Fashion: Fast or Thrift?

Fashion:

Fast or Thrifted?

The Pros and Cons of Two Trending Fashion Concepts

W itten St oy and Photo y McKenna Bailey

If you’ve ever fallen down an Internet rabbit hole, then you’ve probably run into the trending fashion concepts of fast fashion and/or thrifting. However, if you haven’t heard of these popular trends then here is the lowdown.

Fast fashion is a term used by clothing retailers to describe fashion designs and items that move quickly from the catwalk to stores at cheaper prices.

Thrifting is the act of visiting second-hand shops, vintage clothing stores, garage sales, or charitable organization clothing stores in the hopes of finding cheap and trendy clothing.

So why are these methods, of staying in fashion while still being afordable so trendy?

“One possible reason is that people are more environmentally and economically aware,” says Devin Heitt, an online reporter on the Oudaily website. Environmental awareness comes with thrifting, only while awareness comes with thrifting and fast fashion. The best way to save money is also by saving our planet. According to Oudaily, besides the fact that fast fashion shopping and thrifting is also a popular pastime among friends, it’s also a big hit among the Youtuber gurus.

Famous YouTube stars like Emma Chamberlain or other YouTuber’s whose channels are devoted to thrifting and fast fashion hauls like Carrie Dayton and Alexa Sunshine83 have spread far and wide across the platform and into the eyes of the viewers.

With the heavy influence that YouTuber’s and social media influencers

Out ith old, in ith the ne Ma i a G eene model how oth th ifted and fa t fa hion clothin a e in tyle. Photo y: McKenna Bailey

have on their audience, it’s no wonder, fast fashion and thrifting are a big hit.

Before you decide which fashion method is best for you, or which method you will use, let’s examine the pros and cons of each.

According to the online news and lifestyle website The Good Trade, with fast fashion, anyone can support small and local retail businesses by purchasing fast fashion items from them. You will also find the item you are looking for faster using fast fashion over thrifting.

The fast-fashion products may also be in better condition than if you were to find a used product in a thrift shop. However, The Good Trade says most retailers produce fast fashion at low cost, which makes the products low-quality.

There are also ethical and economic reasons to consider when buying fast fashion. According to reserch done by

Fa hionably Fre h McKenna Bailey t ut he etailed fa hion on S. Con e Photo By: Ma i a G eene

Li e in the Fa t Lane Alexa Smith how he to and ean ou ht f om etai to e uch a Ta et and ModCloth Photo y: McKenna Bailey the Rubicon group, a business dedicated to analyzing data, 11 million tons of fast fashion clothing is thrown out every year in America. The Rubicon also stated in their findings that certain popular brands that carry fast fashion have harmful dyes, toxins, or synthetic fabrics that can affect the water supply in the country where the fashion products were produced.

According to the Odyssey, an online news and community lifestyle website, the benefits of thrifting include saving the environment because buying clothes from a thrifting shop prevents those clothes from going to a landfill.

Sometimes, the clothes are cheaper at thrit shops than fast fashion retailers. You will, also, help non-profit organizations and charities by shopping at thrift shops like Goodwill or Salvation Army.