Fast fashion is a beast that is affecting our environment as well as our social spheres. The issue is especially prevalent among younger generations, as teens are typically the leading consumers of clothing.
“Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand,” said Solene Rauturier, digital strategist at Good On You, a website that educates people on ways to contribute to sustainable fashion and reversing the effects of textile pollution.
Rauturier said, “The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the height of their popularity and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears.”
According to Vogue fashion journalist Alyssa Hardy, in the 1800s, new clothing styles used to be released in catalogs twice a year: fall/winter and spring/summer seasons. This shifted to faster trend cycles in the 1990s as machinery became more advanced and as demand for clothing began to increase. The rate of production of new trends continued to grow, with today’s leading online fashion retailers, such as Shein and Temu, producing new styles every week.
A poll sent out to Abington Friends School upper school students revealed that 30% of the 58 students who responded reported that they buy new clothing every month. When asked where they most frequently shop, 49.1% said that they mostly shop at big brands, such as Hollister, Shein, etc., while 26.3% said that they make an effort to mostly get their clothing secondhand.
Students have differing opinions on whether or not fast fashion is bad, or if it is simply a way to express yourself.
“I think fast fashion is a way to make clothes for people who want to express themselves with fashion more accessible. I think people hate it because they see it as cheap or an easy way to ‘trend hop,’ but I like it,” upper school student Jaydon Baltimore ‘25 said.
“I think fast fashion, like most trends, is kinda dumb. I much rather have something that will last a long time because I only buy things if I really like them,” Matthew Velazquez ‘26 said.
As seen in the quotes and from the polls taken, teenagers have a variety of perspectives and opinions concerning fast fashion. However, there is an overall consensus of concern and empathy regarding the damages that textile pollution causes on the environment.
“Gen Z — they say, study after study, survey after survey, more than any other generation — they’re saying they want sustainable fashion, and more than any other generation they are the biggest segment of the population buying fast fashion,” said Denise N. Green, an associate professor of fiber science and apparel design at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York for an article in Fashion Dive.
Many students seem to be sustainably conscientious without really trying, buying high quality clothing less frequently, which is already better for the environment than buying cheap, plastic-y, clothing every week.
“I wouldn’t say I make an effort [to shop sustainably], I just don’t shop very often,” said John Mazzacaro ‘25. “When I buy clothes I buy well-produced clothes that will last longer, so in some ways yes, I am buying sustainable clothes that I will not throw away. I buy from larger brands but I don’t buy my clothes cheap from places like Shein.”
“If I’m going to purchase something, spend my money on it, I would like it to be high quality,” Amaya Manigault ‘26 said.
Some students already had a good understanding of what fast fashion is, presumably taking time to learn about the effects of textile waste on the environment.
“I think the actual problem with ‘fast fashion’ is the throwing out part, not the buying frequently part. If you buy new clothes ‘too quickly’ but keep reusing them for years or donate them when you’re done with them, I don’t think that’s a problem,” Rainy Korein ‘27 said.
Research done by KPU on young consumers’ awareness of fast fashion impacts shows that “Gen Z and Millennial students care about sustainability, but lack awareness of the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion.”
A poll sent out to the Abington Friends upper school students revealed that 82.1% of students who responded believe in sustainable fashion.
At AFS, clothing and other apparel is sold to promote the school and to raise money. Megan Schlickmann, director of event operations at AFS, gave insight into how our school participates in the sustainable fashion movement:
Schlickmann said, “One of the vendors, from which we get most of our inventory, is a Certified B Corporation, which means they meet the high standards of social and environmental transparency and accountability.”
AFS puts a focus on the environmental effects of textile waste, specifically when purchasing merchandise from any given vendor. However, AFS also takes into consideration the fact that traditionally, clothing marketed as “eco-friendly” tends to be much more expensive.
Schlickmann said, “We also take pricing into account, ensuring that our merchandise remains affordable for both the school and our families. In terms of manufacturing, we do our best to pay close attention to where the clothing is produced and the one primary vendor we work with is committed to sustainability. Our Certified B Corp partner, for instance, provides us sustainable options that are better for people and our planet.”
