By Grace Thayer

Buy SecondHand, Say Bye to Fast Fashion Grace Thayer 

Clothing Landfill in Atacama Desert, Chile 

The ever growing fast fashion industry has been a longstanding issue in our society. With changing trends being the leading factor of overproducing clothing at an alarming rate, we have crowded our Earth with more clothing than we even need to dress every single human actively living on our planet. In fact, we have enough clothing to dress the next six generations of humans. In 2019 alone, 62 million tons of clothing was consumed globally. So where does all of this clothing end up after we’ve thrown out those old jeans with the tiny stain, or the T-shirt that shrunk just barely in the dryer one day? 

Most people in our society opt to throw out their old or unused clothing instead of taking the time to fix, donate, or resell it. 30% of all clothing globally is moved directly from stores to landfills without even reaching a consumer first because of the sheer quantity of clothing that is produced. It either ends up in textile landfills (57% of all clothing globally) or is incinerated, neither of which are good for the environment; thousands of pollutants contaminate our air, soil, and water when the clothes are burned or chemicals in the clothing sit in the environment forever, as they aren’t biodegradable.

Though donating is a better option, corporations like Goodwill or Salvation Army can’t always handle the huge quantity of textile products being left at their doors every single day. There isn’t enough space in one store location or headquarters location to carry all of it, and a lot of clothing doesn’t ever sell because it has gone “out of style” since arriving there. Some of it may go to textile recycling companies, but if not, it will be moved to the same places as the clothing that was directly thrown out. One of the most known textile dump locations is Chile’s Atacama Desert, where 59,000 tons are added each year. “This clothing arrives from all over the world.” We can tell ourselves it’s okay to keep consuming because we can donate what we no longer want, but even that has become a less sustainable option. 

The only solution to even begin to minimize the fast fashion industry is to stop purchasing firsthand from fast fashion brands and to change our overall mindset about the world of fashion. It’s not sustainable to try to keep up with every single new clothing trend, or to throw out an item at the slightest tear or stain without at least trying to fix it. There are no items sold by a fast fashion brand that are “unique” and are items that can’t be found anywhere else. And we definitely do not need something brand new to wear for every occasion. There are SO many thrift, consignment, resale, and charity stores to donate to and shop from, who are selling clothes ranging from fair condition to brand new with tags, especially right in or around the South Portland area. 

One of my personal favorites is located right in South Portland Maine’s Willard Square, located at 429 Preble St, Unit 2: Stella’s Seller Boutique. It’s a small shop, holding many items with big personalities at very affordable prices, which is perfect for college students. Stella herself says, “I enjoy thrifting myself and get excited when I find a bargain, so it’s fun to watch other people 

do the same.” Besides better pricing, Stella appreciates the aspect of “reusing stuff that’s already here, not buying new stuff,” in regards to secondhand shopping. She describes the process of dressing up the mannequins in her shop, saying, “I like the fun of it, the colors, to just make it fun.” When we take a step back from the door of fast fashion and into a small secondhand shop like hers, we can appreciate the life and color in each piece of pre-loved clothing. 

Stella’s is within walking distance of SMCC’s campus. She used to have a different shop in Mill Creek shopping plaza, where many high school kids would frequent. “High school kids stopped in a lot, were regulars, and it was fun… they were my favorite customers because they’d all come in together and giggle and whatnot and they’d make it interesting.” Not only does shopping secondhand help our environment, but it creates a sense of community and keeps

in-person shopping alive. “I miss the energy they brought in… I was really hoping college kids from SMCC would come in when I moved to this location,” she added. 

We can’t go back and fix what years and years of fast fashion production has done, but we can start being more mindful of each clothing purchase and remember to look out for our local secondhand shops; they will inevitably have something similar to what we see in the store window of a fast fashion brand. As for discarding old or unused clothing, look to sources like Green + Healthy Maine to find the best options such as local textile recyclers, how to donate to homeless shelters, or how to/where to resell your clothes to secondhand shops.