Guilt when shopping fast fashion

Hello!

So, I have made a post about something similar before, but I feel like I kind of want to ask what people’s opinions are about when fast fashion is essentially your only option. I am a student and I try to purchase ethically where I can (including thrifting), but one area I really struggle with is basics. They are pretty much all I wear and I feel like I run through them like water. I don’t believe in having an extensive wardrobe and I feel I look my best in sleek basic pieces anyways.

My income is pretty limited, to the point that my parents sent me money to buy some new clothes (I didn’t ask for it, they really thought I needed it that badly). I was able to replace all my basics that needed replacing from a fast fashion company for less than $100 for six shirts and three bottoms. With those prices there’s no way it’s at all sustainable (or ethical) unless it’s thrifted. So, why didn’t I thrift? I feel like basics are hard to find at thrift stores. They’re not the things that people get rid of... because they’re basic. Might as well just wear the same one till it’s in tatters and needs to be replaced. It’s also the amount of time it would take to find all my basics at a thrift store.

To the crux of my post, I feel really guilty about buying fast fashion even though I know that I will wear what I bought as it’s replacing other clothes (the old ones will be taken to a textile recycling center near me) and it was really all I could afford. Does anyone else deal with this? Or do you have guilty pleasure purchases from fast fashion that you just can’t stop because the product is that good? One option is of course to buy slowly whatever items I can afford that are sustainable, but sometimes even one item is a stretch.

I wanted to open up this discussion because I think if we could be more honest with ourselves and others about the realities of our clothing budgets and what clothes we truly need it could help to determine what the market needs to be doing to help consumers purchase more ethically and sustainably.

Submitted May 28, 2019 at 12:54AM by mixeddrinksandmakeup http://bit.ly/30NipVl