AJ Cadaret
eSomethin Staff
As the holiday season rolls around, people will be buying new and trashing old. This is especially true with clothing. The trend cycle changes rapidly and fast fashion companies are running to keep up with it.
Andrew Winkler, an avid thrifter and Perrysburg High School senior, said, “Fast fashion is a very popular thing. It’s simple and it’s easy.”
“Fast fashion” is defined as quickly mass-produced clothing at a low cost. However, this process can have a much higher cost on the environment. Companies such as SHEIN and Zara release massive amounts of gas emissions into the atmosphere every year, both in mass production processes and transportation.
SHEIN said in their 2023 Sustainability and Social Impact Report that the company emitted 16,775,814 tonnes of CO2e emissions last year.
CO2e signifies carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, otherwise known as the equivalent impact of gas emissions on the environment if it were carbon dioxide.
The report also said that 75.7% of the fabric produced and used in SHEIN’s clothing is polyester. Polyester is made of ethylene, which can be driven from natural gas or petroleum – neither of which is renewable.
“I can tell by the material that it’s cheap and not well made. It doesn’t hold up very well,” Winkler said.
Zara, under the company Inditex, released in their environment-based impact report, that the company released 16,858,307 CO2e tonnes in 2023. They also produced 165,956 tonnes of polyester last year. Additionally, polyester can take up to 200 years to degrade, based on the composition of the fabric.
Alternatives to shopping fast fashion brands include thrift shopping, second-hand stores, and shopping at small businesses. This includes places such as Plato’s Closet, Goodwill, and House of Dow.
Winkler mentioned one of his favorite places to thrift is in Columbus, “Columbus has the best thrifting. It’s around Shore North, there’s a place called Flower Child Vintage. I get some of my best pieces there.”
One small business outside of the fashion realm is Just Toledo. This business focuses on building a zero-waste community with their products.
Courtney Fillion, one of the co-owners of Just Toledo, a local business centering sustainability in their products, said, “A lot of what we’re recycling is ending up in landfills and waterways…. The best I found to deal with that is through action”
Just Toledo was founded on the “milk-man” model, where a person leaves an empty jar on their front porch and every Saturday a worker from Just Toledo fills those containers with what they ordered, made to order. In-store, they sell everything by the ounce, including shampoo, conditioner, and cleaning supplies.
“A lot of people don’t realize how much oil you’re consuming through like the shipping on items,” said Fillion, “If there is a way that we can source things more close to home, we do.”
Just Toledo also hosts events such as sourdough classes, and has recently brought Olivia Anderson, a local artist, onto their team. Currently, she will be hosting a mending class once a month, as well as organizing a Thrift and Sip event.
Thrift and Sip is a free event that will be held at Just Toledo on December 8th, with thrift and vintage clothing vendors such as House of Dow and Stumbled Upon Vintage.
Fillion said, “The classes that we host have been really great for us… we can keep the money from the classes and we’re teaching people a skill that can help them to be more sustainable.”
In regards to switching to more sustainable practices, Fillion said, “Just take it one item at a time. Pay attention to your trash and look and see what’s in there. Just kind of look at what you’re running out of and start there. If you’re running low on laundry detergent, start there. If you’re running low on shampoo, start there. And you don’t have to switch everything over at once.”
As previously mentioned, one of the largest reasons fast fashion and unsustainable products are popular is because they are cheap, whereas good quality, sustainable, ethically-made fabrics and items are often much more expensive.
Fillion, also sharing that though the business is sustainable, they still manage to keep prices low, said, “ We also offer sliding-scale pricing so all anyone has to do is ask and we can offer up to 40% off the products that we make or the household and self-care products.”
Just Toledo also offers 10% off every Friday. Additionally, Just Toledo is looking for help from anyone who is interested in climate change. This includes sustainable vendors or anyone interested in being a part of their team to work towards building a zero-waste community. They can be reached at [email protected] for more information.
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