In recent years, the rise of the fast fashion industry has been a huge trend. Defined as the design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing, the industry focuses almost exclusively on quantity, rather than quality of apparel. This has been shown through the rise of huge store chains and platforms, such as H&M, Uniqlo, Shein, and many others - both in stores and online. But is this really the best for our piece of mind, as well as the environment? By choosing quality over quantity, there will be a positive impact on both.
Why Do People Choose Fast Fashion Items?
Fast fashion clothes can be appealing for a number of reasons
1. Cheap Prices - by lowering quality and mass-producing, such companies can provide rock-bottom prices.
2. Instant Gratification - You can try many items and dispose of them
3. Catching Trends - you can use the trends for the current season, and then move on to new ones
Even within the suit industry, there are many low-priced products - you can even find suits for below $50! However, you will soon find these items do not have nearly as good of a feel, and also dramatically lose quality and need to be replaced. At xSuit, we believe in putting more resources into higher suit quality up-front, which costs more to produce and also with its purchase price. But while you may pay some more up-front for your men's suits and other clothes, you’ll be able to get hundreds of uses out of them without losing quality - as well as not needing to spend the time and money to dry clean the suit. Add it up in the long run, and you will see the savings!
The Problems with Fast Fashion
Besides the issue of having a bunch of low-quality clothes piling up in your bedroom, there are also major environmental impacts to fast fashion. The fashion industry produces 150 billion garments a year, and 87% (40 million tons) end up in a landfill where they pollute the air - or an incinerator. These clothes can take decades or hundreds of years to deteriorate into the earth. Meanwhile, the average person today buys 60 percent more items of clothing than they did 15 years ago, but keeps them for only half as long. The average garment is worn as few as 10 times before disposal.
In the end, this creates a negative effect on the environment, including:
1. Excessive use of resources: Fast fashion relies on the mass production of clothing, which means that it requires an enormous amount of resources such as water, energy, and raw materials like cotton and polyester. This can lead to the depletion of natural resources and a significant carbon footprint.
2. High levels of waste: The fast fashion industry often produces clothes that are designed to be worn only a few times, leading to a high level of waste. This waste ends up in landfills, where it can take years to decompose.
3. Pollution: The fast fashion industry also creates pollution through the release of toxic chemicals and dyes used in the manufacturing process. These pollutants can harm both the environment and the workers who produce the clothes.
How Can We Reduce the Negative Impacts of Fast Fashion?
To help combat the negative environmental impact of fast fashion, we can take individual action. This includes reducing our consumption by only purchasing items we need, and choose fewer (but higher-quality) go-to items in our closets. By layering, we can “mix-and-match” items to have a wide variety of different outfits while keeping the same amount of items. For example, suit jackets and jackets can be fixed with different t-shirts or performance stretch shirt colors and styles to be more formal or more casual. Additionally, we can choose to wash our clothes less frequently, use eco-friendly detergents, and air dry clothes instead of using a dryer.
While the current trends lean towards fast-fashion, there will always be strong value in quality pieces of clothing that provide strong value and durability over time. xSuit is proud to use only the top quality materials and production methods and help be a part of positive conservation. These types of small changes on company and individual levels can help make a difference and promote a more sustainable future.
