We live in a time where spending hours in the thrift store and impulse buying on Shein are simultaneously in vogue. I have friends who do both frequently. At the College, many a fashion-forward student has bragged about their excellent finds from ABC Clothing Shop, yet do not hesitate to purchase costumes and decor for their performance groups from fast fashion brands.
Student performance groups at the College operate at varying levels of sustainability. For example, choreographers for the Student Choreographers’ Coalition (StuCo), of which I am a part, are asked to create a list of online orders for costumes every semester. Dancers keep their costumes, so every semester we have to order new ones. Looking on as my friend and choreographer worked to compile a list within the budget of $20 per person last semester, it became clear that Shein and Amazon were difficult options to avoid. This model, which other groups follow as well, is unsustainable, expensive, and wasteful.
Fast fashion clothing, such as that sold by Shein and Temu, is produced and sold at scale, intended to reflect short-lived fads. When clothing and other products are made cheaply and not meant to last, consumers are encouraged to over-buy with little regard for the social and environmental impact of their behavior. It’s the same principle as using disposable sponges for your skincare instead of a towel or buying the latest phone when your current one still works.
Fast fashion contributes greatly to environmental destruction. The fabrics most commonly used for cheap clothing, such as polyester and nylon, contain large amounts of plastic, and require an enormous amount of water to produce and energy to ship around the world. On average, a single cotton T-shirt requires 2,700 liters of water to produce. The cost is hardly worth it when 34 billion pounds of used textiles are thrown away by Americans every year and 66 percent of those discarded textiles end up in landfills. Estimates show that the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The toll fast fashion takes on workers is just as extreme. Shein’s factory employees are wildly underpaid and overworked, earning only pennies per garment over grueling 18-hour days. Shein and Temu also face allegations of unsafe factory conditions, forced labor, and child labor, including in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, leading one congressional committee to implicate the companies in the genocide of Uyghur Muslims.
The environmental and social consequences of fast fashion are frightening, but we can make a difference in changing the consumerist culture that sustains the industry. Fighting fast fashion means changing our personal habits and bringing slow fashion practices into our community, in keeping with the “three R’s:” reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Reducing could look like buying fewer clothes, instead focusing our purchases on the items that will last and mending clothes that are worn down. Minor clothing repairs like sewing on buttons and sewing holes shut are useful skills that anyone can learn. We should make use of the knowledge that exists on this campus through platforms like Williams Students Online: I am sure that there are peers out there who could mend a garment in exchange for a coffee at Tunnel City.
Reusing means taking advantage of second-hand clothing, whether that be by borrowing friends’ clothes or purchasing from a local thrift store. These opportunities exist on campus: The Zilkha Center for the Environment frequently organizes clothing swaps, which can be a fun way to get new clothes, talk about fashion and sustainability, and make new friends; Mutual Aid runs the free store in Goodrich Hall; and ABC is a great thrift store, located right on Spring Street.
Recycling should be a last resort given that the process of recycling garments also requires a lot of energy, and recycled clothes are frequently dumped in landfills abroad. However, some eco-concious businesses like Retold Recycling and Trashie’s The Take Back Bag can help you recycle and repurpose responsibly.
The best way for student groups to practice slow fashion at the College is to reuse what they already have in storage. As the costume designer for the Cap & Bells play The Monsters this fall, I spent a lot of time combing through bins and racks to find what I needed for the show. Rather than immediately buying new items, I took my time to take inventory of what we already had. The Williams Student Union has launched a program for all Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to be able to store items in Paresky. RSOs should take advantage of this and keep costumes, posters, and decor year after year to facilitate reuse. If every group did this, there could be a network of shared costumes. Also, we should think about what people already have in their closets — almost everyone has black leggings or sweatpants! In short, with a little organization and attention, student groups can function more sustainably.
Additionally, while online shopping is convenient, we can be more intentional with our consumption and reduce the impact of transportation emissions by going to stores in person. Transportation out of Williamstown is difficult, but we should make the most of resources like the Sunday shopping shuttle to Stop & Shop, Wild Oats, and Walmart and free rides on the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) shuttle that can take you to thrift stores like Empire Antiques, Goodwill, or Label Shopper.
Compared to the vast inventory of online shopping sites, sustainable shopping does limit one’s options, but it is also an invitation to be creative. Instead of ordering identical costumes, students can try experimenting with a color or motif to maintain continuity and add their own flair.
Practicing slow fashion is a learnable skill. One can learn how to read labels, develop an understanding of what goes into making a garment, and invest time in learning the art of DIY. At the same time, it’s an opportunity for creativity and discovery. Shop locally: You might find a hidden gem in a thrift store. Cut up a T-shirt: You could find a new look for your dance group. Slow fashion is as functional and fun as it is fundamental to responsible consumption.
Pauli Voelkel ’27 is from Penn Valley, Pa.
