In our daily lives, we don’t think much about where our clothes come from or who made them. What most do not know nor consider is that most of the clothes you buy first hand are probably made in a factory that employs workers who are being exploited and paid unfairly. 

Now that you know this, what can you do to prevent this from happening? 

  1. Research where you buy your clothes, and whether the fabric is sustainable or repurposed.
  2. Consider buying second hand clothes, at consignment or thrift stores. The clothes are much cheaper and you can usually find very unique pieces if you know where to look. 
  3. Don’t throw away your old clothes! See if any of your friends want them, donate them to a thrift store, or sell them on an app like Depop! For those items that are too far gone, turn them into rags you can use for cleaning around the house. 

If you don’t know where to start, Naomi Bethune, a junior at Boston Latin Academy, has some advice. “I’d say start small. Go to locally owned stores like boomerangs. You’re less likely to be overwhelmed, and they usually have a great selection.” You might be wondering where to buy your underwear or bathing suits because that would be pretty gross buying someones used underwear. So buying those first hand is definitely okay, but if you are really against fast fashion (stores like Forever21, H&M, etc), do some research and find items that are made from recycled materials and are ethical. 

Overall, consider where the clothes you wear come from, and how they impact climate change, as clothes are a huge part of landfills across the world. As well as workers who are mostly women that work in unsafe conditions, and are not paid enough to live on.