Fast Fashion: 5 Ideas for Millennials to Save on Clothes
"Fast" fashion has always attracted those who want to dress with taste and at an affordable price. But in order to dress beautifully and adhere to the principle of environmental friendliness, it is not necessary to spend huge sums of money.
Fast fashion retailer Forever 21, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of September, announced this week that it will close 200 stores (a quarter of its stores worldwide). At one time, the founders of the chain, Do Won and Jin Suk Chan, who founded the company in 1984, made great money on the love of American teenagers to walk around shopping centers and buy the most fashionable novelties at an affordable price. At the peak of the brand’s popularity, the married couple’s savings were estimated at $5.9 billion.
But times have changed. There are not as many people in shopping malls as there used to be. In addition, some millennials and representatives of the youth are rejecting “fast” fashion and looking for a more ecological approach in choosing clothes. “Fast” fashion has always attracted those who want to dress with taste and at an affordable price. But despite the fact that the clothes offered by “fast” fashion can be stylish, you definitely cannot call them durable.
And here are five tips that will help you abandon “fast” fashion without financial losses.
- Buy clothes that last
If you’ve ever taken another new item out of the washing machine and seen that it has settled, lost color or presentation, then you know that low cost clothing means low quality. “Fast” fashion really offers inexpensive clothes, which is profitable at the stage of purchase, but then you have to constantly overpay for changing it, because it has become unusable. Because of this, your savings decrease or disappear altogether.
Instead, it’s better to shop with the future in mind, so that the bulk of your wardrobe consists of high-quality clothing (which often costs more). But if you’re not ready to just buy a $100 blazer for work, figure out the benefit per outing: divide the total purchase price by the number of times you’re going to wear the garment. For example, you wear this $100 blazer twice a week (or 100 times a year, including a two-week vacation), so if the blazer only lasts one year, the cost per outing is only $1. If it will be used for two years, the cost will be reduced to $0.50 per exit. This cost of just one item is comparable to a $25 blazer that will last less than a few months.
The idea is very simple – it is more profitable to wear a high-quality blazer than a cheaper analogue.
2. Use bonus points, cashback and loyalty programs
There are always options to save on more expensive purchases and it’s not limited to finding sales. It is also important to approach shopping strategically. For example, a bank card with cashback allows you to make instant savings. But if you want to maximize your potential savings, you can shop through online cashback portals. For example, in Ukraine there is such a platform as Caste.
And you can go even further and register in the loyalty programs of specific stores – now they are all gaining popularity again. After spending a certain amount in the network for a certain period, you can often get a discount on your next purchase or bonuses.
3. Don’t be afraid of thrift stores
If you don’t visit thrift stores often, you’re missing out on a lot.
In them you can find five cashmere sweaters for $3 each or a vintage black dress from Dolce & Gabbana for $80. These items are pristine, new and even with tags. If you visit such stores for an hour or two, you can find really high-quality clothes at very low prices. Just imagine what the original value of those sweaters is!
4. Sell things you no longer need
“Fast” fashion accounts for huge amounts of clothing thrown away every year. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the bulk of textiles in solid waste is discarded clothing. In 2021, for example, it accounted for 6.1% of all waste. It takes up to several hundred years for the synthetic materials in these things to completely decompose.
If you bought a high-quality item, but later it no longer fits you, you can resell it. Or maybe you have jeans that are too worn out to resell? Then they can be disposed of – in some stores they give a discount for this when buying new things. Thermal insulation for buildings or something else useful will be made from the things you have handed over. As fashion begins to address environmental issues, there are more and more such initiatives, you just have to look.
5. Rent clothes
Special events require special costumes. As funny as it sounds, things like wedding dresses, prom dresses, or evening dresses for a special event are often worn only once.
Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on these outfits, only to have them collect dust in your closet, look into renting them. Many similar services offer a monthly subscription option, which means you can keep changing your look for a fixed monthly fee.
Since many consumers rent the same item, in theory, the demand for clothing production should decrease. This makes such things “environmentally friendly”. In the UK, however, one app is looking to take things to a whole new level and let users rent clothes from other users. This way, the service will avoid the need to buy your own things for special occasions.
Be careful what you choose when you go shopping. A responsible attitude to the selection of things means choosing high-quality durable goods or using a rental service, instead of permanent purchases. In this way, you will save money, resources and help reduce your impact on the environment.