Urban Outfitters, Shein, H&M, Zara, Brandy Melville and American Eagle are all popular clothing brands that are convenient and have cute clothes. They are also all examples of fast fashion brands.

Fast fashion refers to brands that produce high volumes of clothes throughout the year and the price is a comparatively low This allows consumers to purchase more clothes for a cheaper price. This may sound great, but the over-consumption of cheaply made clothes leads to more textile waste, pollution and depletion of natural resources.

Instead of shopping with these fast fashion brands, you can shop sustainably or you can thrift. Thrifting is shopping at a market or a store that sells used items for a discounted price. Thrifting prevents overconsumption of resources and allows fewer textiles or clothes to be thrown away because the clothes are being ΅recycled,” according to Goodwill. Freshman Emily Yun said, “I like thrifting because I can find clothing that’s not usually around in basic stores like Target. Thrifting is when clothes that have already been worn are reused so it’s recycling clothing to help the environment.”

Popular places to thrift are Goodwill, UpTown Cheapskate, and Unique. If you want to start thrifting but don’t know how, make sure you find a local thrift store, know what you’re looking for, and look for items that aren’t damaged and are of good quality., “I like to thrift because it’s sustainable and it helps me find unique pieces. It helps the environment because it cuts down on fast fashion and helps recycle clothes,” sophomore Joy Nadda said.

According to earth.org, fast fashion encourages excessive consumption or hyperconsumerism. Fast fashion items tend to be lower quality so items are more likely to end up in a landfill from people throwing them away. “Fast fashion is harmful because the workers aren’t getting paid [well] and there’s no regulations at the factories so it’s unsafe. It’s also a waste of fabric because the clothes are only worn once or twice before being put in the landfill,” Nadda said.

Over time thrift shopping has become more acceptable to society. When thrifting began, people saw it as unsanitary and frowned on buying used clothing. Perceptions are different today. “I like that I can find clothing I won’t typically find in widespread stores and it comes at a very cheap price. I go to the Salvation Army and they have cheap prices,” senior Katya Sorkin said.

You can find more than just clothes in thrift stores. Some stores also sell furniture items and decorations, used books and cooking utensils. Thrifting is also a great way to give back to the community. You can donate clothes that you don’t want anymore instead of throwing them out so that other people can use them. Thrifting helps you find unique pieces for cheap prices while at the same time saving the environment.