In the past, people’s main influences for fashion were celebrities of the time, magazines and just about whatever the stores were carrying. Clothing trends used to stick around for years, which allowed people to wear clothing pieces for a long amount of time. Today, fashion is heavily influenced by the internet. Trends seem to be coming in and out of style quicker than ever, and average people are now more engrossed in the fashion industry than ever before. 

Influencers and celebrities are a huge part of these trends that seem to last only a few days, also known as “micro trends.” Micro trends often start out as a luxury piece of clothing that many influencers and celebrities can be caught wearing. This piece of fashion is too expensive for the average person, but with the help of fast fashion, companies’ clothing can be ripped off and made cheaply. When average people can get their hands on the piece due to the cheaper version, the clothing piece blows up, and suddenly the piece has lost all value it once held. Once this piece becomes “too popular” on the internet, it is often shaped to a point where people feel a sense of embarrassment to wear it. In 2022, it is crucial to stop these toxic trend cycles in order to protect the environment, make better financial decisions and use fashion to express individuality. 

To begin, the internet has created a fashion cycle that encourages consumers to throw out their clothing the moment that the clothing is no longer trendy. This has a negative impact on the environment because people are throwing out more clothing waste than ever. In fact, according to Road Runner, the volume of clothing Americans throw away each year has doubled in the last 20 years. Fast fashion websites such as Shien, Zara, Fashion Nova and others are all huge contributors to the waste. These fast fashion websites often make clothing out of polyester and nylon, which are cheap materials that are similar to plastic. Not only do these cheap materials make the clothing less long lasting and durable, but they also take longer to break down while in landfills. Altogether, in order to decrease the amount of clothing waste in landfills, it is crucial for consumers to become more mindful of what they buy.

Another big issue with trends coming in and out of style so quickly is affordability. Influencers and celebrities are not only able to afford new clothing all the time due to their large incomes, but they are also often gifted clothing and other products in exchange for promoting them. So, the average person cannot keep up with the trends, at least not in a sustainable way. The average person has to turn to fast fashion in order to keep up with trends which, again, is extremely detrimental to the environment. In order for people to be able to afford well-made clothing, they should buy clothing that they personally like. 

Expressing oneself through clothing and practicality should both be put into consideration when constructing a wardrobe. Individuals should put more emphasis on what pieces of clothing make them happy and pieces of clothing that fit their lifestyle. An important objective to keep in mind when buying clothing is to see if it will fit into one’s lifestyle. 

Overall, buying trendy pieces of clothing can be tempting, but it is more important to find a more individual style in order to be more environmentally friendly and make better financial decisions. On a larger scale, the internet needs to turn away from micro trends in 2022 and should focus on better made, more sustainable clothing.