Modern people prefer fast and convenient things, and tend to be more sensitive to fashion, too. Fashion bears these characteristics of modern people. ‘Fast fashion’ offers consumers both cheap and stylish clothes by making clothes reflecting the latest fashion trends and are mass produced. Due to these merits, fast fashion had been gaining popularity for some time by many customers. Major fast fashion companies include well-known brands like H&M, ZARA, SPAO, and MIXXO. But although fast fashion seems to only have pros to the fashion conscious but busy people of today, we must stop consuming fast fashion due to its cons.

    First, fast fashion lowers the financial burden of consumers, but makes them overspend at the same time. Because the design of clothes changes according to the fast-changing fashion trends, consumers become easily tired of their clothes. So, they buy new in-style ones to replace them. According to a study by McKinsey & Company, an American consulting firm, the number of clothes that was bought by one person increased by 60 percent from 2000 to 2014. The amounts of clothes manufactured during the same period increased by 2 times as well. Also, according to the book <Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion> by Elizabeth L. Cline, customers of ZARA make a clothing purchase about an average of 17 times annually. The goal of fast fashion manufacturing companies is to make customers think that they are falling behind in fashion. Some companies even intentionally make fragile clothes so that they are ruined easily! The clothes are not a financial burden at the time of the purchase but end up making the customers overspend in the long term. Next, fast fashion causes serious environmental pollution. Serious environmental pollution is caused when clothes are produced and discarded. Fast fashion is usually made with cheap cloth like polyester, which produces 3 times more carbon than cotton. Furthermore, clothing that is made with cotton, not polyester, still emit 120 tons of carbon yearly during the production process, which takes up 10 percent of the total carbon discharge rates worldwide. This is not all. According to the statistics of the present condition of waste from Environment Statistics Portal that is run by the Ministry of Environment, 284 tons of waste textile were produced in South Korea in 2016 alone. This means that the amount of textile waste increased by 100 tons compared to 2012. Likewise to the rapidly increasing rate of fiber waste, there are many problems more serious than this that occur during the waste disposal process. As fast fashion is usually made from synthetic textiles, which do not decompose easily and thus contaminate the soil and underground water. Furthermore, clothing waste emits toxic gases, causing air pollution, and eventually leads to more global warming.

    Fast fashion is definitely a charming choice, but the negative effects of fast fashion also cannot be overlooked. Therefore, we must stop consuming fast fashion. We must not excessively obsess over trends and must buy clothes that are our style. Donating clothes that are rather new but you are tired of is also a good choice. Wearing clothes that suit you and not purchasing fast fashion clothing is an advisable attitude. We must take on these attitudes and stop consuming fast fashion.