Chasing Trends (Opinion)

With rapidly changing trends, stores such as H&M and Zara let consumers purchase high-end merchandise at low prices, but at what cost?

“Fast Fashion” can be defined as the mass production of current trends sold at retail stores. While appearing helpful to the average individual who cannot afford luxury pieces, the process is lethal to the environment and labor-exploitative. It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for ten percent of total global carbon emissions annually. The industry emits more CO2 than aviation and shipping combined. There are one hundred and fifty million children between the ages of five and seventeen years old working in child labour or forced labour worldwide, half of them in dangerous conditions.

Fast fashion also leads to consumeristic behaviors. Taking a look at the social media platform TikTok, the hashtag “shoppinghaul” has nearly two million videos under it. Users will find videos titled “weekly shopping haul” featuring teenagers holding up dozens of shopping bags and of people pouring out clothes in plastic bags from online retailers such as Shein and Amazon into gigantic piles–all in front of the camera. There is no doubt that these videos capture large amounts of attention and feed into jealousy, creating the illusion that what you have is not enough. Phenomenons like the Stanley cup, for example, have resulted in children being bullied for having any other brand of water bottle. These messages are being relayed to people everywhere, and they are subconsciously being taught that what they have is not good enough, and therefore can not be content with themselves until they have these things. The trend of naming specific styles and aesthetics, such as “coquette” which describes feminine outfits and floral print, “old money” dressing sophisticated with high quality pieces, “grunge” being darker and edgy clothing, only further exploits a person’s personal style and forces them into a box. When students were asked if they are familiar with the term “fast fashion”, fifty five percent responded they are not. This is extremely concerning considering the average teenager spends five hours per day on social media, consuming these trends and not understanding the psychological impact.

When students at Polson High School were surveyed, forty-two percent said they shop at stores listed as fast fashion. The clothing store options surrounding Polson, Montana are primarily consignment and thrift stores, but only seventeen percent of students responded that they frequent them. The nearest outlet stores are over an hour’s drive away, but the majority still choose to shop at these places. Speaking with one of the participants, Elanna Baehr said she shops at thrift stores because of the lower prices and because “I like having stuff that looks worn, it has a little bit of love, and not everybody is wearing it.” Although thrift stores can serve as a countermeasure against fast fashion, the rising popularity of reselling complicates this retail practice. Reselling is the act of buying and selling an item again for a profit as opposed to donating items. Baehr commented on this practice, saying, “It’s really annoying for the people who want to go there and get good clothes for themselves, just to have someone buy something that you want and put 20 more bucks on it.” 

 Some other ways to resist fast fashion include encouraging more sustainable shopping thrift stores, purchasing brands that employ under fair labor conditions and are eco-friendly, and choosing quality over quantity. Furthermore, promoting clothing resales and recycling can reduce waste and lengthen the usage life cycle. Doing these things could lead to a more responsible future in fashion.