The biggest goal in fashion today is staying current.
It’s why people will stand in line for hours on Black Friday to get the perfect wardrobe for cheap prices, why college students will buy an outfit for a single event or festival and never wear it again, or why a graphic T-shirt is only relevant the first day it’s worn.
But fashionistas and fashionistos may be approaching the way they buy clothes in all the wrong ways.
“Fast fashion” is a term referring to the general tactic most big-name retailers take where they push out material day after day for cheap prices, and they do it by the boatload.
Shannon Whitehead, sustainable fashion writer and founder of Factory45, an accelerator program that gives designers and makers the resources to start sustainable businesses in the U.S., said almost all majors retail stores use this method in one way or another.
Factory45 is a six-month-long online program divided into three two-month modules to help designers start their own careers in fashion. The program was created to aid entrepreneurs in all the areas Whitehead struggled when starting her first company.
Whitehead and her co-founder launched their company {r}evolution apparel and their piece, the Versalette, a piece of clothing that can be worn in more than 15 different ways.
“[Factory45] is my personal way of combatting fast fashion,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead’s article titled “5 Truths the Fast Fashion Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know” was recently published by the Huffington Post, and it unveils some of the dirty details about some “fast fashion giants” like H&M, Zara and Forever 21.
In her story, Whitehead said the sales and discounts common in these types of store are often evidence of fast fashion. Therefore, shoppers who think they are getting great deals on designer apparel are really just buying cheaply made clothes designed to fall apart after even one use.
Whitehead said there is a simple way to combat this tactic: consume less or be skeptical when buying new clothes. This can be difficult because it’s a change in consumer behavior that means shopping less.
There are, however, solutions to fast fashion, and the easiest is to thrift shop, Whitehead said.
Companies like Etsy and Urban Renewal, the vintage section of Urban Outfitters’ inventory, provide other options in finding distinct options without buying the cheap and trending.
“The best thing to do is secondhand shop,” Whitehead said.
A market of online thrifting is becoming more and more prevalent as well, Whitehead said. For example, online consignment outlets like thredUP and Bib + Tuck are platforms that provide better options in the realm of secondhand shopping, she said.
Whitehead said the key to attracting thrift shoppers is an atmosphere that makes consumers feel like they are buying something new, and this is where some consignment shops are lacking.
The second thing people can do to combat fast fashion is stay aware of local designers promoting their brands and buy from them, she said. This sometimes alleviates the risks of buying cheaply made items only designed to last a week in circulation.
People who fall into the cycle of fast fashion are generally less distinctive and usually bland, blending in with the sea of people trying to look cool on a week-to-week basis.
The whole point of fast fashion is to make buyers think they are getting something exclusive and trendy. In reality, they are just filling their closet with generic, cheap cloth instead of clothes that make an impression.
Shoppers should slow down and think about their clothing choices and how they will represent their personalities and styles.
Michael Tarver is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Houma, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @michael_T16.