Students should make an effort to shop more at thrift stores and there are many local options. Along Ventura Boulevard there are trendy stores like Iguana and American Vintage.
Protect the environment: thrift, avoid fast fashion
November 30, 2021
Fast fashion severely damages Earth, yet it’s still how many students fill their wardrobes. Thrifting is a better alternative, as it allows students to reuse nice clothes while causing less harm.
Fast fashion is one of the highest polluting industries in the world and the fabrics used are made from materials that will not decompose in landfills for many years. Along with the negative effects it has on the environment, the fast fashion industry pays its workers close to nothing while giving them long hours.
Companies that contribute to fast fashion make clothes that are made out of materials that harm the planet when they’re thrown out. More than 60% of fabric fibers are synthetic, so when they end up in the garbage they will not break down.
The water consumption that the fashion industry uses is also extremely damaging, consuming one-tenth of the water that is used industrially around the world. It takes about 713 gallons of water to make just one cotton shirt, and the damage to the Earth’s water doesn’t end there. Washing clothes attained through fast fashion in a regular washing machine releases tons of toxic microfibers into the ocean.
With all the negative effects on the world because of fast fashion, students need to learn how to get clothes through different ways. One of the ways they can get clothes while also making a difference to the environment is through thrifting.
Thrift stores sell used and donated clothes for usually more affordable prices than other stores. Shopping at thrift stores allows consumers to use clothes that the original buyers didn’t want anymore that would’ve most likely ended up in the trash.
Another benefit is that it prevents buying directly from companies that make clothes through fast fashion. Not giving those companies money directly limits the amount of profit they get, which leads to them not being able to manufacture as many clothes that harm the environment.
Students should make an effort to shop more at thrift stores and there are many local options. There are countless Goodwills in the San Fernando Valley and along Ventura Boulevard there are more trendy stores like Iguana and American Vintage.