The Negative Side to Fast Fashion:

Sustainability is a growing concern within the fashion industry. Consumers demand has caused the industry to become the third most polluting industry and the second largest consumer of water. The best way to reverse the sustainability issue within in fashion is by educating our consumers. It is the customer that is causing the demand for fast fashion. The retailer has no choice but to keep up with the demand. There is a new culture in shopping where people feel compelled to buy more when products are so cheap. According to a Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviors experiment “fast-fashion purchase was positively related to disposing and hoarding” (Joung, 2014). Therefore, the flip side to what is now fast fashion is the increase in waste. The author of “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Price of Cheap Fashion” states “a growing percentage of clothes end up at the Salvation Army or in garbage bins because they are seen as disposable.” (Casey, 2015). Environmental Protection Agency estimates the U.S. Americans dispose of about 12.8 million tons of textiles annually, which amounts to about 80 pounds for each man, woman, and child.” (Guthner, 2016). Since the development of fast fashion there is an increase in consumer purchases, which leads to an increase in waste after the clothing goes out of styles or falls apart. These are all devastating statistics, which we are all wearing on our sleeves today. However, these statistics do not need to continue. Retailers are beginning to show customers the power of buying less by buying better. Consumers need to be reminded that clothes are not disposable. Karla Gallardo, the co-founder of Cuyana states, “Fast fashion sees clothing as something that’s disposable. You wear it once or twice and it’s over. But when you think about investing you’re paying a little more, you’re actually careful about what you select” (Cline, 2016). In order to reverse the effects of fast fashion we all must be smart consumers and think before we buy.