Fast fashion is a problem because consumerism breeds more consumerism as people want to keep up with trends and stay on style. Brands that make fast fashion styles out of polyester materials become the face of fashion and beauty and oversaturate the market, so even people who don’t care about keeping up with trends and just need new clothing tend to buy from these popular companies because their names are everywhere.
While part of the problem is people cycling through clothes like disposable paper towels, another problem is that the fast fashion industry is so big that people who aren’t as into fashion as fashion vloggers and influencers have less places to buy clothes because places like Pretty Little Thing, Fashion Nova, and forever 21 have become the main places to get clothing. Here’s where learning how to sew begins to mitigate this problem. If people learn how to alter their own clothes, they can take their old clothing and even clothes from friends and family and make new pieces that fit individual styles and last longer because they’re made to order and made more sustainably.
The more people learn to sew their own clothes, the more opportunities there are for fabric drives, where people bring old clothes that they would otherwise throw away and give them to crafty people who can make good use of them. These pieces don’t even have to be turned into more clothing, as there are so many uses for fabric other than clothing. This way, clothes don’t end up in a landfill and people buying from fast fashion brands have a chance to pour back into their communities.
