Do you have a minute? Let's open up your closets, peek inside, and count all your t-shirts, jeans, jackets, and dresses. Pull out your drawers; how many sweaters do you own? How many pairs of shoes sit on the shelf? Be honest! Twenty? Thirty? More? How many seasons do you wear your apparel? What do you do with your old and unwanted clothes?
Today, shopping for clothes has become a favorite pastime for millions of people. It is a form of self-expression activated by aggressive advertisements. By selecting clothing in stores or online that suits our tastes, we express who we are without speaking a word. More than ever, we opt for affordable, fast fashion. Fast fashion is clothing produced cheaply and quickly in response to changing trends. This throwaway fashion is mainly made in poorer countries where labor conditions for textile workers are horrendous.
Only a few decades ago, producing and buying clothes was more challenging. The process was slower and more pragmatic, a well-considered choice.
Whenever my mother decided that my sister and I had outgrown our current dresses, she would go to a local fabric store, purchase some suitable material and visit our next-door neighbor, a professional tailor. Frau Solothurnmann, a kind and hardworking mother of four, measured our little bodies, discussed the design of the dresses with my mom, and lovingly tailored, practical attires within a couple of days.
Back then, it was common to create outfits by hand. Our sweaters and stockings were hand-knit by my mother. Buying new shoes twice a year was always a highlight for me. Although I preferred elegant, shiny footwear, my mother bought me sturdy, practical shoes that could withstand snow and rainy days on my daily walk to school. Her choice created some crying fits on my part.
If there was a sock hole or a skirt rip, my mother mended it, and my sister and I wore them again. Our shoes were dropped off at the local shoemaker to be fixed. Outgrown clothes were given to our relatives. Clothes had a different value than today.
Currently, we use various ways of dealing with unwanted textiles. Tons of excessive clothes are being donated to local charities or thrift stores. However, according to the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 13 million tons of textiles yearly end up in the garbage can. More worrisome, a large amount is buried in landfills on faraway shores in Africa or Asia, polluting the environment and posing health risks due to the chemicals they contain.
But there is hope. More and more people are concerned about these unwanted textiles' environmental impact. Multiple small companies accept donated clothes and resell the washed and fixed articles at a significant markdown.
According to shopping researchers, Generation Z (people born approximately between 1997 - 2010) and the generation after, Post-Millenials, show a growing interest in sustainable fashion, including clothes recycling. These demographic groups, consisting of young adults and teenagers worldwide, are aware of fast fashion's environmental impact. They are looking for ways to reduce waste and support clothing brands that prioritize sustainable practices, such as using upcycled fabrics or reducing waste in production.
Some companies aim to reduce waste by exchanging clothes with customers, such as ThredUP. Other big online companies, like Rent the Runway, rent and sell worn items. Patagonia has a great program called Worn Wear, where customers can trade in used items they no longer need or buy upcycled outfits for a fraction of their original cost.
Last summer, I learned a lesson from my two young nieces visiting from Switzerland. Instead of driving them to local shopping malls or trendy boutiques, I had to drop them off at second-hand stores. There, with trained eyes, the girls picked out a few items, spent a couple of dollars, and started anticipating the changes they would create using my sewing machine. My nieces took in waists, opened seems, and shortened dresses. I marveled at their skills and shared their joy as they stood in front of the mirror. Youth is NOT wasted on the young.
Shakespeare said: "Clothes make the man," but nowadays, too much of it can have severe consequences for our planet. Let's buy less, fix more, upcycle, and reuse.