Ethical Issues In Fast Fashion

the fast fashion industry promotes a culture of obsolescence. Consumers are constantly purchasing and consequently disposing of unwanted textiles. Cline mentions that many “second-hand stores only have about three weeks to a month to sell most of their donated clothes” (Ethical Fashion pg 3). These stores are given too many donations that most of the time they aren’t able to sell the garments they receive. Imagine a neighborhood containing one hundred families. Suppose that each family had about sixty-eight garments per adult. That would be about 13600 garments in total. Since the fast fashion phenomenon promotes obsolescence then the families should donate at least half. Now let 's say fifty families out of one hundred donate to their local …show more content…
There is no possible way for a global phenomenon to be outright banned. However, consumers can approach an ethical way to live and purchase in a world dominated and manipulated by the fashion industry. There are many alternatives for consumers to have an ethical wardrobe. One option is the Do It Yourself (DIY) trend. DIY is all about reusing clothes to create a different one. Blanchette mentions that DIY does include sewing and in recent years the trend had been growing among consumers: “Sewing-machine sales are booming in the United States [it is also] expected to top 3 million in 2012” (Socially Conscious Shopper Shredding Fast Fashion pg 2). If consumers can engage in DIY then they can control the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Reusing clothes can teach the consumer to also values their clothes and hard earned money. Not only is DIY part of the ethical wardrobe but it can also control the amount that is donated to second-hand stores. That way stores can focus more on what they really want to sell at the moment. Another way consumers can achieve an ethical wardrobe is by shopping vintage. Shopping vintage would require one to visit their friendly neighborhood thrift store or Goodwill. Shopping vintage is a great way to reuse clothes and prevent many textiles from ending up in landfills. The consumer can be assured that if they shop vintage they will give these textiles a second opportunity in life. Another reason why shopping vintage is a great way to create an ethical wardrobe is because many clothes that are donated “have already stood the test of time”(Socially Conscious Shopper Spreading Fast Fashion pg 1). This shopping habit can help the consumer get away from the manipulative hands of the fast fashion industry and steer clear from mass retailers.Not only is shopping local a great alternative but consumers can be assured that they will almost always find US made products. The