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Fast fashion takes a hit as thrifting becomes trendy

Times of Bennett | Updated: May 22, 2021 17:16
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By Ria Pipalwa

GREATER NOIDA: Fashion is a way of communication, expression. In recent years, fast fashion brands like H&M, Zara and Fashion Nova have grown rapidly. Fast fashion brands replicate designer clothes quick and retail them at cheap prices. They are also not durable.

Fast fashion brands manufacture clothes according to what is trendy in the now. A documentary about fast fashion (‘The True Cost’) reveals how poor the working conditions are in these factories that manufacture clothes on the daily.

Thrifting has become a new trend. People have gradually started making conscious decisions about what they shop and where they shop. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry of all.

Fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M contribute to this pollution in tones. People have started becoming conscious of these facts and gradually started to shift towards thrifting.

Jaya Shekhar, an 18-year-old psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, said, “Thrifting for me had always been a foreign concept. Eventually, social media and advertising made me realize how impressive Indian thrifting had become, now it is a go-to place,” said Jaya.

She remembers her first purchase came in an upcycled wrapping paper, the articles were dry cleaned and perfumed. The effort small thrift store owners put into every single order is unmatched. The care and caution reflect in everything.

Jaya added that she stopped buying from huge corporations when she came across articles highlighting how “conscious” and “sustainable” drives were barely for welfare.

Jaya Shekhar, Psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College

Youtubers like Arden Rose and Verena have tried to make their audience aware of the damage that the fast fashion industry is causing to our environment.

Aprajita Sharma, who is also an 18-year-old a psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College, said, “Thrifting to me simply means supporting a very novel cause as well as having the fortune of wearing something which might have been pre-loved by someone. I came across online thrift stores during the lockdown period. That was my first introduction to the concept of thrifting. Prior to that, I only knew thrifting as something Macklemore wrote a song about”

Aprajita highlights that she has not switched to thrifting 100 per cent but the change is gradual, and it feels nice to be a part of a larger cause, no matter how small her part is.

Aprajita Sharma, Psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College

(The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of The Times School of Media.)