Fast Fashion and it’s Effects on the Environment!
It’s April, and that means the weather is beginning to warm up! Whether you’re looking for spring or summer clothes, swimsuits, or anything in between, consider looking into sustainable fashion!
Sustainable fashion refers to brands that source, manufacture, distribute, and sell their goods in a way that minimizes environmental impact. There are many benefits to switching to sustainable fashion. Some of these benefits include reducing carbon emissions, using organic and recycled materials, biodegradable packaging, and paying fair wages for workers. It can also be more cost-effective in the long run for you!
When it comes to fashion, fast and non-sustainable fashion can have many harmful effects on the environment. Some of these harmful effects include water pollution, microplastics and excess trash / waste. Non-sustainable fashion fashion is one of the leading causes of microplastics every year, due to the fact that many pieces of clothing produced by fast fashion companies will shed microplastics while being washed, An important quote to go with this says “synthetic fabrics shed millions of tons of microplastics into oceans each year, largely through laundry wastewater.
When people think of shopping, online shopping often comes to mind. Online shopping may be quick, easy, and convenient, but it has many negative impacts on the environment. When you shop online, excess plastic and cardboard packaging is used. Along with this, delivery can increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Although fast fashion is a large part of the fashion industry today, there are still many ways that you can avoid fast fashion. One way that you can avoid fast fashion is by thrifting! Thrifting is one of the most sustainable ways to shop, because it stops clothes and other items from ending up in landfills. GCI runs a thrift shuttle one Saturday a month! Check out our Instagram to see when they are! Another way that you can avoid fast fashion is by shopping for any clothes that are non-synthetic. Non-synthetic clothes won’t shed microplastics when being washed, increasing sustainability!
Overall, there are many ways to avoid fast fashion while still staying sustainable and also saving money! By choosing to be sustainable when shopping for clothes, you are in turn helping the health of the environment.