Why Young Adults Are Losing Interest in Sustainable Clothing

graphic by Sarah Wong

The world of “influencing” continues to grow every day. From selling Sugar Bear Hair to getting caught up in controversy, influencers are finding more and more ways to make money on social media. While in the past, influencers would make their fortunes through more problematic methods, such as selling their audience appetite suppressants or morning sickness drugs, today, online personalities have created a culture that significantly cuts the time of trend cycles and increases the circulation of fast fashion.

Being an “influencer” used to be an exclusive career; one would only get brand deals from larger companies. Nowadays, Amazon has made it easy for anyone with a social media following to join the Amazon Influencer Program. Basically, an influencer will pick their favorite items from Amazon and advertise them on their “storefront,” where consumers can purchase said items while influencers make a commission.

This seems incredible, right? Consumers can directly purchase their favorite influencer’s chosen items while content creators make a commission. Both parties benefit from the purchase, and all is well. However, there’s more to consider than the mutual benefits. The increase in influencers creating a storefront demonstrates how there is a rapid demand for quick clothes, fast. TikTok is one of the most influential platforms amongst young adults, especially college students. One of the largest communities on the platform surrounds fashion. Creator’s videos can become viral because of an outfit and generate fashion trends, such as the Y2K revival.

Through developing fashion trends, creators can quickly amass a large following. With a large audience, Tiktok creators can advertise their favorite fashion finds and outfits to their followers and directly guide them to their Amazon storefront. Clothing is relatively cheap on Amazon and other fast-fashion sites, making fashionable pieces more accessible and affordable to a younger audience. It’s safe to say that Tiktok dominates fashion trends; “it” trends fluctuate every few weeks and constantly evolve. Everyone, especially college students, wants to wear the hottest clothes and keep up with the current fashion cycle.

However, the decreasing life span of fashion trends increasingly contributes to the rise of fast fashion, which harms sustainable clothing brands. Because of the constant change in trends, clothing styles aren’t likely to stay trendy for more than a month. So, why would a young adult purchase an $80 top from a sustainable brand that will go out of style in a month when they could spend $15 on a similar one from Amazon?

This fair question perfectly explains the rise in fast fashion among young adults who follow the fashion fads that TikTok creates. As long as TikTok and its influencers continue to surge the rapidity in upcoming styles, young adults will continue to prioritize what’s “on trend” rather than long-lasting pieces.