When you start to realize that what contributes the most to our planet’s destruction are reasons that stem from pride and convenience, it makes you think twice about what people should really be concerned about when living their day to day lives 

  Fast fashion is something we all know about. It seems like your favorite clothing brand/store is adding a new collection of styles of clothes to their websites every week.  

  Not to mention these stores that come out with new clothes the most often, usually have the cheapest clothes. These clothes tend to fall apart quickly and will not last longer than one fashion season. 

     For example, according to a McKinsey and Company graphic “the average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 but kept each garment for half as long.” 

  Clearly fast fashion is an innovation to the multi trillion-dollar apparel industry that is practically brand new.  

  With things like social media and influential tv shows and series’ if you’re not wearing the latest fashion or presenting yourself in a way that isn’t considered modern the truth is you will be judged. 

   We would all like to say we’ve never judged anyone for their choices in fashion especially because the clothes we wear are a form of self-expression. 

   However, we know that now more than ever we live in a world where what we wear, and our image can be seen by the entire world. And who wouldn’t want to be accepted with an audience like that? 

     It’s the sad truth and it’s disappointing to hear.  

  Another sad truth is the amount of natural resources that are being wasted on cheap trendy clothes that won’t last for more than a year. 

     According to Planet Aid in order to make one cotton t-shirt use “2,700 liters of water—what one person drinks in two-and-a-half years”. Picture how much water you drink in a day or even a week and multiply that amount by 912.5 times over.  

  The cotton used for textiles alone has been directly linked to the Aral Sea nearly disappearing. Cotton farmers excessively used the rivers that fed the sea and now it is almost gone.  

  This is all being used for a natural material, the synthetic materials (materials made from plastic) that are in our clothing contributed to 1.5 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases in 2015 alone. 

  That is equivalent to 185 coal-fired power plants’ annual emissions. If that doesn’t make you think, I don’t know what will. 

     The scariest par of this, is that scientists and environmentalists have studies that show we are not slowing down when it comes to textile consumption. 

     According to Planet Aid butt the time 2050 hits which is only 30 years away we are set to triple our resource consumption just to be used for fashion. 

    Fortunately, an additional trend we have seen in the past couple years is the trend of thrifting for second handed clothes to achieve that authentically vintage look. 

  In addition, North Harford has encouraged the selling, buying, and using of second hand clothes through our wear and share events during Earth Day. 

The next time you go to American Eagle to buy your 7th black t-shirt or that new polyester sweater think about how much energy you’ll be wearing on your back. That seems like a lot of weight to be carrying around just to stay up with the latest trend.