It’s Never Been Easier to Ditch Fast Fashion, So Are You In?
Are you forever falling head-over-heels for fashion? Those of us who share this passion are often hungrily hooked on the power that personal expression allows us to harness—a magical force that builds confidence and helps us leave our mark on the world!
But, have you ever stopped to wonder if your fabulous wardrobe might have a less-than-fabulous footprint? I did, and here’s what I discovered.
According to the British-founded charitable organization Oxfam, we giddy fashionistas have been churning through an estimated 80 billion pieces of clothing every year — and in the era of fast fashion, an array of unwelcome and unsustainable impacts are trailing in our wake.
However, recent years have also hosted the rise of a dynamic generation of digital thrifting marketplaces, representing a fortunate turn of events for conscientious lovers of all things chiffon, leather, and lace.
Yes, a glorious second-hand clothing tsunami has arrived to turn the tide, transforming a sumptuous chunk of the consumerist status quo into something more circular and sustainable. As a colourful sea of second-hand clothing is increasingly placed right at our fingertips, could this be your cue to explore it?
Lifting the Curtain on the Fast Fashion Industry
Before we dive into the delights of garments well-travelled, let’s stick a few pins in the problems that come along with staying ahead of the latest fast fashion trends and footwear drops. Crucially, why should you consider making a good ol’ ditch-and-switch?
The first thing to know, as highlighted by the youth and celebrity-centric second-hand platform Depop, is that we have already accumulated enough items of clothing globally to dress the next six generations of the human race. Surely, this raises a red flag that our consumption has gotten out of hand. Do we really need to invite more apparel into the world?
As if the sheer cumulative scale of our bulging wardrobes wasn’t alarming enough, the synthetic creations of the clothing industry are shedding half a million tons of microplastics each year, just as textile dyeing spits out 20% of the world’s wastewater. In essence, our latest outfits are transforming what flows through the world’s waterways into an increasingly toxic plastic soup.
Making matters worse, even if we stumble into a late-night splurge and then back-track by guiltily returning our sweatshop-produced shopping haul, we can’t truly clear our consciences. That’s because fast fashion companies often deem it more cost-effective to send returned goods to landfill than to sort through and reenter them into circulation.
Still not convinced? Hmm. Well, if your flavour of fashion-forwardness is distinctly (and glamorously) Cruella-esque, you may still wish to pause and ponder. The news flash to notice is that your latest low-cost apparel spoils may pose a very real risk to your health.
Case in point, a 2021 investigation into the products of popular Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein discovered elevated levels of lead, phthalates, and PFAS in many of the garments tested. At the very least, this makes heeding the label warning to wash your onesie before wearing it all the more compelling — although, this only rinses an unsavoury portion of the problem downstream.
Shein’s widespread marketing and clever strategy of encouraging social media influencers to showcase their “Shein haul” videos have allowed them to grow into the industry’s biggest behemoth. Meanwhile, as the global fast fashion market is projected to grow from $106.42 billion in 2022 to $122.98 billion in 2023, we have to ask ourselves, could a better way be awaiting us?
Dropping the Fast Fashion Shenanigans
For many, a huge obstacle to steering clear of fast fashion has always been the cost of more sustainably produced alternatives. As much as I’d love to have lived my life gently embraced by nothing but ethically sourced natural fibres sustainably crafted into stylish garments, my bank balance hasn’t always been a great facilitator of making it so.
But everything changed when I encountered the thrill of affordable and second-hand abundance on sites such as European-focused second-hand clothing site Micolet and the increasingly global user-to-user marketplace Vinted.
Picture an ever-shifting supply of sublime stilettoes, perfect pleats, and enchanting embroidery. In short, every fashion fan’s candy store moment, without the metaphorical inevitability of of tooth-rot!
For those who love their labels, luxury resale destinations like Poshmark and the Vestiaire Collective are rising alongside the likes of Depop and Threadup to ensure that every echelon of thrifters is catered to.
