Is Social Media Telling You What to Wear?

Rise and shine! It’s time to get dressed for school, and you want to show up in style. But before you open your closet to pull together the perfect look, do you grab your phone for inspiration?

Scroll through Instagram’s and TikTok’s “outfit of the day” hashtags and you’ll find millions of posts of teens wearing the newest fashions, from eye-catching jackets to the hottest sneaker designs. 

Many of these outfits are examples of what is known as fast fashion: stylish clothes that are designed and manufactured as quickly and cheaply as possible, then sold to consumers at extremely low prices. But in recent years, a new trend has emerged: ultra-fast fashion. This type of clothing is produced even faster—and more cheaply. The garments are marketed on social media, often by influencers and celebrities, and sold almost exclusively online. 

Rise and shine! It is time to get dressed for school. You want to show up in style. You are about to open your closet and pull together the perfect look. But do you grab your phone for inspiration first?

Scroll through Instagram’s and TikTok’s “outfit of the day” hashtags and you will find millions of posts of teens wearing the newest fashions, from eye-catching jackets to the hottest sneakers.

Many of these outfits are examples of what is known as fast fashion. That means stylish clothes that are designed and manufactured as quickly and cheaply as possible. They are sold to consumers at extremely low prices. But in recent years, a new trend has emerged called ultra-fast fashion. This type of clothing is produced even faster and more cheaply. The garments are marketed on social media, often by influencers and celebrities. And they almost always are sold only online.

Like fast fashion, ultra-fast fashion costs so little that many people can afford to fill their closets with new clothes weekly—or even daily—then toss them the minute they go out of style. But all those outfits come at a serious price. Every day, millions of people around the world, including in the United States, work long hours in unsafe conditions to make them. The trend also hurts the environment. Producing so much clothing so quickly requires huge amounts of natural resources. Plus, millions of tons of discarded clothing pile up in landfills each year.

“This is not just an issue for fashionistas, for shopaholics, for people who buy too much stuff,” says Elizabeth Cline, author of The Conscious Closet. “Everybody wears clothes. This is something we should all care about.”

Like fast fashion, ultra-fast fashion costs so little that many people can afford to fill their closets with new clothes weekly or even daily. They toss them out the minute they go out of style. But all those outfits come at a serious price. Every day, millions of people worldwide, including in the United States, work long hours in unsafe conditions to make them. The trend also hurts the environment. Producing so much clothing so quickly requires huge amounts of natural resources. Plus, millions of tons of discarded clothing pile up in landfills each year.

“This is not just an issue for fashionistas, for shopaholics, for people who buy too much stuff,” says Elizabeth Cline, author of The Conscious Closet. “Everybody wears clothes. This is something we should all care about.”

The idea of making clothes quickly and cheaply isn’t new. In the U.S., the clothing industry underwent a major transformation starting in the 1970s. Before, most apparel worn by Americans was made in the U.S. Then clothing production, like a lot of manufacturing (including cars and electronics), began moving overseas to countries where there are fewer rules about worker safety and pay, and where labor costs are lower.

This cheap labor led to lower prices for shoppers (who then bought more clothing)—and higher profits for retailers. With this business model in place, the first fast fashion chains took off in the early 2000s. Companies including H&M and Zara began luring shoppers to malls with the promise of inexpensive clothes that they restocked every week to include the latest styles. 

The idea of making clothes quickly and cheaply is not new. In the U.S., the clothing industry went through a major change starting in the 1970s. Before, most apparel worn by Americans was made in the U.S. Then clothing production, like a lot of manufacturing (including cars and electronics), began moving overseas. It went to countries with lower labor costs and fewer rules about worker safety and pay.

This cheap labor led to lower prices for shoppers (who then bought more clothing). And it led to higher profits for retailers. With this business model in place, the first fast fashion chains took off in the early 2000s. Companies including H&M and Zara began luring shoppers to malls with the promise of inexpensive clothes. They restocked them every week to include the latest styles.

Those cheap prices encouraged Americans to buy a constant stream of new outfits. In fact, from 2004 to 2014, the number of garments purchased by the average consumer increased by 60 percent. That is according to a report from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Still, when you see a very inexpensive clothing item, it often was not made ethically, says Dana Thomas. She is author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes.

“Along the supply chain, someone wasn’t treated or paid fairly,” she says.

Even today, in nations such as China and Bangladesh, tens of millions of workers sew hundreds of garments per hour. They are usually paid just a few dollars a day. They often toil in factories known as sweatshops, with few safety regulations. The rooms are stiflingly hot. Investigations have shown that they are full of fumes from the chemicals used to manufacture and dye clothes.

In the past few years, social media has made shopping for clothes even easier. Recent studies show that the more time people spend online, the more they shop. As teens scroll through their news feeds and see trendy looks worn by their favorite influencers or celebrities, they often hunt online for similar outfits.

Ultra-fast fashion companies such as Fashion Nova and Boohoo have become incredibly successful at catering to young people. The companies rapidly churn out the latest influencer-approved looks for even lower prices than traditional fast fashion. One reason they can sell clothes for even less is that these brands exist mostly online and have few—if any—physical stores. That means they don’t have to mail merchandise to shops and wait for the items to be displayed on clothing racks. They sell everything from $4 graphic T-shirts to $12 swimsuits and ship directly to the buyer—often with next-day delivery.

In the past few years, social media has made shopping for clothes even easier. Recent studies show that the more time people spend online, the more they shop. Teens scroll through their news feeds and see their favorite influencers or celebrities wearing trendy looks. Then they often hunt online for similar outfits.

