10 Fast Fashion Brands To Avoid at All Costs
fast fashion landfill vibes
As a general rule of thumb, new clothing that’s impossibly cheap means you can assume someone has not been paid fairly to make it, has probably seriously suffered in the process of its creation, and is likely made out of materials that are fucking up the planet.
Sadly, there are way more than ten fast fashion brands out there that should be avoided, but these are the worst of the worst (in my humble opinion).
Shein
Shein is the most synonymous with the phrase “fast fashion.” The women making the clothes are literally sewing help messages into the tags (that also happened with Zara). The CEO is like weirdly proud of Shein being fast fashion. So much of the fabric is made from brand new plastic (polyester). It’s getting more and more popular somehow and we absolutely have to hit the brakes on this one.
2. Zara
I would love for people to make this brand less popular because it feels like people wear it so proudly. I hear bloggers etc all the time speaking vocalizing advertising that their clothes are from Zara, and Zara creates so much waste, they use so much polyester (plastic) and the entire premise of the company just sucks
3. Forever 21
Another OG fast fashion brand, Forever21 is painful for me to add on here just because of how often I used to shop there. Maybe that’s why I’m posting it. So I’ll never go back. Forever21 is dirt cheap in such a bad, bad way. There’s zero chance the poor souls who made those clothes got paid adequately when F21 prices are what they are.
4. H&M
I think this one pisses me off because it pretends to be eco sometimes. Do not forget that their entire business model and premise of their existence is the problem. There’s no like tweaking this one (or any of the others) and no convincing me that what they’re doing is a good thing.
5. Victoria’s Secret
Howwwww do we not hate this one more? I feel like they are the epitome of body shaming, mean girl, shitty fucking clothes that honestly are oddly expensive. Most of their materials are synthetic and the last place you should be putting that crap is right up against your poonany.
6. Brandy Melville
I wanted to add this one to the list because I genuinely believe that something almost identical to anything they sell can be found at goodwill. The style is like really skimpy little things and I promise any secondhand store will have exactly the kinds of things they have or you could cut/upcycle this look out of other pieces.
7. Pretty Little Thing
This is another one that people are absolutely shameless about. I can’t believe brands like this can come up so quickly overnight and just take over the world when they just offer materials that pollute made in slave-like conditions.
8. FashionNova
Same with Pretty Little Thing. Don’t be this girl. They make us all look bad. No good things come from here.
9. Top Shop
I think I could find something I like in almost any store, but somehow I can’t in TopShop. There is nothing cute or tempting or chic or great in this store PLUS it’s toxic and inhumane so… let it go.
10. Target
Ok I actually don’t hate Target overall, but I definitely wouldn’t buy clothes from here. The materials are toxic and the prices are too low for people to have been paid well. I never see anything made from eco-friendly materials. I also do think their designs are tempting/good sometimes, so I just avoid the clothing section- do not look, do not touch.
Final Thoughts:
Avoiding all of these fast fashion brands is actually really awesome. Over time, it seriously improves your closet, your budget, and the general vibe your clothes/style give off. Letting these fast fashion go creates room for way better things to come into your life.
If you want to get affordable or even cheap clothing, just explore your secondhand options. That means Goodwill, Poshmark, Thredup, Facebook Marketplace, etc. If you want to know more about how to shop at Goodwill effectively, you can look at this blog post.
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The rescue collection
The Rescue Collection dresses your inner activist- the part of you that’s ready for a change- in clothes that actively divert waste from landfills and lend momentum to the sustainability movement.