide. In addition to brick-and-mortar stores, thrift shops, numerous websites, and apps provide an array of second-hand products, from budget-friendly items to designer apparel.
Swap clothes: The trend of clothing swaps is spreading globally. It involves individuals bringing in their unwanted clothes and exchanging them for items they will enjoy wearing. This eco-friendly and cost-effective practice is a great way to refresh your wardrobe. Additionally, clothing swaps can be organized among friends for a more intimate experience.
Rent clothes: The garment rental industry is rapidly expanding, providing an excellent alternative to infrequently worn items, such as maternity or baby clothes, and eveningwear. Additionally, some companies offer a monthly subscription, enabling clients to regularly refresh their wardrobes.
6- Wash Clothes Less Often
The processing of laundry consumes a significant amount of resources and contributes to pollution. Additionally, washing clothes less frequently can also help prolong the life of our clothes, especially items made from delicate fabrics such as silk or wool. Over-washing and harsh detergents can damage fibers, resulting in shorter garment lifetimes and a higher volume of discarded clothing.
The clothes you wear do not need to be washed after every use. Ultimately, it's important to strike a balance between maintaining good hygiene and minimizing our environmental impact.
7- Swap with friends and family
Your friends may like your pieces of clothes and you may want to try their clothes! Swapping pieces between friends and family is very fun and eco-friendly. You and your friend may renew your wardrobes instead of buying expensive garments. Trust me, this will make you both happy.
8- Recycle
Recycling clothes has a lot of significant advantages, both for the environment and for society. Here are some reasons why we should recycle our clothes:
Reducing landfill waste: Clothes can be recycled to make new products rather than end up in landfills.
Conservation of Resources: Making new clothes from raw materials such as cotton, silk, or synthetic fibers requires a significant amount of energy, water, and other natural resources. By recycling clothes, you conserve those resources and reduce pollution.
Lowering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Water Pollution: Clothes production often involves toxic chemicals and creates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Recycling clothes reduces emissions from the production of new clothes.
9- Donate your gently used clothes
Do you have more jeans than you need? Or you’ve moved away from a cold climate and you don't need your sweater anymore? In such situations, there are some ways that you can give your clothes a new life. One of these ways is to donate them. In this way, you can help people that may want your clothes more than you while you`re helping the planet. You can find those people by doing an online search.
Note: Before donating, make sure to contact those people and ask them what type of clothes they accept. Also, be sure you wash them and make sure they are in good condition before sending them.
10- Choose Natural and Organic materials
If you want to have the least fashion impact on the environment, buy clothes that are made from natural and organic fibers. You should choose materials such as organic hemp, linen, cotton, or jute. Cotton t-shirts are one of the best options that you can choose for yourself and give to your friends as a lovely sustainable gift.
11- Try made-to-order
There are some sustainable small start-ups that produce carefully. They release only one collection using sustainable fabrics at a time to meet consumer demand. Some of them create every shirt for each unique customer based on their measurements. Anything that doesn't fit will be altered or replaced for free.
12- Care for What You Have
To ensure longevity and preserve the beauty of finely crafted garments, it is imperative to adhere to care instructions when laundering. Labels indicating "hand-wash only" require a delicate wash by hand. The extra effort is well worth it in the extended lifespan of the piece.
Ensure you have an essential sewing kit within reach and keep track of the spare buttons that accompany well-made shirts. Common wardrobe mishaps, such as tiny rips, missing buttons, and even damaged zippers, can often be remedied with basic tailoring skills.
An increasing number of ethical clothing companies now provide repair services. Don't give up on a worn-out garment just yet - hold onto the warranty and check with the brand before discarding it.
Investing in a local tailor can transform an average outfit or even a collection of pre-owned garments into a stunning, figure-flattering ensemble. Supporting small businesses helps to ensure high-quality pieces that are just slightly distinctive, making them a wise, moderate investment for fashion-conscious individuals.
13- Encourage Others to Adopt Sustainable Fashion
To reduce the harmful impacts of fast fashion, you have to make some noise. Raising awareness of fast fashion issues is a step towards making a difference. Encouraging others to adopt sustainable fashion habits can be a challenge, but there are some steps you can take to inspire others to make a change:
Start by educating your friends and family about the importance of sustainable fashion.
Share your own experience and talk about the sustainable fashion choices you have made and share the benefits you have experienced.
Go second-hand shopping together. Take your friends and family to secondhand and thrift stores to show them how fashionable and affordable used clothing can be.
Lead by example. By implementing what you preach and modeling sustainable habits in your daily life, you can inspire others to follow suit.
Make a difference by supporting companies that promote a more sustainable, socially responsible way of doing business and boycotting those who fail to do so.
Ask fashion designers and companies about the environment and the conditions of their work. Let them see you care about how clothes are made in addition to price and style.
Applaud people when reuse, repurpose, and make wardrobes last a long time.
Compliment acquaintances on clothes you’ve seen them wear before or can tell are homemade or vintage, instead of only when you see them wearing something new.
Rather than always complimenting someone on clothes that are new, compliment acquaintances on clothes you have seen them wear before.
Conclusion
Have you ever repeated the same outfit? Do you consider the origins of your clothing? Do you hold onto items until they no longer fit, or do you frequently switch out your wardrobe? These inquiries may seem tiring, but they are increasingly relevant as conscientious Global Citizens prioritize sustainable shopping practices.
With prices dropping and consumption skyrocketing, the fashion industry churns out products to keep up with demand. As a result, it has become the world's second-largest polluter.
Within this post, we have laid out fundamental fast fashion remedies for eco-conscious consumers seeking to avoid damaging the environment.
