Czy kupowanie kolejnych ubrań naprawdę nas uszczęśliwia? Hania Gąsiorowska (2a) opisuje w swoim artykule tzw. fast fashion, kuszące niską ceną i szybką zmianą trendów, którego prawdziwy koszt ponosi środowisko i społeczeństwo. Materiał ukaże się w wiosennym numerze naszej anglojęzycznej gazetki szkolnejAimHigh Magazine. Zapraszamy do lektury!
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Fast fashion – the invisible disease of our times
If someone in the 80s or 90s had said they threw away their jacket because they were bored with its colour or didn’t like how it looked on them, people would have thought they had lost their mind. In the past, clothes, furniture, home appliances, books, and other everyday items were expensive and difficult to access. Only a few people could afford brand-new things. Most people bought items meant to last for years. For that reason, they cared much more about quality when buying and selling products. Expectations were higher — when someone wanted to buy clothes or other goods, they focused primarily on durability and quality rather than appearance. Repairing old items was usually cheaper and more reasonable than buying new ones.
Our perspective and mindset have changed over the years. The rapid development of fast fashion can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, a period of significant technological advancement and social change. The invention of new machinery, such as the sewing machine, revolutionized clothing production. These innovations made it possible to produce garments faster and more efficiently than ever before.
The advent of the Internet and social media has also greatly influenced the spread of fast fashion. It has become easier for consumers to discover and desire new trends almost instantly. Influencers, celebrities, and brands promote new collections every week, creating constant pressure to keep up. Now we live in a society where almost everything is at our fingertips.
The world around us is changing rapidly, and so are the things that surround us. Our mindset shifts every year, and unfortunately, the quality of many products continues to decline. Clothes are no longer designed to last — they are designed to sell. Cheap materials, low production costs, and mass manufacturing allow brands to offer trendy pieces at extremely low prices. However, the real cost is hidden.
Fast fashion has a serious environmental impact. The textile industry is one of the largest polluters in the world. Massive amounts of water are used to produce fabrics, and tons of unsold clothing end up in landfills every year. Many clothes are worn only a few times before being thrown away. In addition, fast fashion often relies on poorly paid workers in developing countries, where they face unsafe conditions and long hours.
What seems cheap at first glance is, in reality, very expensive for our planet and society. We have become used to constant consumption. Shopping is no longer about need — it is about desire, impulse, and temporary satisfaction. Fast fashion feeds this cycle, encouraging us to buy more and wear less.
Perhaps the invisible disease of our times is not fast fashion itself, but our attitude toward consumption. If we want change, it must start with awareness. Choosing quality over quantity, supporting ethical brands, repairing instead of replacing, and buying only what we truly need are small steps that can make a significant difference.
Hania Gąsiorowska (2a)
