The Fast Fashion Problem

July 31, 2026

Fast Fashion has taken over many parts of our wardrobe. Fun, trendy and cheap, fast fashion is everywhere. But there is a steep price consumers pay for fast, cheap trendy clothing. Fast Fashion has a problem.

Massed produced overseas, Fast Fashion is made from lower quality fabrics like poly microfibers, nylon, acrylic. The styles are very trendy, given them a shorter life time.

Manufacturers choose poly microfibers because cotton and natural fiber blend fabrics are more costly.

Polyester Microfibers are a petroleum by-product that can be toxic. It traps heat, blocks sweat and leaches through your skin pores, entering your blood stream. Doesn’t sound very healthy to me.
Plus, every time you wash your clothing, fibers come off the garment. These fibers are tiny and go through our waste water systems, ending up in the ocean. Here it can get caught in the fishes gills choking and eventually killing them.

Even if you’re recycling your clothes by donating them to a charity, the damage to the environment continues.
So, you find a super cute dress  at a great price at Target.  You buy it, wear it a handful of times and then donate it.  But, Charities and thrifts are flooded with this type of fast fashion/ micro fiber product, often throwing much of it in the trash bin.
There’s a glut of  of it. Low quality ends up in the landfill.

However, the aftermarket has gotten a bit better with some blended items being recycled for rags and knits. But again, fast fashion end up in the landfill faster than higher end fashion made from natural products like cotton, wool, hemp and the like.

What we enjoy as good for our budgets, style and our egos is not good for the environment or ultimately for us. 

So how do we as “shoppers” address this?
It’s simple…. Instead of buying  cheap fast fashion, buy better quality garments.  Look for clothing that has more natural fibers, and buy the highest quality garments you can, even if you have to buy fewer pieces. Use accessories to highlight fashion trends instead of wardrobe pieces

Shop Resale and Thrift stores as often as you can. Look  to build a long term wardrobe instead of turning clothes over every season. And lastly take care of your clothes so they last longer.  That’s what your great Grandma did.

We can still all have wonderful, stylish wardrobes with a bit more thought put into our purchases.