Opinion.
By Jacqueline Smith
WASHINGTON – I’m a clothes hoarder. My closet is perpetually bursting at the seams. Most days I use the entire force of my 5-foot-3 frame to push up against the double white louver doors, just to seal them shut and enclose the color-coordinated selection of garments.
I grew up a proud recipient of my older sister’s hand-me-downs. With open arms, I welcomed anything she outgrew: her trousers, despite being a little too long on me; her t-shirts, despite being a little worn in some places; her costume jewelry, hats, and scarves.
Still every fall, my mother would take us back-to-school shopping, and I would build on my collection of clothes. Every year, we had a routine of cleaning out our summer clothes to make room for the winter pieces and vice versa. Every garment that was deemed unwanted was donated to my town’s local drop box for someone else to enjoy.
In high school, I realized just how much I had accumulated over the years. Every morning before school, I threw a fit within the four walls of my childhood bedroom. I paced the wall of closets, overwhelmed by the excessive options for outfits. My mornings usually ended in my room looking like an explosion had occurred inside. I would leave for school with felt hangers scattered across my bed and mountains of corduroy pants, denim jackets, ruffled skirts, and button-down blouses in sporadic piles around my room.
I eventually began planning my outfits for each day a week in advance and found this saved me time, effort, and tears in the morning. In my senior year, I was nominated for Best Dressed, but the contents of my closet had become overwhelming. I had too many clothes, collected over the years from thrift shopping expeditions and shopping sprees in fast fashion chains like Forever 21 and H&M. I defended my disastrous closet to preserve the emotional value I had placed on each clothing piece and my trips to the clothing donation bin declined.
Then I learned more about where my clothes were coming from.
The fast fashion industry became popular at the start of the 1990s when the brand Zara took off in New York. The brand succeeded in its mission to produce a garment, from design to display stages, in only 15 days. Other brands have followed this lead, allowing garments to be easily accessible for a cheaper price.
Brands release multiple collections a year, tempting consumers to abandon their current wardrobes and purchase the latest trends being sold. According to Business Insider, Zara releases 24 collections each year, while H&M releases nearly 16.
As a consumer, I thought this industry was amazing. When I started receiving my paychecks from service industry jobs, I was enraged learning how fast fashion workers were treated.
Fast fashion garments are often produced in sweatshops, where employees’ labor standards are extremely low but their safety is at very high risk. According to The Huffington Post, although apparel is the largest employer industry for women globally, fewer than 2% of these women earn a living wage. It’s unforgivable that these women cannot even afford to purchase many of the clothing articles they’re paid to produce.
According to Earth.Org, the fashion industry alone is the second largest consumer of water, and clothing production is responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions.
When consumers’ garments are no longer considered stylish by society’s standards, many clothing articles are thrown away. As much as 85% of all textiles from the fashion industry are sent into landfills annually. Clothes take nearly 200 years to decompose, releasing more pollution in the meantime.
Fast fashion is a vicious cycle and it doesn’t seem to have any intention of slowing down.
Ironically, sustainability has recently entered mainstream culture and is considered a trend among many consumers. The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion was formed in 2019 to support the promotion of policies ensuring fashion chains contribute to achieving sustainable development goals.
Many companies have more recently boasted sustainable campaigns. H&M has committed to using 100% recycled or sustainable matters to produce garments by 2030. The real test will be if these brands reach these targets and make progress in this timeframe.
There’s still more work to be done and fashion industry brands will always have a questionable effect on the environment. Such steps on behalf of businesses are admirable, but this is simply a start to a more sustainable future within the fashion industry.
I don’t even remember the exact details of how I learned more about this unethical side of the fashion industry. I can’t recall if it was one conversation with a teacher, friend, or family member, or a series of infographics sprawled across my Instagram feed.
I do remember experiencing what I jokingly would refer to as the five stages of grief, though. I was disappointed, especially realizing I had ignorantly contributed to an industry flawed with poor ethics heavily contributing to environmental and humanistic destruction.
Still, I was determined to jump in and make changes to my wardrobe, in even the slightest attempt to contribute to a greater ethical cause. I read up on fashion blogs and environmental articles and readjusted my fashion habits with the goal of sustainability in mind.
Nowadays, I rarely make new clothing purchases. When I do, I look for trendy garments at local thrift stores. My former neighbor, who used to babysit me, sometimes drops off a bag of clothes from her college days for me to sort through before bringing the rest to Goodwill. My mom and I exchange clothes all the time.
If I’m in a pinch and have no other option than to buy clothing, I opt for department store-bought clothing. I look through my closet at home and put articles aside to donate in bulk later, to clear up space.
Recently, my mom taught me to sew over my winter break, and I used fabric to make pants. Using the excess scraps, I made hats, handbags, and halter tops, carefully laying out each piece to maximize the fabric and reduce any textile waste.
It may seem impossible, but sustainable fashion can start small and within your comfort zone in your closet until you’re ready to tackle more. Check labels, read up and research, and ask questions to make sure you feel good about your clothes while feeling good in them.