High School students team up to help reduce waste from "microtrends"

TikTok and other social media platforms have grown to have an undeniable influence on the fashion industry, however, the effects of this are more harmful than most realize. This new force in fashion has disrupted the trend cycle as we know it, with things that used to be considered stylish for almost a decade now going out of style after mere weeks. Thanks to social media, people are now being influenced more easily than ever as they are purposefully being fed content meant to sell them things. Hauls and videos promoting aesthetics have become extremely popular types of content and create this constant cycle of a “must-have” clothing- known as "microtrends". This creates extremely wasteful habits as people turn to fast fashion to keep up with the latest styles as popular fast fashion brands, such as Shein, ROMWE, and Princess Polly, have begun taking advantage of this. Brand deals and other types of collaborations have become extremely popular amongst these brands and use influencers to promote their brands, who in exchange, receive free clothes. We have seen this play out during the past couple of years through the rise of patchwork tops, the “Kendall Jenner green dress,” and cowprint jeans. The production of these clothes require millions of gallons of water and release tons of harmful gases into our environment. Not to mention, after a few monthes these clothes end up in landfills where they emit toxic greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming including carbon dioxide and methane.

My friend Sadie Muller and I noticed the harm this poses to our planet and decided to do something about it. When asked about what inspired her to start the donation, Sadie explained “I was sickened by how many of my friends were buying things only to wear them once or twice, but at the same time, I understand how easy it can be to get influenced into buying something. My hope is that this donation will be able to save a lot of waste from ending up in a landfill while helping out people in our community. I also hope it will inspire people to be more conscious of what they are buying in the future.” In an effort to combat this waste, we are asking the Port Washington community to come together and donate anything they may have purchased when it was considered trendy, but no longer wear so we can give it to women in need. Donatations will be accepted outside of 12 Schooner Lane all throughout the month of June. Any and all donations are appreciated.