Ultra-fast fashion companies such as Fashion Nova and Boohoo have become very successful at catering to young people. The companies rapidly churn out the latest influencer-approved looks for even lower prices than traditional fast fashion. One reason they can sell clothes for even less is that these brands exist mostly online. They have few physical stores, if any. That means they do not have to mail goods to shops and wait for the items to be displayed on clothing racks. They sell everything from $4 graphic T-shirts to $12 swimsuits directly to the buyer, often shipping them with next-day delivery.

Fashion Nova, for example, produces more than 1,000 new styles every week and reaches millions of shoppers through social media. And many celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, have contributed to the craze by posting photos of themselves wearing the company’s clothes.

“Social media has accelerated the speed at which trends change,” Cline says. “Things go in and out of fashion in a blink of an eye.”

Fashion Nova, for example, produces more than 1,000 new styles every week. It reaches millions of shoppers through social media. Many celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, have contributed to the craze. They post photos of themselves wearing the company’s clothes.

“Social media has accelerated the speed at which trends change,” Cline says. “Things go in and out of fashion in a blink of an eye.”

Traditional fast fashion chains have long been criticized for how their overseas workers are treated. But ultra-fast fashion is typically manufactured locally (in the U.S., that usually means Los Angeles, California). However, that does not mean those workers do much better.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that many Fashion Nova garments are made in the U.S. by a workforce that is illegally paid as little as $2.77 an hour. That is far below the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

There is also the environmental toll. Making so many garments requires a massive amount of materials, toxic chemicals, and natural resources. That includes water. Producing enough cotton for just one T-shirt takes roughly 713 gallons of water. That is enough drinking water for one person for two-and-a-half years.

The United Nations ranks the fashion industry as the world’s second-largest polluter, after the oil industry. Clothing production is responsible for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap the sun’s heat close to Earth’s surface, contributing to climate change. Such gases are produced by the factories where clothing is made and by the planes, ships, and trucks that transport the items around the world.

The damage doesn’t end once clothing has been made. Before long, the cheaply made garments get worn out—or become less fashionable—so people throw them away. In fact, Americans toss about 24 billion pounds of clothes and shoes each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s about 73 pounds per person.

The United Nations ranks the fashion industry as the world’s second-largest polluter, after the oil industry. Clothing production is responsible for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trap the sun’s heat close to Earth’s surface. That contributes to climate change. Such gases are produced by the factories where clothing is made. They are also produced by the planes, ships, and trucks that transport the items around the world.

The damage does not end once clothing has been made. Before long, the cheaply made garments get worn out. Or they become less fashionable. People throw them away. Americans toss about 24 billion pounds of clothes and shoes each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That is about 73 pounds per person.

More people have become aware of the ugly side of the fashion industry. So the push for sustainable clothing has grown. (See “Meet an Eco-Fashion Designer,” below.)

Meanwhile, ultra-fast fashion companies are responding to the complaints against them. A spokesperson for Fashion Nova has said the company is committed to paying its workers fair wages.

Boohoo is based in the United Kingdom. It faced criticism last year after reports came out that some of its employees were being paid as little as $4.40 an hour. The company has since launched an effort to improve its manufacturing process. That includes how workers are treated.

Some ultra-fast fashion companies are also taking steps toward being more environmentally friendly. Boohoo has promised that by 2025, all its polyester and cotton will be recycled or more sustainable. A statement on the company’s website says it is committed to making “our clothes in a smarter way.”

Although young people may be most likely to buy ultra-fast fashion, they still care about how their purchases affect the planet. Some teens have started buying gently used clothing as a way to help reduce waste. Depop, a social secondhand shopping site, now has 27 million users in 147 countries—and 90 percent of them are teens and young adults, the company says.

And while social media is at least partly responsible for the rise of ultra-fast fashion, some influencers on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are using the sites to help spread awareness about the consequences of cheap clothes.

Take Chelsy Christina, for example, a recent college graduate who studied fashion design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. After learning more about fast fashion, she was inspired to change her shopping habits—and wanted to motivate others to do the same. She began posting videos to educate others about how they can live—and shop—more sustainably. Now she has more than 131,000 TikTok followers and has started an online store selling eco-friendly goods. 

Christina hopes more people will follow her example and begin to take a closer look at how often they shop and what they buy.

“It’s always about progress, not perfection,” she says. “Any small change is a win to be celebrated.” 

With reporting by The New York Times

Young people may be most likely to buy ultra-fast fashion. But they still care about how their purchases affect the planet. Some teens have started buying gently used clothing to help reduce waste. Depop is a social secondhand shopping site. It now has 27 million users in 147 countries. And 90 percent of them are teens and young adults, the company says.

Social media is at least partly responsible for the rise of ultra-fast fashion. Yet some influencers on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are using the sites to spread awareness about the consequences of cheap clothes.

Take Chelsy Christina, for example. She is a recent college graduate who studied fashion design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. After learning more about fast fashion, she was inspired to change her shopping habits. She wanted to motivate others to do the same. So Chelsy began posting videos to educate others about how they can live and shop more sustainably. Now she has more than 131,000 TikTok followers. She has started an online store selling eco-friendly goods.

Christina hopes more people will follow her example and begin to take a closer look at how often they shop and what they buy.

“It’s always about progress, not perfection,” she says. “Any small change is a win to be celebrated.”

With reporting by The New York Times