Via Business of Fashion

Alina Emilia

Contributor

OMG, leopard print is in right now—be sure to grab that top! 

What’s that? You just donated last summer’s Brazil baby tee? No reason to be concerned—Earth was made to die for your endless spending.

Trends have always been a thing. It’s not illegal to want to participate in fun, cute, cool stuff that genuinely makes life feel better. We all like some trends, but there are good and bad ways to follow the new aesthetic on the rise.

Someone who indulges in trends, finds garments that last, intends to use them until they can no longer be worn, and makes sure they don’t have an absurd amount of clothes doesn’t live an immoral lifestyle. However, I don’t see any of you wearing the cow print pants you begged your parents to buy you back in 2021.

“In a world where we have surpassed trends and have moved onto microtrends, you can’t re-do your own closet every three to five months.”

And regardless, I know that buying so many new clothes with that minimum wage salary doesn’t exactly align with any sort of moral code.

When a trend arises, a small business can only pray it miraculously goes with the items they already carry (think Selkie during the rise of cottagecore or Hoes4Clothes during the Y2K’s resurgence). At most, they get a few weeks of recognition before falling back into the abyss. The only companies capable of keeping up are ultra-fast fashion brands—who end up winning, time and time again.

Fast fashion is pure wickedness—it’s based on the exploitation of vulnerable communities around the world, all in the name of profit. It also normalizes the poor quality in everyday garments, so the consumer ends up needing to make a new purchase every time. Once, we could’ve said it was a fair trade for the low prices. But Zara asking $80 for a polyester “silk” skirt suggests that there’s not much of a win from the purchaser’s side anymore. Fast fashion is clearly bad. So, if there was an even greater evil than this (already bad) concept, we’d know not to support it, right? 

Wrong.

Every day, new clothes are introduced into these companies’ websites. Zara—formerly seen as the worst fast fashion company—uploads 45 times fewer garments to their website than Shein. Our demands are growing exponentially, which creates monstrous industries that pump out tons of plastic clothing and place even more pressure on already overworked textile employees. 

The current trend cycle isn’t only awfully short—it’s extremely specific. It’s not just silhouettes or patterns: it’s Lirika Madoshi’s strawberry dress or nothing. That level of specificity makes it hard to find a purpose for it after post-trend clarity. And I get it—I’m not some immoral robot, here to impose my beliefs. We all regret certain purchases. There’s an entire industry dedicated to making sure some of us fall for their ads. For example, social media insists with every scroll that you need cowboy boots for fall, convincing you that you should’ve bought them like, yesterday. But think of the pairs of shoes you already have!

I can already hear the counterargument against fast fashion: 

“It’s all I can afford!” 

“There aren’t any affordable brands that carry my size!” 

Look—as much as I am passionate about the environment, I totally see how sustainable fashion can be unrealistic for some people. And honestly, shopping at unsustainable stores isn’t the problem in itself. The people filling their pockets aren’t getting rich off of single moms trying to find decent shirts for their kids. The issue lies with the people looking forward to a $700 Temu haul every few months. If you buy clothes based on what is essential and what lets you pay the bills, your priority lies exactly where it should. 

Would it be better if you could thrift instead? Possibly. But it isn’t realistic to expect everyone to dig through bins or find their size in a Renaissance-style corset—good luck with that in the age of resellers.

So, how do you fix it? 

Go through your entire closet and figure out what you haven’t been using—get rid of it. Set a limited number of pieces per category—for example, no more than five pairs of shoes. If you want new shoes, either get rid of a pair (trade with friends!) or re-evaluate your limit (e.g., if you discover a passion for hiking, buy boots and adjust your max to six). Accessorize more to spice up your outfit! Lastly, wait before purchasing! Don’t get the Tabi flats immediately—if it’s really meant to be, the few weeks without them won’t matter in the long run. 

Earth will thank you!