TikTok Shop. Shein. Temu. These are websites you have seen over and over again with eye-catching products for jaw-dropping prices that are too good to be true. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced at a rapid rate for wide distribution to keep up with the latest fashion trends. To achieve their low prices, fast fashion companies outsource their labor to countries with lower wages.
The Chinese fast fashion company Shein is the largest fast fashion company in the world and is worth about $100 billion. TikTok, the fifth most popular social media platform worldwide, officially launched TikTok Shop in September 2023. The total revenue made that year was $11.09 billion. Temu is a company growing in popularity that sells items straight from Chinese manufacturers to buyers worldwide for low fees. It has an estimated yearly revenue of at least $6 billion.
These big three fast fashion companies are the spearhead of a much bigger problem that affects more than just items cheaply produced in bulk and shipped worldwide. The fast fashion industry is a major contributor to the climate crisis, being responsible for approximately 10% of carbon dioxide emissions (about four-five billion tons annually) which warms the planet and causes climate change. In 2023, Shein alone was responsible for the emission of 16.7 million total metric tons of carbon dioxide.
In addition to polluting the environment, fast fashion companies fail to pay their workers livable wages. Garment workers often work more than 10 hours a day for seven days a week with wages as little as $1.58 per hour. The sweatshops that they work in often violate several safety and health regulations such as unventilated spaces and inhaling toxic substances such as fiber dust and blasted sand.
Fast fashion companies are not the only brands that are responsible for unsustainability. Fast fashion brands impact the environment directly, but there may be a worse culprit: the buyers.
Overconsumption is the action of purchasing copious amounts of a product, with or without a necessity for it. Mass-producing items in bulk to be sold at low prices is a direct way that overconsumption negatively impacts the environment, but overconsumption is not summed up by fast fashion.
Currently, with the internet being easily accessible to most people in the world and the rise of social media influencers, trends are stronger and faster than ever. You might see your favorite influencer hyping up the latest reusable water bottle, a promotion for the newest concealer that promises to erase your pores or girls posting their “outfit of the days” dressed head to toe in Lululemon and Uggs. In a few months, however, these products may be things of the past considering the rate at which trends currently rise and die.
Fashion and cosmetics are some of the biggest culprits when buying excessive products that one doesn’t necessarily need. It is a lot easier to buy now and think later. The bottom line is advertisements are everywhere and it is more likely that an influencer or brand intends to get money out of you than to help you. These days it seems like everything is a cash grab, so what can be done to avoid buying frivolous products that won’t get used?
When referring to cosmetics such as makeup, skincare or hair products, a great rule to live by is not to fix what’s not broken. It saves a considerable amount of money to refrain from buying more cosmetics before you have finished the products that you already own. This also allows you more than an adequate amount of time to decide what they would like to replace the product with after they’re finished with it so that they do not impulsively buy something else.
When buying articles of clothing, it’s a great idea to keep basic fashion staples in one’s closet like t-shirts, jeans and jackets of varying thicknesses to get you through the year. Basic staples should be of high quality to last you an optimal amount of time. Anything else that is bought should be budgeted accordingly and appropriate for the season (no jackets in the summer!).
Proper budgeting is a basic life skill that will support your shopaholic tendencies while also saving enough money to sustain yourself. Setting aside a little bit of money each month for non-necessities can go a long way, and it ensures that you don’t overspend on things you don’t need.
The urge to buy the newest, shiniest and best thing is a weekly occurrence for most, as advertisements get shoved down our throats and jammed in our ears. It is up to us to resist the temptation in order to save money and ultimately not waste any money on trends that will be gone in the blink of an eye.
