Fashion, and fast fashion particularly, has been on the rise in the past few decades. Fast fashion refers to the increase in mass production of cheap clothing that follows ever-evolving fashion trends. The problem is that fast fashion is not sustainable. It is dependent on toxic environmental waste, outsourced inexpensive labor, and abusive labor conditions. It encourages waste among American consumers and they are pushed to buy and buy, and thus accumulate endless piles of unworn clothes. 

The solution to this problem cannot be to simply end fashion. Sustainability could best be achieved through minimalist clothing practices, but this is unrealistic in a world where consumers love their clothes. What’s more, consumers should not be forced to abandon their love for fashion, and should instead be presented with ways to sustainably shop. Teenagers are a specific demographic highly pressured by evolving trends, making awareness about sustainable practices all the more urgent for our generation. 

CHS students shared with KTR that one of the greatest pressures to shop excessively is a lack of confidence in one’s style. Interestingly, knowing the type of clothes and designs they like may release someone from the pressure to dress like a certain group, wear a different outfit every day, and spend ridiculous amounts of time in shops. 

CHS junior Solomon Goluboff-Schragger shared that he experiences social pressure to wear more variety of clothing than he would choose to. Solly said he is a creature of routine, and thus only likes to wear one style of pants every day. 

“I get ridiculed. By my friends, by society (laugh). I don’t bend easily to peer pressure, and it’s okay. Maybe one day I’ll become a fashionable person, but in my mind, that’s just buying more clothes and that’s bad for the environment. I’m a sustainable fashionista.” 

Though Solly’s fashion habits are certainly sustainable, this minimalist mindset is not applicable to everyone. But even people who do like to dress in fun ways every day have to go through the difficult experience of discovering their style and fighting the resistance they may receive to that decision. 

CHS junior Ava Kuttner shared that “In middle school, I thought there was a certain way I had to look and dress and I wanted to look like the popular girls and wear what they wear, even though it’s all a facade. It was kind of funny because when I would go out of my hometown I would dress how I actually wanted to, cause I didn’t really care what people thought because I wouldn’t see them again. But yeah, it’s not like that anymore.” 

This middle school mindset was a common factor for a lot of students who felt like they went through a time of insecurity and doubt about their fashion choices. Senior Phillip Wells shared similar experiences during his freshman year at CHS. 

“I certainly have in the past. I remember in freshman year and such it was all skinny jeans and T-shirts, there was nothing else. It’s less of a pressure to dress that way and more a pressure to not dress in a feminine and, I suppose, queer way. I struggled with that a lot simply because society doesn’t like queer people very much, especially when you’re younger. I’m not sure what it was, it could’ve been Tik Tok or the quarantine where I’ve just had a year for myself, but I definitely explored more. I put on a skirt for the first time in 2020 and…the pressures are still there, but I don’t think I give in to them as much.” 

Senior Diavian Thompson similarly shared experiencing harmful feedback concerning their taste. “I would get a lot of negative comments on my outfits, but I think it just came to a point where everybody realized I’m gonna wear whatever I want to wear, and there was nothing they could say or do about it.”

Once teenagers gain this confidence in themselves, they are enabled to shop more sustainably, buy less, and learn to upcycle and reuse clothing. 

Lily Zanoff, a CHS senior, shared that since a young age, she has been able to know and remain confident in her style. “I shop at goodwill a lot, and Depop, like second-hand stuff from there. My top two chain stores are Target and Old Navy. I will look at online stores multiple times a week, but I won’t buy anything. I purchase something maybe less than once a month, cause sometimes I do multiple times a month and I go some months without buying anything.” 

Thrifting is a common shopping practice among teenagers today who want to shop more affordably and sustainably. Senior Alexa Lewandoswki is an avid thrifter, sharing that: 

“I would consider myself a sustainable shopper in some senses. Like when it comes down to prom I’m not a sustainable shopper, I bought myself six dresses and last year didn’t return any of them. Daily wise though yes, I don’t shop anywhere other than thrift stores.”  

Alexa shared that her favorite part about coming to school is making her outfit and that she uses fashion as a way to express herself. Because of this love, she makes a point to shop only at thrift stores and to use skills like sewing to repair clothing that is too big or gets damaged.

Ava Kuttner shared that as she has gotten busier, her shopping has decreased. 

“Yeah, I don’t really buy clothes, and I thrift when I do so it’s all used. I probably would be fine never having to purchase another piece of clothing in my life, which is definitely not going to be true so, not super sustainable.” 

Similar to Solly’s minimalist approach, Ava encouraged people to prioritize buying what they need and buying from sustainable stores for anything extra. 

“I mean there’s such a consumer concept of how to live going on right now, so there’s so much clothing in the world we would never have to make another piece and everyone would be fine. 

Maybe just buy what you need. And thrift. There’s so many used clothes, even expensive nice clothes, you can go to nice thrift stores, you can go to crappy ones, you can go to bins.” 

An incredibly useful skill for teenagers to learn is sewing. Students Diavian and Phillip shared that they have learned how to upcycle and repair their clothing, an incredible way to reuse clothes and limit your waste buildup. 

“I feel like sewing doesn’t have to be something hard, you can find easy ways to do big changes”, Diavian shared. “And sewing doesn’t mean that you have to make all your own clothes, it can literally just be knowing how to fix a hole in your own pants. It’s as easy as that.” 

Once you’ve outgrown or outworn clothing – and if you don’t have the ability to repair them– donating them back to thrift and community stores is a good way to give back. If you have siblings or any extended family, keeping clothing for hand-me-downs is another way to reduce spending on new clothes and limit waste. 

It is important for every American, but teenagers in particular, to understand the impact of their consumer choices. Excessive buying from large corporations without research into the labor and environmental practices of that corporation is how inhumane conditions are sustained and increased for laborers in other countries. Teenagers have the resources and abilities to research where they shop, shop in second-hand stores, and overall choose to buy less. Every piece of clothing we purchase should be considered with thoughtfulness and gravity, understanding the huge repercussions it will have on someone else’s life.