The Importance and Flaws of Second-Hand Clothing & Slow Fashion
Image: Courtesy of TIME Magazine.
There has been a growing movement in recent years to move away from fast fashion and turn towards more second-hand clothing and “slow” fashion. For those unfamiliar with the term fast fashion, it refers to a particular method that companies use to produce cheap, quick, and low-quality clothing that follows trend predictions. The results of this fast fashion method are starting to be exposed and highlighted more, especially as global warming and climate change is becoming a focal point of many discussions. The True Cost says that the world consumes more than 80 billion new pieces of clothing a year, and compared to the last two decades, this is a 400% increase in clothing consumption. The average American makes 82 pounds of “textile waste” every year.
Fast fashion is not only harmful to our environment, but it also results in many human rights violations. Many toxic chemicals that are a part of clothing production, for example, benzothiazole, have been linked to causing cancer and respiratory illnesses. Along with this, communities and wildlife surrounding factories often feel the impact of careless industrial practices, as many companies dump their chemical waste into local water supplies. And finally, probably one of the most disturbing facts is that many workers face unfair wages, long working hours, etc.
So what can we do about all this? As I mentioned before, there is a growing movement to turn towards secondhand clothing and “slow” fashion. Slow fashion is when businesses make good quality clothing from natural materials and use fair labor practices. Many companies have grown from this new movement. One of them is Everlane, a company that is incredibly transparent about their manufacturing practices, to the point where you even know the worker who made your T-shirt or new pair of jeans. But all of these wonderful things come with a hefty price tag, as an Everlane pair of jeans can cost between $60 and $80. All things considered, Everlane has full price transparency and even charts out why they price their items, and compared to other companies, these jeans can seem like a steal.
But for some, spending that much money to support slow fashion companies can be too much, so many have turned towards thrift stores and second-hand fashion seen on apps like Depop and Poshmark. These apps are places where people can sell their clothes for discounted prices, and many Instagram accounts have also started to do the same.
With all this being said, I completely agree with the need to start sourcing ethical clothing, buying less clothing, and start to thrift more. But for many women my size and me, this is a lot easier said than done. This is because many designers and companies don’t make clothing that fits the average body type of American women. On average, women in America are a size 16-18, but even women who are a size 12 struggle with not being able to find flattering clothing. The dilemma that is placed before us is that even though thrift stores may carry larger sizes, they’re often not in the flattering or even “trendy” styles that we see today.
This is because of the lack of size options at the top of the clothing chain. Because companies are not making affordable plus-size clothing, many women will invest in more expensive clothing that works for them. They will be less likely to donate these clothes to thrift stores because of the cost, meaning that they get caught up in the cycle. Even a fair share of “slow” fashion companies don’t make clothing for plus-size women. Unfortunately, the reality is that real change needs to begin at the top, with designers making clothing that will fit plus-size women. Only then will the options available in thrift stores and “slow” fashion companies for plus-size women increase.
Sources:
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion
https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/
https://www.everlane.com/about
https://www.dinasdays.com/the-problem-with-thrift-stores-and-plus-size-clothing/
