Almost every teen today knows the constant struggle of staying “on trend”.
The hottest looks and most popular styles seem to change every five seconds, always just out of our reach.
We can be quick to want to keep up with the frantic social media influencers and runway models, so we turn to the fast, cheap, and low-quality items from fashion websites all over the internet.
Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and TikTok shop are among the most popular of these companies. The items are poorly made, but are therefore incredibly budget friendly, which is what draws most shoppers in. They advertise off-brand versions of hot styles, raking in thousands of sales every week.
During the COVID-19 pandemic these stores saw a spike in users, as the economy and consumerism were transformed by the clicking power of the internet.
With the quickly increasing demand, these companies started using irresponsible labor habits. The unreasonably low prices can be attributed to the use of materials like polyester, which are made using nonrenewable fossil fuels.
Also, they often use child labor and pay their employees next to nothing while operating in poor, third world countries.
The incredible amount of waste created in the production of these items is responsible for much of the carbon emissions that we produce annually.
Shoppers are seduced by the combination of fast shipping, low prices and accessibility of these digital marketplaces, making more sustainable brands look overly expensive and unattractive.
Due to the poor quality of the average Temu or Shein good, people are buying twice as many clothes today, but only wearing them for half as long.
The reason these businesses stay afloat while using these problematic labor practices is the young patrons of the internet. Often, teens and young adults don’t think twice about the low prices and heavily edited product photos posted on these sites.
They take no time to think about the environmental impacts using multiple layers of plastic and cardboard to ship these items has on the world.
Also, the more children that develop the habit of chronic online shopping affects the economy, as they are more likely to continue these habits into their adult years. This could lead to the downfall of public spaces like malls and marketplaces in the near future.
Additionally, young adults are also at risk of being scammed by these stores.
Kids are often told that we should not give out personal information to strangers, but here we are sharing our addresses, zip codes, and credit card numbers to sketchy online businesses. Valuable information could easily be stolen and used to hack into our lives.
Thankfully, there are many alternatives to online fast fashion websites.
A new generation of shoppers has fallen in love with the vintage and second-hand aesthetic, revitalizing thrift shops, flea markets, and antique stores all over the country.
Many students get their clothes from used clothing stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army, which give back to the community through donations and charities. In a sense, we should be grateful for the development of online fashion stores because without them we would not have found this new, environmentally conscious way to shop.