Fast Fashion May Seem Cheap, But it’s Taking a Costly Toll on the Planet − and on Millions of Young Customers

Many shopping malls frequented by young people are dominated by fast-fashion retailers.
Many shopping malls frequented by young people are dominated by fast-fashion retailers.
Rawpixel/Envato
Share
Many shopping malls frequented by young people are dominated by fast-fashion retailers.
Many shopping malls frequented by young people are dominated by fast-fashion retailers.
Rawpixel/Envato
Fast Fashion May Seem Cheap, But it’s Taking a Costly Toll on the Planet − and on Millions of Young Customers
Copy

Fast fashion is everywhere – in just about every mall, in the feeds of influencers on social media promoting overconsumption, and in ads constantly popping up online.

Its focus on the continual production of new clothing is marked by speedy fashion cycles that give it its name. Fast fashion is intended to quickly copy high-end designs but with low-quality materials, resulting in poorly made clothing intended to be worn once or twice before being thrown away.

One of fast fashion’s leading companies, Zara, has a mission to put clothes in stores 15 days after the initial design. Another, Shein, adds up to 2,000 new items to its website daily.

While others in the fashion industry are working toward more sustainable clothing, fast fashion is focused on profit. The market’s value was estimated at about US$100 billion in 2022 and growing quickly. It’s a large part of the reason global clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2014.

Read the full article on The Conversation.

City seeks exemption from Rhode Island’s 4% property tax cap to fund school settlement; critics warn of burden on multifamily homeowners amid rising property values
The media station and its partners received one Gold Telly, three Silver Tellys and one Bronze Telly
Entangled seals rescued from Block Island returned to their natural habitat following months of rehabilitation
Fifty years after “Jaws” sparked global fear, scientists on Cape Cod are using cutting-edge tech—from shark-mounted cameras to real-time trackers—to understand great whites like never before
In southern Rhode Island, a ninth grader’s struggle with housing instability highlights how federal protections like McKinney-Vento help homeless students stay in school — even as those protections face an uncertain future