What’s more, those of us who enjoy the thrill of the hunt can claim the satisfaction that comes with tracking down and acquiring rare and iconic pieces from our favourite designer archives.
Getting Fashionably Fired-Up to Make a Change
My personal pledge to give fast fashion the boot for good came upon completion of exactly such a quest — resulting in the purchase of a truly treasured garment.
Sitting patiently and unnoticed on one of the aforementioned sites, I unearthed the phenomenal zip-adorned biker jacket pictured above, which is a 1990s diamond from iconic designer turned educator and activist Helen Storey.
Interestingly, in her book Fighting Fashion, Storey described her interaction long ago with a much lusted-after camel coat, and in doing so perfectly expresses why fast fashion — and indeed any kind of fashion — so often places us at the whims of impulsively.
“I had to have it. It was a way of confirming an altered part of myself I thought would last.”
Helen Storey, Fighting Fashion, 1996
What a familiar sentiment, don’t you agree? For surely, we all crave the high that is achieved when we self-define through fashion.
Indeed, putting on this jacket makes me feel like the absolute best version of myself. However, as I have come to realise, the rush runs much deeper and is far more lasting than it would be with some run-of-the-mill garb, simply because of everything I imagine when I pull that leather loveliness off the hanger.
You see, at the time of this mighty jacket’s creation, Storey was one of the most exciting sparks within the London fashion scene, having come up through Valentino and Lancetti before launching her namesake brand in 1984. Since then, she has transformed into an artistic crusader and activist, using fashion as an elegant trojan horse to bring vital conversations to the table in unexpected ways.
Since making her own leap away from the mainstream, Storey has served as professor of Fashion and Science at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the University of the Arts, London, and as co-director of the Helen Storey Foundation. From these platforms, she has launched an array of mesmerising projects, including:
► Collaborating with chemist Tony Ryan to use existing nanotechnology to make garments that filter pollution from the air as they move through it (Catalytic Clothing)
► Partnering with her sister, biologist Kate Storey, to create a collection that explores embryonic and lung development, raising awareness of the interactions between our environment and the delicate tissues of the body (Primitive Streak)
► Creating Disappearing Dresses, a collection of phenomenally intricate couture designs that dissolve instantly in water, sending chasing colours through the liquid in a “ballet of biology,” thus making a statement about consumption, waste, and the scarcity of resources (Wonderland)
► Pairing with the Royal Society of Chemistry and master glass smiths in Venice to create a dress made of glass that holds a live flame burning within, stimulating viewers to probe the importance of science to the future of our world (Glasstress)
► Transforming a decommissioned refugee tent from the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan into an upcycled and dramatically hooded travelling fashion statement on climate change (Dress For Our Time)
Clearly, this is a creative who understands our human desire to buy things that represent “us,” and yet, finally donning the work of someone who has committed so fully to living a life that aligns with her values served me with an oddly welcome slap in the face, ultimately urging me to examine that representation more fully.
Suddenly, the idea of buying anything that qualifies as fast fashion felt worse than frivolous and in fact fundamentally short-sighted — so I made myself a silent promise.
The reality is that the clothes we wear can be so much more than a quick-fix statement or last-minute look. Instead, we can claim the far greater triumph of dressing in what expresses both our personalities and our values.
Of course, not every second-hand steal can be as profound as my beloved Helen Storey biker jacket, but for me, each pre-loved piece celebrates a desire to support circular economy, side-step polluting manufacturers, honour fellow earthlings, and keep my carbon footprint as low as possible.
I wear that meaning every day. Plus, as an added bonus, my finances are healthier and my fashion statements more delightfully unique. All in all, I’d say that’s a win for me and a success for the #slowfashion movement!
So, at a time when buying cheap but high-quality wardrobe staples and vintage goodies from the sustainable brands you love requires only a few clicks, will you join me in waving goodbye to fast fashion once and for all? The individual human sellers will thank you, as will the planet — as will your body and mind. So what have you got to lose?
