In a journal about the ethical appeal and sustainability of cheap clothing, fast fashion, also known as disposable fashion, is defined as low cost clothing that is made for the purpose of wearing only a handful of times. These items often mimic current luxury trends but come at a fraction of the price in order to be more accessible to the general public. In a society where trends change daily, the idea of fast fashion appeals to people who want to have the latest hot item. The fast fashion industry is one that relies on impulse behavior. However, fast fashion is environmentally unsustainable and exploits low-wage workers in other countries around the world (Annamma).

According to Lisa Chau, the founder of a private consulting firm, the average American purchases eight pairs of shoes and 68 articles of clothing annually. Fast fashion relies on this rapid cycle of buying an item, wearing it once or twice, then throwing it out. Because of this, secondhand clothing stores have had a hard time selling items. It is estimated that a New York based Salvation Army only sells about 11,000 items out of the five tons of clothing processed daily. These single-use items are bad for the environment and result in the overcrowding of landfills around the world (Chau). In a time where so many people are concerned with the carbon footprint this generation leaves, people believe the way to decrease waste is to eat organic food or use online books. People rarely think that their clothing is harming the environment (Annamma).

Today, it is estimated that less than 2% of the clothing Americans wear is actually made in the United States. Companies such as Gap are employing workers overseas in order to mass-produce their merchandise. Recently, Gap was accused of using underage female workers, as young as 15 years old, working 18-hour shifts. Gap agreed to make an effort to stop this, but as recently as 2007, Gap was again accused of employing underage children ages 10 to 13 in sweatshop-like conditions (Mahlmeister). Zara once manufactured all their goods in Europe but now outsources at least 13% of their manufacturing to various countries such as China and Turkey. This lower manufacturing and lower labor costs result in a higher profit for fast fashion CEOs and executives.

Although fast fashion comes at an extremely low price, it is still highly profitable for the owners of the fashion label. For example, the CEO of H&M is the 28th richest person in the world and the CEO of Zara is the 4th richest person in the world. H&M CEO attributes the success to the fact that the stores are always changing. When a person walks in to a store on a Tuesday, the merchandise will be completely that Thursday. This is due to planned obsolescence, which is defined as a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and require frequent changes in design or termination completely.

Fast fashion is a problem in the current day society that is most likely going to get worse before it gets better. In order to stop this problem, it is important for consumers to be aware of their global impact. One way to help would be shopping at stores with clothing made only in the United States. Another way would be to buy clothing made from eco-friendly and sustainable materials.

This topic is important because it is so relevant to society today. Reducing society's carbon footprint is something people hear everyday; however when people think of ways to do this they usually do not think of their fashion decisions. This topic is particularly relevant to young people today but can also be relevant to future generations. In addition to the issue of environmental concerns, fast fashion also exploits workers from around the world. Companies that we are buying clothes from are employing underage men and women and forcing them to work in horrible conditions for 18 hours a day while being paid less than minimum wage. This would not be tolerated in the United States so companies such as H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe turn to companies such as China, Russia, the Philippines, in order to mass produce their merchandise. Another way people can help is buy spending a little more money on their clothes but buying items less frequently. For example, if a person buys a sweater for $150, this purchase will last them a lot longer than the $12 sweater purchased from Forever 21. Although this is not exactly easy for most people to do, it will save money in the long run and it will be something you truly love and put effort into purchasing. There are many different views on this topic, but most people agree that fast fashion is harming the fashion industry. Those who think that fast fashion is good say this because they believe fast fashion is the only way to clothe the billions of people on the earth.

