Shopping Sustainably: How to Avoid Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is bad for a long long list of reasons. To name a few, there’s worker exploitation, textile waste, carbon emissions, destruction of ecosystems, and overconsumption of materials such as water and other resources. I can admit that I have contributed to fast fashion in the past. But now it’s our time to work on fixing these problems and stop contributing to fast fashion! With this post, I hope to educate you all on how to frame your thoughts when shopping and how to shop more sustainably. 

“Fast fashion isn’t free. Someone somewhere is paying.” – Lucy Siegle

Conscious fashion rules

The blog, Sustainable Jungle, puts together these rules on how to limit your fast fashion consumption. I wanted to start by sharing their rules because I think this is a great way to frame your thought process when shopping. Check out the blog for more details on these rules! 

• Ask #WhoMadeMyClothes

• Take a minimalist approach

• Consider hidden environmental and social costs

• Make materials matter

• Check for certifications

• Explore alternative (not) shopping options

• Support ethical online stores

• Buy from brands that are challenging the fashion industry

Second-hand shopping, clothing swaps, donations

This is the most obvious (and fun) solution. There are thrift stores all over the place that you can shop at! Some of my favorites are Goodwill and Buffalo Exchange. There are locations for these everywhere and I never have a hard time finding some cute clothes. I’ve also developed a new routine: I go to Buffalo Exchange in Pacific Beach to sell any clothes they’ll take and then walk across the street to Goodwill and donate the rest. It’s a great way to contribute to sustainable fashion and hopefully get a little bit of money for selling your clothes! 

There are plenty of other great thrift stores that you can go to too and I’m sure you can find some friends to make a day out of thrift shopping. 

Apps such as Depop, ThredUP, and Mercari are great ways to online second-hand shop too. I’ve found some of my staples off of Depop and love browsing to see all of the cool vintage clothes that are available. 

Buy from sustainable brands

Buying from sustainable brands is a harder task because it requires some research. The website Good On You rates brands based on their sustainability. It’s definitely worth it to see if the brand you’re going to shop from is ranked there before making the purchase! 

Rent clothes

Renting clothes isn’t great in every situation, but for some, it’s ideal for the environment and your wallet! I recommend renting your outfit for any event you’re going to that requires something you may only put on once. This could be for a wedding or another big event. 

Some websites that you can use for renting clothes are Rent the Runway, Nuuly, By Rotation, and Armoire. 

The industry will change! 

As sustainable consumerism increases, more brands will be forced to adopt sustainable business practices. Although it might feel inconvenient now, we are working to create a new culture around shopping and over time will achieve a new and better equilibrium 🙂 

I’m not perfect. There are times when I’m in the mall and I see something that I just have to have. But recognizing how we’re contributing to fast fashion and making conscious efforts to minimize our impacts is the first step. I hope I’ve inspired you to work on your shopping habits to keep our planet intact. 

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo