The cause and cost of fast fashion

Photo courtesy of Gustavo Fring/Pexels

By 2026, the issue we call “fast fashion” is known around the world. Our generation is especially familiar with this term due to the way that we interact with the climate and the world around us. Many people now have begun to be conscious of their participation in fast fashion. Many of us don't use online retailers like Shein and Cider, who are known to use sweatshops and child labor, thrift or repurpose clothes already owned, or simply purchasing fewer clothes that aren't exactly needed.

But while a majority of people know about fast fashion and its adverse effects, there remains a minority of people who actually put intention into avoiding these consequences. People still post Shein hauls proudly on TikTok. The microtrends that characterize fast fashion are still rampant. In 2020, it was cow print, now in 2026, it's cheetah print, and all the new stuff will end up in the thrift store or the landfill right next to the old.

If we want to inspire any real change and end greedy corporations’ practice of pushing more and more and more clothes on us all the time, we need to get to the root of the problem about why fast fashion is so widespread and prevalent. The main reason that the fast fashion industry is so successful is because they are selling more than just clothes; they are selling a persona and a lifestyle.

Microtrends are slowly taking the place of real, long-lasting trends in our world; with the speed of information and progress, we simply move on quickly. But, micro as they are, microtrends still carry the power of true trends, in that, once they are conceived of, they form a club of those who are “in” and those who are “out.” Everyone wants to be included, and some people need to find that inclusion in how they present themselves. Wearing certain colors, brands, and styles all become indicators of social prestige. All of this has always been true about trends, but it becomes something much more harmful when it concerns microtrends.

The clothing making up microtrends is usually composed of very low-quality materials that do not biodegrade easily. When this is paired with the fast overturn of clothes as the tides shift from trend to trend, we end up with a heap of clothing waste, from the undonatable mass of it and from the garments that simply have to be thrown out due to their extremely low quality.

But why do people buy into microtrends then? Gen Z is incredibly environmentally conscious. Well, we are also incredibly self-conscious. The judgement people face for dressing even a little outside the norm is debilitating. Younger and younger people are being exposed to this kind of bullying through social media changing the minds of children. The fashion of our generation is largely homogenizing—and it's harming more than just the planet.

In order for the issue of fast fashion to be solved on a consumer level, young people will not only need to adapt the stores they buy from—they will also need to examine why we bought into this system we know to be harmful in the first place. Social pressures, in today's world, are undeniable forces of extreme power, pushing us to buy more so we can become more. In order to solve the issue that fast fashion poses to the planet, more people will need to become comfortable in their uniqueness.