Taking A Step to Stop Fast Fashion

by Bianca Pusung

The Fast Fashion industry has been overproducing, this has been going on for centuries and polluting our planet. Fast Fashion exceeds the demands from customers and these huge billion-dollar companies are coming up with new items to follow up every new trend that comes out season to season. This is harmful for the environment and economic losses for the business. When a brand overproduces, they tend to put their items on sale/discount and when this happens people tend to buy more than what they need. This tends to be a never-ending cycle in the fast fashion industry. How can you as an individual take a step in stopping fast fashion and help save our planet?

How much clothing waste is produced throughout the year? Residents dispose of 1.4 billion pounds of clothing and textiles each year, worth over $130 million. In percentage this would be 83% of textiles are disposed in the garbage. Fast Fashion is projected to jump 63% by 2030. Here are some reselling apps you can resell your items on - Depop - Etsy - Poshmark - Thredup - Ebay Learn more - https://expmag.com/2022/01/what-fast-fashion-costs-the-world/ - https://www.shared-impact.com/perspectives/the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion/

Why does overproduction happen? Outdated inventory models based on predicted demands create overstocking and pollution that damages the reputation of the fashion industry. The Fashion overproduction rate is about 30%-40% in any given season. Also, the factories typically take several months to deliver the garments and have a minimum order quantity of tens of thousands for each model of clothing, meaning if a product isn’t produced all the product goes to waste.

How can you help? Donating your clothes to your local thrift can help save our planet and help benefit others. Here are some challenges you can participate in to taking a step to stopping fast fashion. 1. For every new clothing item someone purchases they must donate 1 item in their closet for 3 months. 2. For every 5 items that are donated they can purchase 2 items from secondhand clothing stores for the next 6 months. 3. For 12 months an individual will sell or donate 2 items from their closets and purchase 2 more items from a secondhand store for every month.