On April 20, the last Women’s Journey event, titled, “Fashioning Eco-Friendly” was held in the Lieben Center for Women. 

Keao Liu, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and host of the event explains that a Women’s Journey is, “an event put on every month, intersectional with woman issues”. 

This event explored fast fashion and its impact on the environment as well as how to combat the negative effects of the fast fashion industry, with the main point being that fast fashion has a major environmental impact. 

By first outlining how to spot fast fashion, the hosts talked about spotting prices that could be “too good to be true,” low quality fabric and the constant release of new collections. 

A lot of times, the cheap materials used don’t break down well and can hurt the environment . The transportation being used can also lead to an increase in pollution, proving the enormous carbon footprint fast fashion companies have. Even the dye and washing products used can create pollution in the ocean. 

Sustainability major, Sydney Westphal, spoke on why fast fashion has become so prevalent in recent years explaining that during the pandemic . 

“The day to day person was exploring fashion in new ways,” this led to an increase and need for fast fashion. Sydney continued, saying, “a lot of people use fashion to communicate individualism.” While this is a good thing, it is also why it makes it so hard to move away from fast fashion. 

Aside from the environmental issues fast fashion causes, the hosts of the event explained how this is also a feminist issue. 80% of garment workers are women who are underpaid. Their hard work is being exploited by companies who bring in trillions of dollars. In addition, 1 out of 3-woman garment workers experience sexual harassment in the workplace. 

The hosts of the event explained that it is important to repurpose your clothing and practice sustainable fashion. 

Event attendee Kate Williams spoke on Target’s fast fashion saying they are, “constantly changing their clothing section” and although it’s hard to pass up such great deals on clothes, it’s necessary in order to help the environment. 

The event ended with a quick list of things students can do as individuals to help stop the fast fashion industry: educate ourselves, implement conscious shopping, shop second-hand, upcycle your clothes and donate rather than dispose.