Globally, 80-150 billion garments are sold annually.
Hand in hand with this, it is estimated that in 10 years’ time there will be 148 million tonnes of fashion waste.
You purchased a new on-trend sweater from H&M that was on sale? Bargain.
Or perhaps you already have a pair of black jeans, but you picked up another pair from Boohoo. You didn’t need it, but they were cute.
There is a line between a need and a want.
Likewise, the line between what’s affordable and convenient is blurred right next to what is ethical and what is sustainable.
Nowadays, fast fashion is almost unavoidable. It is a major aspect in our consumer culture. Fast fashion is made to make consumers feel like we ‘need’ more. By relying on trends, it markets clothing to go out-of-style so that we participate in the cycle of buying more and more pieces.
By definition, fast fashion is a term used by fashion retailers to describe inexpensive designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends. (Investopedia)
Yet there are options available to help people minimise their fast-fashion consumption and environmental impact. With the internet, the ability to rent or resell items has not been restricted to certain locations or communities. Online access allows companies to expand their consumer base, reaching customers on both national and global levels.
Giving clothes a new lifespan is not only more affordable but environmentally friendly. The fashion industry makes up 8% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and is the third-highest polluting industry in the world. Lessening our participation in fast fashion has the power to reduce these numbers.
According to a study by Okeo-Tex, 60% of all young people want to shop more sustainably. Yet, only 37% of them stated that they purchased sustainably in general. 75% of Gen 7 would be willing to pay for a sustainably made product, opposed to only half of boomers being the same (Sulima, 2020).
Can you imagine what would happen if even half of them acted on this mindset?
Rent the Runway, is a business that enables customers to rent and return clothing that cycles between different users. With the subscription to rent pieces, it is also cheaper for the consumer, as they are not purchasing the garments individually. In the companies report, they stated that 68% of their consumers were buying fewer clothing items when they used their rental service. While these customers are able to buy items from this rental service, this ‘try-before-you-buy’ mentality can aid consumers in only investing in pieces they know they will get wear from. The market for rental clothing is a $1 billion dollar market currently. Yet, this is estimated to increase to a $2.5 billion industry by 2023 (CNN Business, Meyersohn). Alongside this, the resale business itself is estimated to reach $36 billion dollars in 2021 (ibisworld.com),
ThredUp is an online company that allows users to re-sell their own clothing. According to ThredUp's 2018 Fashion Resale Report, Millenials purchase second hand more than any other generation. Yet contrastingly in this report, they are also the most fashionably wasteful. ThredUp reported that when re-selling a garment, it reduces its carbon footprint by 73% and in turn, extends its lifespan by 2.2 years (bustle.com).
Similarily, Depop is an online op-shop that enables the average person to sell their own clothing items online. Launched in 2001, as of May 2020 there are 15 million registered users globally. 90% of its users are under the age of 26, reaffirming the attraction of accessible second-hand shopping amongst young people (Smith, 2020). In 2017, the site recorded $230 million dollars worth of clothing sales (Knowles,2018). Not only is it an opportunity for sellers to ‘thrift flip’ their finds with a more entrepreneurial attitude, but also source vintage finds that may not be accessible in their areas. by broadening the access to second-hand fashion and making it easier through technology, enables more of an audience to participate in this more sustainable form of consumerism.
As someone who is a Gen-Z, I have noticed the rise in second-hand shopping amongst young people to slowly become ‘trendy.’ Online influencers, like Bestdressed (@bestdressed) and Emma Chamberlain (@emmachamberlain), center a lot of their content around the perks of second-hand shopping. Through this branding alongside their primarily teenager- young adult audiences, this can positively inspire viewers to explore the options of second-hand shopping. Through their platforms, they actively reinvent the idea around op-shopping and market it in a 'cool' way. In turn with the resale industry becoming trendier, more people are investing in pre-owned pieces.
Ultimately, the power of the internet has enabled a new 'wave' of second-hand shopping. With this, the ability to reach national and global customers has increased the option of people shopping second hand. This in itself aids the increase in extending clothing life spans and minimising the footprint of global garment consumption.