EAGLE RIVER, Wis. (WJFW) — With online shopping, it’s never been easier to keep up with fashion trends. It’s also never been easier to decide whether to throw your clothes away.
Fast fashion refers to mass produced clothing sold at a low cost.
As online shopping booms, more clothes are being bought and thrown away than ever before.
According to The “True Cost”, a 2015 documentary, people consume roughly 80 billion pieces of new clothing every year.
“There’s enough clothing in circulation on our planet right now to clothe all of the humans for the next six generations.” said Megan Joyce, Sundari Consignment Boutique owner.
At the Eagle River Boutique, Joyce has sorted through thousands of pieces of clothing since opening her shop last July.
“I think there’s a much larger issue when we talk about our consumerism,” Joyce said. “Not just as human beings, but as Americans, I’ll just say that. We tend to just consume as much as we can. We want to eat the fastest food. We want to have the best fashion. We always want to change everything.”
Joyce says this overconsumption is having major impacts.
“Look at shipping and delivery,” said Joyce. “We think we need a new shirt, then we can go on Amazon and we can order it, click, it can be here tomorrow, or the next day. But we don’t really think about the environmental ramifications that has. To put one object inside of a plastic bag to put in in a box, and put it on an airplane. Then to spend all this fuel to ship it to your door ‘for free.’”
Fast fashion garments are typically made of polyester, a cheap synthetic fabric used to cut costs. The industry is also a large contributor to pollution.
According to a study by UCLA’s Sustainability program, most of these pieces last less than 10 wears before they fall apart.
Due to the poor quality, they end up in landfills and waterways where they do not break down easily.
For Joyce, that’s where secondhand shopping comes in.
“I’ve traveled all over the world and this area of the country is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in my life,” Joyce said. “I want to keep it that way. And I want to do what I can to prevent from them building another landfill. To manage all our own trash. Just to help the community to stay as sustainable as possible.”
People looking to clean out their closets can make an appointment at Sundari to sell their clothes.
“There already is enough in circulation,” Joyce said. “We can work with what we have.”
Sundari Consignment Boutique is open Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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