The Ethics of Fast Fashion on Campus

Walking through the quad is basically like watching a live feed of a fast fashion website. We are all wearing the same trend-heavy pieces that cost less than a burrito, and for a student on a budget, that seems like a win. But the conflict between our bank accounts and our ethics is getting harder to ignore. We know that the fifteen dollar sweater from a massive online retailer was likely made in a factory with terrible labor conditions and a massive carbon footprint. We talk a lot about sustainability in our environmental science classes, but then we go home and click “add to cart” on a haul of cheap clothes.

The problem is that fast fashion has turned clothing into something disposable. We buy an outfit for one specific party, take a photo in it, and then it sits in the back of the closet until it inevitably ends up in a landfill. It is a cycle of hyper-consumption that is designed to make us feel “out of style” within a few weeks. Even if we try to donate our old clothes, most of that stuff is such low quality that thrift stores cannot even sell it. It just gets bundled up and shipped overseas, creating a massive waste problem for other countries.

So how do we break the cycle without spending a fortune on “ethical” brands that charge a hundred dollars for a t-shirt? The answer is probably just to buy less and buy better. Thrifting is the obvious choice, but it also requires a shift in mindset. We have to stop viewing clothes as temporary entertainment and start viewing them as functional items that should last for years. It is better to have five shirts you actually love and that were made to last than fifty shirts that will fall apart after three washes. Our style should not come at the expense of someone else’s well-being or the health of the planet.