Fashion is Wasteful

It is almost impossible to avoid fashion trends. But, they change so fast. One second you are holding your favorite skinny jeans near and dear to your heart, and the next you're throwing them in the trash and waving good-bye. Next thing you know, all your mint and coral clothes are being burned in a landfill along with a pair of sneakers that was popular for about two years, and you can’t wear them anymore because they simply “aren’t in style”.

The worst part about the wastefulness of our poor spending habits is that fashion always goes out of style and comes back twenty years later. Everything my mom wore as a teenager? I’m practically wearing it now. She always laughs when she sees me get dressed and says she wore the exact same outfits in high school. The wasteful habits seem dumber when we realize they could be reused. 

But clothes can’t just be donated, because it will take another twenty years for anyone to buy them and by then your local Goodwill will already have done no good and will have burned the damned clothes already! And keeping it in your closet seems like such a waste–Americans spend way too much money on clothes and have way too much. What ever will you do if you don’t have room to buy more clothes?

Trends are vicious cycles that arise, get popular, boom, decline, and disintegrate–literally. So what can even be done? First of all, realize capitalism sucks–not the point–but next, invest your money correctly into clothing. It is much more sustainable to buy more basics for more money that will last longer, and you can wear them more often than to spend lots of money on cheap clothes that follow the current trends. Of course, buy those low-waisted baggy jeans, buy that super bright top you will only wear on special occasions. But don’t fill your closet with them. There can be too much of a good thing.

Lastly, maybe don’t throw your old clothes in the trash (unless they are absolutely trashed), see if someone else wants them–or donate them. Your according to the trends, high-waisted skinny jeans might be perfect for someone else who isn’t as wasteful as you. One man's trash is another man's treasure as they say.