There you are in your favorite clothing store. You don't really need to buy anything, but everything is so cheap and stylish ! Before you know it, you leave the store with bags and bags of new clothes.
On the surface, this doesn't seem so bad. However, there are a lot of hidden costs behind the cheap price tags put forward by fast fashion brands.
To put it plainly, the fashion industry is terrible for the planet. Not only does it use up a lot of resources, but it also heavily pollutes the environment with chemicals, microplastics and unwanted waste.Fashion is one of the least sustainable (可持续发展的) industries on the planet, commented Michael Stanley-Jones, a program management officer with the United Nations Environment Program. "We've all become our own waste managers, hoarding fashion waste in our closets," he noted.It doesn't just take up space in our closets, though. It also ends up in landfills , too. In fact, three out of every five garments end up either being incinerated (焚毁) or sent to landfills.
But, thankfully, the fashion trend tides are changing.
People are increasingly examining their own consumption and what changes they can make to become sustainable, Jane Fellner, founder and CEO of sustainable fashion retailer Loopster, told the Guardian. In particular, with its typically lower prices and rare fashion finds, shopping secondhand has become an increasingly popular and eco-friendly option.
According to online reseller ThredUp, the secondhand market is predicted to reach $80 billion (about 518 billion yuan) by 2029. And, although fast fashion will continue to grow 20 percent over the next 10 years, secondhand fashion is expected to grow an unbelievable 185 percent in that same amount of time.
Fellner continued: "Secondhand has become more socially acceptable and, for some, cool. Thrifting (节约) is now massive on TikTok."
The only true sustainable way to shop is to not shop at all, Rachel Kibbe, a brand consultant for ensuring sustainability in fashion, told Insider. Unless you're buying clothes that already exist.