Since it’s Earth Month, we’ve been running a #SaveMoneySaveThePlanet Challenge with our email subscribers. Sign-up here. We can’t let this month pass by without talking about fashion, more specifically how fast fashion affects our wallets and the planet and how we must all transition towards the concept of slow fashion.

You might have heard of fast fashion — clothing that can be both cheap in costs and in quality. But have you heard about slow fashion? Slow fashion focuses on the opposite, curating clothing that is more sustainable in its production and material, while having a newfound appreciation for consumer transparency, ethics, and local, artisan craft.

What is Fast Fashion?

In short, “Fast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing. Garment production utilizes trend replication and low-quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public” (The Good Trade). Like many industries, the ability to streamline production processes has expedited its ability to manufacture pieces fairly quickly. As brands quickly design for each new season and the time in between, stores receive new deliveries of merchandise almost weekly. Because everyone is trying to keep up with the ongoing trends, the rate of production leads to cutting corners and brands selling low-quality pieces. By rapidly producing trendy clothes, the styles we see in stores and online quickly become obsolete and emphasizes over consumption.

Why is Fast Fashion Bad?

Because it’s easy to produce and is so easy to access, fast fashion often leads to over consumption. Not only does it have detrimental effects to the environment, but many fast fashion brands are notorious for unjust working conditions for their garment workers. While fast fashion may be cheap and trendy to us, it comes at a cost of others and our planet. Fast fashion is known for its:

1. Environmental Issues - The fashion and textile industry is a huge culprit of releasing microplastics, dangerous dyes, product waste, energy consumption, transportation emissions, and more. It takes a lot of resources to make a single article of clothing and there are also a lot of negative byproducts during manufacturing.

2. Ethical Issues -  The lack of regulations in the fashion industry have led to rampant exploitative conditions in garment factories. The people involved in garment production are often experiencing poor working conditions, long arduous hours, minimal pay, pollution, and more. Majority of garment workers are also women, which can also mean additional abuse and violence.

How does it affect my wallet?

All the clothes that are either sitting in our closets, being donated, or even being thrown away were once money we had in our pockets. Regardless if you found a great deal or not, it was money spent. We certainly don’t buy like we used to, as our urge to satisfy impulse desires has led our budgets astray. In her book Overdressed, Elizabeth Cline writes how we have little incentive to keep wearing, much less repair, the clothes we already have, especially when styles change so quickly and it’s cheaper and more convenient to buy more. Can you believe people used to have less than 10 outfits? According to Elizabeth Cline, “We each buy more than 60 pieces of new clothing on average per year” (Cline). Even if you only spend $50 on new clothes every month, it all adds up. You’re already out $600 for the year. And that just the cost of bought items. Many of us also put things on credit, extending the cost of our purchases even more. How much fast fashion do we put on a credit card loan and is it worth it?

From Forever21 to Zara, to everything in-between, our favorite stores have profited billions and billions of dollars from our consumerism. For example, “H&M's yearly sales in 2017 were $25 billion, and their CEO's net worth is $1.9 billion,” according to BusinessInsider. Companies like H&M rely on our mindset to buy for the short-term, rather than consider more mindful investments.

What is Slow Fashion?

Slow fashion is an attempt at the opposite. Slow fashion encourages consumers to think about their clothing. It brings awareness and considers not only the resources required to produce clothing, but the processes and people involved as well. Slow fashion usually encompasses buying better quality items, but I’d like to think it also takes a step back to re-evaluate our relationship with the garments we put on our body. Slow fashion is usually made from higher quality and/or sustainable materials, is handmade or made in smaller batches, has more regulated warehouses, and has fewer collections. It often emphasizes local craft and the environment. 

For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on the stepping stones towards curtailing consumerism, taking advantage of our own closet, and understanding facets of garments to make better choices in the future. Most of us know that fast fashion has huge impacts on both people and the planet, but many of us are still beginning to understand what it means for slow fashion to be good, clean, and fair. 

Is the Slow Fashion Movement Accessible?

While it’s commendable to want to stray away from fast fashion, it’s important to understand that it’s not an easy thing to do. Sustainable or ethical clothing can be expensive. If you cannot buy new from a sustainable brand, then your options lead you to thrifting, but not everyone wants to buy their clothes secondhand or can find suitable items. Shaming those who cannot afford to overhaul their wardrobe or shop elsewhere can be unproductive -- when sometimes the only option is participating in unethical consumption because it’s affordable and accessible. Not everyone has thrift stores near them. Not everyone can buy clothes online. Not everyone can find clothes in their size. Not everyone can afford clothes to begin with. Many people have little choice but to participate in it to stretch their dollar. 

With the popularity of thrifting, the gentrification of thrift stores is also a real problem that contributes to the divide between fast and slow fashion. Some people go to thrift stores for the sole purpose of raiding the racks and reselling for a profit, rather than for their own use. The accessibility of thrift stores can diminish when people can no longer find suitable clothing. For example, someone may prefer buying secondhand clothes because a conventional store doesn’t offer inclusive sizing. However, someone may buy out all the “cute” larger items to resell and market as an “oversize” fit or to purposely crop and style. Others argue that these kinds of buyers help get rid of stock much faster, which helps thrift stores get through their donation piles. Some people also pride themselves in the reselling market. Another shopper may really dislike buying secondhand, so they may prefer to buy their clothes from Shein because the clothes are super cute, fits their budget, and has more inclusive size options. As you can see, it’s a complex system. 

This list is meant to be an intro to slow fashion and how you can personally combat the fast fashion industry by modifying your own habits. We are imperfect people with imperfect habits, who participate in a dynamic system, but if we have the means, we can make more sustainable choices to change our wardrobe. Individual action and how you strive towards slow fashion is a push in the right direction towards changing the norm.

Take Care of Your Clothes

If we want to extend the lifespan of our clothing, we need to pay more attention to its care instructions. It’s easy to just dump all your clothes into light and dark; whites and colors; etc. Try to follow the actual laundry instructions listed on the tags. Don’t overwash items that can be re-worn a couple more times. Growing up, I was always reminded to always wash clothing inside out. In an effort to save energy, my parents also emphasized hanging my clothes to dry instead of using the dryer if the weather permitted. If my clothes were lackluster or getting tattered too easily my mom would tell me I wasn’t taking care of my clothes. 

Learn to mend the imperfections. 

Gone are the days where if something is slightly damaged, we take the time to mend and fix it, but it’s time to change that. I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely just given up on a piece of clothing just because there was a hole or missing button, when I easily could have just got it fixed. Whether it’s a loose button or a rip, a little love and care can go a long way to extend the life of your imperfect clothes. 

• Learn how to do some basic sewing. A little sewing can go a long way.

• Use an old razor or a depiller or fabric shaver to make your sweaters look brand new.

• Learn the best stain removal methods for a particular fabric.

Begin to Invest in Staple Pieces

Sometimes we don’t have the patience OR money to revamp our wardrobes into a sustainable safe haven. Start small and build up your closet. Your closet and your wallet isn’t meant to overhaul everything overnight. Be realistic about the pieces you want to invest in next. If you have 5 perfectly good shirts, you don’t need to suddenly buy 5 new eco-conscious replacements. If you’re in the market for a new item that you don’t already own, then do the research and start from there. 

Brand Names  ≠  Good Quality

Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s sustainable or ethical. This is your chance to research the product you want, as well as the brands’ practices. It takes effort to be a conscious consumer. To get started, you can use sites like EthicalConsumer to make more informed decisions about where to shop next or where your current clothes come from. Ethical Consumer helps to investigate, score, and rank the environmental and ethical practices of different brands.

Learn about different materials.

Not all clothes and materials are created equally. Fast fashion often uses materials that are low in cost, versatile, and provide wrinkle-free properties. This makes it easy to fast produce and make a variety of clothes. Polyester, for example, is a huge culprit in the fast fashion industry and uses a lot of oil to produce. Synthetic materials, like polyester, tend to shed plastic microfibers, which isn’t good for our ecosystem either.

Natural materials like wool, hemp, and organic cotton are popular more eco-friendly materials, but they aren’t perfect either. It takes a lot of water to make cotton, for example. Learning about slow fashion includes learning about different materials and how they all have different pros and cons. 

DIY

It’s one thing to buy a piece of clothing, but it’s another to actually wear it. Often with fast fashion, we easily move onto the next best thing and some items sit in the back of our closet going unnoticed after a few months, even years! Is there anything you can do to upcycle a piece of clothing in your closet? There are a ton of DIY tutorials to reinvent your old top or pants, whether it’s tie-dying, cropping, embroidering a cute design, etc. You can give a new life to an article of clothing, by personalizing it.

We love getting inspiration from TheSorryGirls. and WithWendy.

Thrift / Buy Second-Hand

You can still find great items in great condition when you thrift. If you still want to buy from beloved trendy stores/brands, but they don’t necessarily make their mark on sustainability, at least try to buy it thrifted. Whether it’s Forever 21, H&M, Shein, or Zara, buying second hand is another option rather than buying new from the same companies. Poshmark, Thredup, Ebay, and Depop all carry popular brands that you already love or are familiar with. Thrifting gives another chance to a piece of clothing that is already in circulation, rather than creating demand for new items. If you’re new to thrifting, see our guide on Thrifting Tips.

If you’re interested in checking out ThredUp - use this link to get 50% off of your first order.

Recognize Why You Buy in the First Place

To understand how and why we participate in shopping and the fast fashion complex, we need to understand why we like to buy in the first place. If you love buying a lot of clothes, but want to understand how you can curtail that habit, you need to recognize the different reasons that influence your shopping decisions. 

Reasons why you may like to shop and spend unnecessarily:

• Clothes and belongings are a form of self-expression

• It makes you feel confident 

• You want to convey yourself in a particular light (a persona, an aesthetic, a social status)

• You love the thrill of finding a good deal

• You have an aversion to old or used things. You must have it new!

• You use it as a coping mechanism.

• You forgot what you already own.

• Your shopping habits could be a mix of all of these things! 
  
  

You’re not a bad person if you identify yourself in one or many of the reasons above, but by addressing these feelings, it can make you a more mindful and conscientious consumer.

Donating Fast Fashion Clothes to Revamp your Closet isn’t the First Step

When you learn about all the problems related to fast fashion, you probably second guess your closet and want to donate what you can. You want to replace pieces that seem *better* but the donation market can also be a problem. Not all places can handle the influx of closet clean outs and many donated clothes end up being shipped overseas. These clothes end up at even a higher discount or taking up space in many of the countries that the clothes were made in in the first place. 

Before you drop off your clothes at your local GoodWill, Salvation Army, or drop-off box, donate to more specific places first. This could mean asking your relative or friend if they want to take a look at your donation pile, or researching what specific shelters are in your area that could use donations. If you don’t want to donate, you can always sell your clothes as well. 

Understand the Mall’s Role in the Fast Fashion Industry

Majority of stores in your mall are probably all feeding in fast fashion cycles. They all play into the trends and cater their clothing to appeal to you, but trends come and go with the seasons. Fast fashion is popular because it’s trendy and accessible and unfortunately the mall on the other side of town isn’t probably the best place to find more environmental or ethical options. Become comfortable going out of your way to find and curate slow fashion. This could mean finding a small, local business, thrifting, or shopping secondhand online. It’s not as convenient and quick as going to the mall or shopping plaza, but it’s called slow fashion for many reasons.

Find Another Activity to Replace Shopping

I grew up hanging out at the mall, walking around with my friends as if I owned the place. My adolescence hobbies were centered around loitering at the mall and buying what I thought would make me look cool. Once I got older, shopping at the mall was a more interesting activity because I actually had the money to spend. If I was bored or had some free time on the weekend or after work, I would stop by a few stores because I simply could. I prided myself in shopping as a hobby. Coming to terms with wanting to change my wardrobe meant I needed to stray away from shopping as my default activity. 

Familiarize yourself with Transparent Pricing

As mentioned before, clothing comes at a cost. Customers should have the right to understand and know what garments cost to produce. The next time you are shopping, take a second to think about the price of an item. A piece of clothing involves materials (fabric), hardware costs (zippers), labor (sewing, stitching, dying), duties (customs), and transportation. The store or brand then evaluates the true cost of an item and then marks it up for a profit. By understanding pricing, it can help give some context to why some clothes are super cheap, while others are more expensive.

Slow Fashion doesn’t mean Boring!

I get it, you started looking for more sustainable clothing brands and a lot of the clothing lines you come across are all very neutral, basic, or less shapely for your body type. I don’t want to wear neutrals. I don’t really have a minimalist style. It’s not even cute. Slow fashion has to constantly fight with the ever-changing fashion industry and while slow fashion won’t necessarily pick up on the trends that we see on Tik Tok, Instagram, or Pinterest, there are still ways you can make your personality shine through your clothes, whether it’s by DIYing or buying more eccentric pieces locally. 

In Conclusion...

Your journey to a slow fashion wardrobe is up to you. Whether that means starting with organic materials, buying less, or thrifting, you have different avenues towards a more sustainable closet. Aiming for slow fashion does not mean you need to bankrupt yourself, nor does it mean you need to forego your own personal style. Find what’s feasible for you.

If you have the means…

Buy Less. Choose Well. Make it Last.

PS. Don’t forget your reusable shopping bag!