What are the hidden costs of fast fashion?

Fast fashion is like getting a new toy every week, but it costs more than just money.

Hidden costs are things you don’t see right away, like when you're playing with your newest toy and forget about the old ones in the corner.

What Are Hidden Costs?

Hidden costs are extra things that happen behind the scenes, which make fast fashion not as fun or easy as it looks.

Imagine you have a favorite shirt that you wear every day. But with fast fashion, new clothes come out so quickly that you might forget about your old ones and buy more, even if they’re not needed. That’s like having 10 toys but only playing with one at a time.

Also, making all those clothes hurts the planet a little bit each day, kind of like when you leave the lights on in your room and don’t realize how much energy that uses.

So even though fast fashion looks fun and easy now, it has some not-so-fun secrets hiding behind it. Fast fashion is like getting a new toy every week, but it costs more than just money.

Hidden costs are things you don’t see right away, like when you're playing with your newest toy and forget about the old ones in the corner.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child in a factory works long hours to make clothes you buy for $10.
  2. Clothes are thrown away after just a few uses, creating huge landfills.
  3. Farms use a lot of water and chemicals to grow cotton for your t-shirts.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity