Editor’s note: This commentary is part of a series, Green Briefs, published in The Beachcomber in partnership with the Whole Vashon Project.

The holidays are here and many of us are shopping for loved ones. Practical items, like clothing, are a favorite gift. But before you buy that new sweater, coat, or…, stop and look. Is that item “fast fashion”? If yes, reconsider that purchase.

What is fast fashion? Earth.org defines it as cheap and low-quality clothing, rapidly produced and cycled in and out of the market quickly to meet new trends. The term was introduced 30 years ago by the New York Times, describing apparel giant Zara’s mission to take only 15 days for a garment to go from design to sale—at a super low price.

Many apparel manufacturers followed suit, introducing trendy, cheaply priced, poorly made clothes on a weekly basis, intending to match the breakneck pace at which fashion trends move. Style became cheap, convenient and consumable. During the pandemic, as stores closed, fast fashion escalated: Manufacturers sold directly to consumers with online ordering and home delivery, so the timeline from design to purchase was shortened even more. Fast became even faster.

Cost-conscious shopping makes sense; we understand. But fast fashion has lots of detrimental societal costs. Shop smart. Know what you’re really buying: The fast fashion industry is the fourth biggest polluter globally. Cheap, poorly made clothes are typically worn a maximum of seven times before being discarded, contributing to the 92 million tons of textile waste produced annually.

More than 60% of fabric fibers are now synthetic, derived from fossil fuels. Slow to decay, they are responsible for 35% of the microplastics contaminating our oceans.

Most fast fashion is produced in developing countries by low-paid young women; less than 2% make a living wage.

The fashion industry is the second largest industrial consumer of water, requiring about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. Twenty percent of wastewater is generated by fashion production. Eighty billion new pieces of clothing are consumed each year, 400% more than the consumption 20 years ago.

Fast fashion encourages excess consumption and takes a toll on all of us in many unforeseen ways. Our own beloved Granny’s Attic deals directly with the effects of fast fashion — and clothing waste. Tim Johnson, a long-time business manager at Granny’s, estimates that clothing makes up one-third of all items donated. Granny’s receives an enormous amount of donated fiber: Its seven bins are each consistently filled with 100 grocery sacks of donated clothing — about 1,000 grocery sacks of fiber to sort through and either sell or discard at any time.

Granny’s “discards” a lot of clothing — about 60% of the trash tossed is fiber. If a donated clothing item is torn, stained or simply unsellable, it is disposed of. That’s a lot of waste! Fortunately, King County Recycling and Transfer Station recycles textiles.

Conversely, clothing is Granny’s biggest seller, which benefits us all. Each item is given an extended life, kept out of a landfill, enjoyed again, and it reduces new consumption. Lots of re-sellers shop Granny’s, expanding the re-use cycle even further.

Tim Johnson’s messages: Buy quality clothing in the first place. Don’t buy fast fashion. Don’t buy synthetic clothing. Donate items to a thrift store when it’s time. Do buy from stores that make clothing from damaged or recycled fibers. Buy local!

In the Northwest, we have a “thrift” culture; we donate and buy used. This fosters community. Granny’s, as a social hub, is used by islanders of all demographics. And of course, Granny’s donates a significant amount of its cash income to island non-profits. Together we create a more circular economy.

Granny’s experience with fiber waste, sadly, is typical. About 66 percent of discarded clothes in our country end up in landfills each year, and another 19 percent are incinerated, according to a 2018 Environmental Protection Agency report.

So, take Tim’s advice when shopping for clothing. Wear each item more than seven times; make it last and last. Find clothing produced by reputable manufacturers who treat workers well. Buy more from local stores and less online to save the delivery energy. Buy from secondhand sellers and manufacturers who use recycled fibers. Join our Vashon High School students who rallied around Keziah Rutschow’s March 25 article in the Riptide titled “Fast fashion isn’t a good look.”

Let’s do our part to hit the brakes on fast fashion with its excessive production, overcomplicated supply chains, and mindless consumption. Let’s be “smart” in our holiday shopping. Make “repurposed” fashion this year’s trend.

— Lynn Greiner lives on Maury Island and is active in various island organizations, including the Whole Vashon Project. Find out more about the organization at wholevashonproject.org.