By Katelyn Leonard, ACC Summer Policy Fellow
Sitting in my closet is a beige knitted oversized chunky sweater with an embroidered tag that reads “Ruth,” in cursive, my great-grandmother’s name. 60 years later, the imperfect knitting and thick, soft wool sits heavy on my body, carrying memories of my mother and my aunt every time I wear it. Creating quality clothing pieces with the art of craftsmanship makes clothes last and makes them hold more value than just being thrown in our landfills.
Fast fashion has turned clothing into a disposable good, and it’s filling our landfills and oceans with plastic waste at a staggering rate. But the fix isn’t simply more bans or mandates. It’s rebuilding how Americans think, creating a culture around durability, craftsmanship, and secondhand markets–tools that work with people, not against them.
Fast fashion refers to cheap imported clothing mainly produced with synthetic, plastic-based fibers such as polyester and acrylic, and these fabrics are responsible for more than 60% of global apparel purchases. Throwaway culture and overconsumption, both fueled by social media, have pushed people to buy 60% more than they used to, while wearing each piece for half as long. This result shows up directly in our landfills as the average consumer now discards 70 pounds of clothing a year, triple what it was in 2000. Moreover, the environmental consequences last way longer than the trends do, with synthetic fibers taking anywhere from 20-200 years to decompose, while natural fibers decompose in weeks.
Natural fibers and higher quality fabrics still take energy to produce and still carry environmental costs from land and water use, but their durability and longevity offset those costs; furthermore, they do not contribute to plastic waste.
Synthetics aren’t inherently bad either. Technology has allowed us to add tear resistance, water resistance, and quick-dry properties that widely available natural fibers can’t replicate. Identifying the intent of use of synthetics is crucial, as companies often choose synthetic blends simply because they’re cheaper to produce. Without providing any user benefits, these blends create waste that lingers in landfills unnecessarily.
Synthetic fibers do not just linger in landfills, but they linger in our water. About 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from washing synthetic textiles, releasing 1.2 million tons of microplastics into the environment annually. The most environmentally effective way to deal with synthetic fabrics already manufactured is to promote fashion circularity, which refers to the idea that if you are done with an item, it doesn’t become waste; it re-enters the economy through resale, renting, swapping, or recycling.
Mass TikTok shops and Shein orders, shipped in bulk from China, have made shiny synthetic fabrics the default uniform nationwide. A cultural shift must occur to preserve American craftsmanship, quality of clothing, and our environment. Durability and secondhand markets are conservation tools that outperform recycling mandates or fast-fashion bans because they work with consumer incentives, not against them.
Americans must shift from focusing on quantity to focusing on quality and longevity, working hand in hand with the desire to save money and own something well-made. Price per wear is a key idea when discussing fast fashion markets: a $5 fast fashion shirt worn once costs more per wear than a $50 higher quality shirt worn over 100 times. Investing in higher quality clothing, shopping secondhand, and reading fabric composition on tags to gauge a garment’s value and environmental impact are practices anyone can build into daily life.
Craftsmanship once defined American clothing. Garments were built with reinforced seams, durable natural fibers, and thoughtful construction that allowed them to be repaired instead of discarded. The beauty of clothes “wearing in” is disappearing. A pair of 100% cotton rigid denim jeans would slowly fade, soften, and mold to its owner’s body, becoming more personal with every year of wear. Fast fashion has traded this legacy for speed, producing garments designed to be replaced after only a handful of wears and losing the aspects of careful craftsmanship America’s clothing industry was built upon. Yet the rising popularity of secondhand clothing and vintage clothing shows that consumers still value quality and longevity.
By choosing well-made garments from previous generations, Americans are creating demand for craftsmanship and signaling to the market that durability is worth investing in.
Taking a conservative approach to fashion–buying less, choosing quality natural fibers, and utilizing a closed-loop system by prioritizing secondhand clothing and mending– will dramatically decrease landfill waste and start a new wave of fashion thinking at a time when media and advertisements are actively pushing the fast fashion system.
Buy less, buy well-made, save the art of craftsmanship, and let secondhand and mending be the first response, not the last resort. Let your clothes have a story. An article of clothing getting passed down is a beautiful thing. Patches in jeans tell stories. Resoled shoes hold memories of everywhere you’ve walked. Buying secondhand is something truly beautiful, and it’s even better when the piece was made with the American tradition of craftsmanship. I look to pass down my great-grandma’s sweater to my children, and sixty years from now, I hope my great-grandchildren wear my clothes the way I wear Ruth’s sweater today, worn in, mended, and still carrying a story.
Katelyn Leonard is a former Policy Fellow with the American Conservation Coalition (ACC).
My grandfather told me "if you only have to buy it in once, you only have to cry about it once." I've tried to live by that with all my purchases. Most of my clothing is from thrift stores or church rummages, plus, my best wool hunting clothes are from the 40s and 50s.
Loved this one. We need an attitude shift. Spend more up front (or buy thrift!), buy less, wear longer. I love 100% cotton jeans.