By Charlotte Becker
Elm Staff Writer
While users on TikTok, Instagram, and the likes are inundated with advertisements of the latest trends, fast fashion and the resulting overconsumption of popular items pose an environmental problem, especially on American college campuses.
With influencers promoting the latest trends as the “ultimate must-haves,” users are tempted to make impulsive purchases without realizing their global impact by accelerating their consumption habits.
While it is understandable that many feel drawn to consumerism under the pressure evoked by content creators, there is an astounding need for awareness regarding the waste produced by the licentious purchases of trendy items.
Senior environmental science major and public health minor Emma Parker-Watt delved into the topic of fast fashion and the Second-Hand Clothing Trade Cycle for her environmental communications class with Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Studies Professor Dr. Jill Bible in the fall of 2024.
Parker-Watt said that consumerism is fueled by the tactics of fast fashion companies, who pursue profit over sustainability. According to the Harvard Business Review, stores like H&M offer 12 to 16 clothing lines and refresh their store floors weekly.
Due to the feeling of rapidity that these trends evoke, users are pressured to over consume without giving a thought to sustainability and poor quality of the products. According to The Daily Cardinal, companies need to outsource to countries with lax labor regulations to maintain the low cost of trendy items. These manufacturers overseas often utilize cheap child labor with little regard for human rights violations.
Parker-Watt draws attention to the unawareness of consumers regarding the environmental damage they cause through supporting fast fashion companies because according to UNECE, 85 percent of textiles end up in landfills, becoming unwearable; that is 104 pounds per person per year in the US.
According to The Daily Cardinal, the desire for recognition and a sense of belonging fueled by social media drives consumerism. Especially in today’s digital age, users are quickly lured to make impulse purchases due to the heavy reliance on outward appearances and status symbols.
As a freshman, Parker-Watt fell victim to this online pressure, falling down the consumerism rabbit hole and purchasing unnecessary items she felt would help her to fit in.
“It was [suggested that] you need this for your dorm room to be a college student; you need to have this coat to feel like a college student,” Parker-Watt said, remembering the piles of dumped clothes and other dorm “essentials” in front of her freshman house at the end of the year that students bought but did not need anymore.
“Social media is built to promote fast fashion,” Parker-Watt said. Students see hyped influencers, and the latest fashion and lose sight of the environmental consequences that these excessive spontaneous purchases have.
Fast trends like Stanley Cups contribute to the problem. Parker-Watt does not blame the products themselves, but on the trends excessiveness. People do not just buy one Stanley Cup, but three in different colors.
“The environmental problem does not simply disappear,” Parker-Watt said in regards to donating fast fashion items. The problem of overconsumption instead shifts to another part of the world.
According to The True Cost, the average US consumer throws away approximately 82 pounds of clothes annually, leading to an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste in America alone that is exported to other parts of the world, such as Chile.
While Parker-Watt hopes many college students already take environmental aspects into account while purchasing trendy items advertised on social media, the reality shows Central Services being overloaded with packages after Black Friday.
As many college students are already aware of the issue of overconsumption, they are also capable of becoming more sensitized to apply more flexibility with the products they already possess and give free reign to creativity for further usage.
Although users cannot directly influence the strategies of companies, college students can become aware of their overconsumption and its enormous environmental consequences for the benefit of our environment.
Photo by Olivia Long.
Photo Caption: Overconsumption leads to excessive waste at WC, especially during move-out.