Written by: Breymond Robinson
In a world plagued by over-consumption, expansive landfills, and an abundance of waste, thrifting can act as a way normal people can help make a positive impact on the planet. The environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry are expansive, ranging from massive landfills to fuel hungry fleets that move clothes around the world. This article will shed light on the dark origins and graveyards of our clothes, as well as exploring environmentally conscious alternatives like thrifting.
Companies of the 21st century construct entire business models on the premise of Fast-Fashion, which can be described as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-retailers in response to the latest fashion trends”. Gone are the days of buying an article of clothing and keeping it for years. Social media has helped shorten the shelf-life of trends. The rapid rise and fall of bucket hats, fuzzy purses, graphic-print jeans can be attributed to fads proliferated by social media algorithms and influencers alike. This trend results in disastrous environmental impacts. For example, it takes almost 2,700 liters of water to produce one cotton shirt. That is enough water to feed a person for almost 2 and-a-half years. The greenhouse gases produced by one pair of jeans is equivalent to driving a car 80 miles. Non-biodegradable clothing can sit in landfills for up to 200 years. We produce enough fashion waste to fill 1.5 Empire State Buildings per day. The data presented makes it clear that fast fashion has extremely detrimental impacts on the environment, but what about the people who make these clothes?
It is often the case that the workers are not the consumers of their own goods. Rich countries export their manufacturing to poorer, less developed countries. While this has spurred economic growth, the worker conditions and workplace practices are not the best. According to the non-profit organization, Remake, 75 million people make our clothes. Of that 75 million, 80% of the workers are women between the ages of 18 and 24. Garment workers can expect a monthly paycheck of just 96 USD per month. Government research has shown that salaries need to be 3.5 times more than that in order to collect a livable wage. The United States Department of Labor found strong evidence of forced child-labor in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam. Incidents such as the 2013 Nike factory collapse have exposed the horrendous working conditions of these workers. After all of this strenuous and dangerous work, 85% of mass produced clothes end up in a landfill. It is clear that fast-fashion not only hurts the environment, but also the people who make our clothes.
However, these devastating impacts can be minimized if we look for alternative solutions. Shopping at thrift stores is an environmentally conscious option that normal people can participate in. Through thrifting you can reduce, reuse, and recycle. There is a direct link between thrifting and an overall reduction of industrial output of clothes. When more and more people decide to thrift, major corporations reduce the scale of their clothing production. Reusing clothes found at thrift stores extends their life as a product, thereby creating a bubble where no new clothes are produced because everyone is reusing and donating their own clothes. People can recycle clothes through up-cycling projects. These can range from using older clothes as scrap material, or altering individual items. While thrifting seems like the end-all option for the environmentally conscious person, there are still some very important factors that consumers have to keep in mind.
Prices at thrift stores are very low compared to the traditional retail store, and this can sometimes promote the overbuying of clothes. This effect is the opposite of what thrift stores stand for. It is important that you have a list of things that you want and/or need when taking a trip to your local thrift store. Going into thrift stores can be stressful for first time goers. The endless aisles and unorganized clothes can be daunting for even the most seasoned shopper. One way to combat this is by going into thrift stores with an open-mind, and maybe even a thrifting partner.
So, you’ve thrifted your first batch of clothes. Yay! You’ve totally outsmarted the mega-corps that control our clothes and harm the environment. But what about the workers that depend on these factories for jobs? It is important in this time of transition that we donate to charities and organizations that equip former workers with new opportunities. Some of these include The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, Labour Behind the Label, Fair Wear Foundation, and Care International. The most important thing to remember is to donate your old clothes as well, because the only way this system works is if we all contribute to the feedback loop.
Thrifting can be the ideal environmentally conscious choice that helps reduce the negative impacts of fast fashion, improve the lives of low-income workers, and exist as a creative outlet for self-expression through clothes.
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