On one of my LinkedIn posts a connection commented asking me if I had seen, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy or The True Cost. I had not seen either documentary, so I assigned it to myself for homework.
Who does not like to watch a movie as homework?!
And if you are interested in the relationship of consumption to sustainability, then I highly recommend that you watch both. Of course, they share disturbing facts about the current state of our world, but it may help inspire your decisions and actions moving forward.
That is all we can really do – focus on the moments from here forward! Wishes about what we could have done in the past are not going to help, but actions today, and tomorrow can have a significant impact!
Consumption & Consumerism
As we continue to build our sustainable lifestyle, we need to be sure to include a thoughtful and perhaps exceedingly difficult look at our consumption and how we participate in consumerism.
In The True Cost there was one line that resonated with me. Mark Miller, Ph. D. was talking about things that we use like appliances, electronics, cars, and the like, versus things we use up like perishable items, toiletries, and the like. He paraphrased from an article “Consumptionism” written by Earnest Elmo Calkins (originally published in Printer’s Ink):
“Consumptionism is all about getting people to treat the things they use as the things they use up.”
Think about that for a minute! Marketing messages that encourage us to use things up instead of spending decades with them!
Fast Forward to Fast Fashion
Just in case you are asking, “What the heck is fast fashion and how does this connect?” Fast fashion refers to clothing items that are so cheaply made, some might treat them as disposable – as things we “use up.” I find it so crazy that we have arrived to a time when clothes are so cheap, we buy them without much thought and dispose of them in the same way. That we just use them up almost as if they are single-use items!
These fast fashion items are oil-based textiles like polyester, meaning that not only are we creating a horrible situation through our consumption and waste, but we are continuing to increase our planet’s usage of fossil fuels. Add to that the flawed donation system in the United States, which sends unwanted donated clothing items meant for charities to secondhand markets in countries like Ghana. There, the textiles that cannot be sold end up in dumps or even worse in the oceans.
Argh!
Even though I keep hating to pile it on, in countries like Bangladesh, where much of the world’s garments are produced, workers are paid wages far below a living wage – some making just $2 to $3 per day. The regulations and infrastructure that exist here keep us safe. There is no such system in these countries and factories. While workers have no choice but to work every day in unsafe conditions, executives from clothing brands are negotiating the absolute rock-bottom prices for our fashion needs – or better said – wants, and of course, the company’s profits.
Thus, our demand for that cheap new fast fashion item – that fancy new trend that we just must have – perpetuates this problem. We have the power to stop this craziness instead of feeding its growth. Fashion used to feature two seasons per year but now the industry has created fifty-two micro fashion seasons every year. Encouraging us to buy more to keep up with trends and to be the most fashionable person in our circle. We are participating in making the fashion industry responsible for approximately ten percent of the global annual greenhouse (GHG) emissions.
We Decide!
It is our demand that feeds this problem! We can make different choices and redirect the fashion industry back into one that features more of a slow fashion style. We can choose to buy less, shop only from sustainable clothing brands, and find pieces that we can keep for our lifetime.
There is also another totally fun option!
We can rent clothes! It might be an odd idea at first, but as I was putting this all together, I saw a post from a friend. She was totally glammed up and literally looked like she was off to a gala hosted by royalty. Anyway, it reminded me that she – for like the whole time I have known her – has always used the online retailer, https://www.renttherunway.com/
I had to investigate it a bit and loved what I found on the sustainability page of their website. My friend, Casey, had never considered herself much of a sustainability focused person, but here she was renting clothes for events instead of buying them. And she has been doing it since 2013. I was kind of jealous of her because she has always looked so put-together and she has been doing it in an environmentally friendly way for so long. While also saving money!
As a bit of background, my old job – where Casey and I met and worked together – was in the ballroom dance industry. We had five to ten events every year that required a glam outfit – like what you would wear for a cocktail party, evening wedding, or black-tie event. So, who better to test this clothing rental system out than someone who has such a large need for fancy!
What Casey shared about her experience was that:
- She used www.renttherunway.com but there are other options.
- Casey focused on her special event needs, but there are daily closet/monthly membership options too.
- Clothes are shipped in a reusable garment bag and shipped back with a prepaid label. There are no plastic or single-use items in the shipping process. Casey found the process flawless and the company’s customer service always helpful.
- The sizing information on the website is helpful, as are the customer service representatives, but over the years Casey got familiar with which designers she liked and how their clothes fit. For a special events rental, the company sends a backup size to help ensure you have the right fit. After the event you ship both sizes back.
I could go on and on!
It is really a fun and innovative solution. I absolutely give Casey the credit for introducing me, and us all, to another option that solves any potential fashion needs in a way that is so supportive of the environment. Just to be clear, I am not receiving any incentive from endorsing www.renttherunway.com I am just so excited about sharing another sustainable lifestyle choice. I hope you will consider renting for your next big clothing need. Check out online retailers and look for local options in your area too.
Let us all keep looking for solutions that do not deplete our resources or support the demand for the quick production of cheap and polluting textiles. Let us focus on quality, durability, and ethical solutions. Let us stop consuming entirely – as much as we all can!
Happy shopping renting!
Thanks to Casey for sharing. Here are a couple of pictures of some of her dresses over the years.
Reference List
Hardy, A. (2024, April 24). What is fast fashion. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-fast-fashion
Maiti, R. (2025, January 20). Fast Fashion and its environmental impact in 2025 | Earth.Org. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
Life Is My Movie Entertainment. (2022, May 2). The true cost [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwp0Bx0awoE
Netflix – watch TV shows online, watch movies online. (n.d.). https://www.netflix.com/search?q=The%20true%20cost%20docum
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