A shopper shared an example of a small piece of clothing with a shockingly large price tag and ended up sparking a debate about the growing issue of fast fashion.
"Absolutely insane pricing," the poster wrote above a photo of a red-and-white plaid miniskirt.
They continued by saying, "i hate the state of jfashion since the past year or so.. there is no way these prices will ever be justified for a brand that is objectively fast fashion. charging luxury brand money for brands like liz lisa is insane…"
J-fashion is short for Japanese fashion and refers to the different styles of clothing in Japan, such as punk or preppy in the United States.
"Besides the current surge in popularity, I feel like the demand for these skirts will probably die down pretty fast…" commented another user.
Herein lies the bigger problem with fast fashion: It comes with a cost bigger than that to the consumer in the enormous amount of harmful waste it creates by catering to fleeting trends and microtrends.
While this piece and others like it might be selling for a lot, most fast fashion is cheaply made so that it can be sold at low prices, allowing consumers to keep up with the latest fads. As trends have short lives, so does this type of clothing, which wearers throw away as soon as it is no longer fashionable. This creates toxic dump sites of clothing that wreak havoc on the environment and communities close to them.
Further, while the clothing doesn't cost shoppers much at the point of sale, cheap clothing ends up costing them more in the long run since it has to be replaced so often.
Shopping for a similar item secondhand would allow the OP to avoid the high cost of the low-quality item and keep it out of the pollution stream. Even if they couldn't find the exact style they were looking for, they could likely find something similar and mend it to better suit their style.
🗣️ What should the government do about the fast fashion industry?
🔘 Set strict regulations 🚫
🔘 Incentivize sustainable options 💰
🔘 Use both regulations and incentives 🏛️
🔘 Nothing 🙅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another savvy user had a great suggestion. "You could probably buy the material or one very similar to it and make your own. It won't be 'authentic' but making your own clothes is a pretty awesome hobby."
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