The world is full of fast-paced trends, and the speed is even faster on college campuses. From dorm decorations to clothes, some college students tend to buy inexpensive items for an event or to stay on trend, often missing the hidden price behind these purchases. These options are deemed more “reliable,” but there are issues surrounding their ethics.
There has been a long-time concern about the operations of fast fashion, specifically about copyright and inhumane labor conditions that supposedly drive many young shoppers away from cheaper, online stores. Yet, those looking for cheap alternatives still indulge in their convenience, even while being aware of its controversy.
Charlotte Warren, a freshman studio art major, is not a frequent consumer of fast fashion but is aware of the long hours that many fast fashion workers must take on daily.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m very educated on it, but I’ve heard different things about different websites like Shein and how they’re mistreated, which I don’t think is good,” she said. “I think people working should have the rights, the abilities to have what they need and to not be overworked.”
Despite the poor quality of the products, fast fashion websites are a common alternative to more expensive or luxury brands. Oftentimes, it is where some college students will turn to save money and optimize tight budgets.
“I don’t really use [fast fashion websites] much, but if it works and it’s affordable, I think it’s useful, especially if somebody can’t afford luxury brands,” Warren said. “I’m not against it. So if I’m looking for something specific that I can’t find anywhere else, I can go there.”
Freddy Morgan, a Bama Dining employee, said avoiding fast fashion websites is easy, and people can dodge large brands like Shein, aiming to buy ethically instead.
“I’m going to probably get [fast fashion products] secondhand if I ever did want them,” Morgan said. “I try to avoid it because I know that that’s not something that should be supported in any way.”
Morgan said they sympathize with how many people, including college students, react when seeing discounted or cheap products.
“You look at that price tag and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, that’s cheap, so I can buy that,’” Morgan said. “There’s a reason it’s cheap though, because of cheaper materials.”
Many people have shifted away from these platforms due to ethical concerns, while others changed their shopping habits for different reasons.
Sophia Devlin, a freshman majoring in psychology, has used Temu and Shein in the past and is aware of the ethical concerns surrounding these websites, but decided to scale back her consumption for a different reason.
“I’ve definitely purchased stuff from Temu and Shein. It’s worse quality, but that’s what you pay for,” she said. “But over the past year, I’ve gotten sick of the quality; it just falls apart, and it’s not as cute as it looks online.”
Devlin pointed out that the misinformation and clickbait from fast fashion runs rampant on social media. Many influencers utilize clickbait to promote their own pages or brands rather than focusing on spreading real information, with their engagement often being rewarded.
“I’ve heard really bad things. It’s all over the media and it’s not good,” she said. “There’s really no way of finding out if it’s true or not because everything’s fake on social media, but I believe it’s definitely something that could be true.”
College students, including those at the University, often turn to fast fashion to save money. Many are not aware of the ethical issues. Others do not fully trust the information received on social media. Some steer clear of the websites completely to minimize their support of fast fashion and the harm they do to their workers.
While consumer habits of college students vary, a driving force for the avoidance of fast fashion websites includes moral concerns. This includes the worry about workers being exploited for their labor.
“It really does depend on the manufacturer, but I do find most times that [workers] are severely underpaid because, depending on what their actual pay rates should be, it’s just not good,” Morgan said. “So your best bet is to just try to avoid that as much as possible, because the less statistics they have, the better.”
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