According to the good folks at GoodOnYou, Fast Fashion can be explained as “cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand. The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the height of their popularity and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears. It plays into the idea that outfit repeating is a fashion faux pas and that if you want to stay relevant, you have to sport the latest looks as they happen. It forms a key part of the toxic system of overproduction and consumption that has made fashion one of the world’s largest polluters.”
Pop that in your baguette and toast it for a minute – fashion is one of the greatest pollutants in our world. If you’re an eco-conscious person, then this is something that should make you sit up and pay a little more attention, but even if you’re not that up with all the myriad ways of saving the planet, then this is the perfect place to start getting your hands a little more dirty. Fast fashion is something that we all participate in to some degree whether we realise it or not and the only real way around it is to stop buying retail.
Step back a second though. Before the 1800s, fashion was the opposite of this. Fashion was snail-pace-slow. Fashion was was watching-paint-dry-slow. A person would have to source everything they needed for the particular garment they want to make by themselves. All the materials like leather had to be gathered, then you had to treat and measure and cut before you could piece everything together in the right order and in the right fit before they became wearable.
Then, the Industrial Revolution changed everything, and thanks to new technology and machinery, garments could now be mass-made. Though it wasn’t until the 1990s that ‘fast fashion’ really hit its high-point. With the introduction of online shopping, retailers were now taking runway-ready garments and producing them for the masses at more accessible costs. Everybody now had the opportunity to be ‘runway glamourous’ whenever they desired. (head to What Is Fast Fashion for a more in depth look at the timeline of fast fashion).
Fast Fashion making you feel a little on edge yet? Don’t worry! There is a great alternative to FF and an awesome way to play your part in lessening the 6000 kilograms of textiles dumped into Aussie landfill every 10 or so minutes (Never Ever Pay Retail) – yep, you guessed it! It’s OPSHOPPING!
Not only do you get to participate in making our planet that little bit healthier, you also play an important part in helping local charities continue to offer significant community services, save a little of your cash in the process and help drive down the demand for sweat-shop made instant-clothing. By choosing to buy second-hand, preloved, thrifted and opshopped items you are making a stand for something bigger than yourself, and that’s something we really resonate with here at Junktion!
To help you on your second-hand journey, check out some of the links below as well as some of our images (please note some of these items have sold already) and see for yourself the kinds of awesome treasures you can pick up at a bargain price in a local opshop!
Never Ever Pay Retail – a website/Instagram account to assist you in your thrifting needs complete with how-to-wear-it and an opshop locator!
True Cost movie – this used to be available on Netflix, but is now available to rent or download via their website.
Sustain Your Style – helping you find sustainable alternatives without comprising on your look.
So whether you’re just beginning or you’re a long-time thrifter, come and see us for something new-to-you! Head to that Salvos you always drive past on the way to work or duck into that corner opshop run by the little old lady and support something local, close to home and sustainable. You just never know what kind of treasure you might find!
We are open Wednesday to Friday from 930am – 4pm, and Saturday from 930am – 12midday.
72 Candy Road, Happy Valley
a place to meet 
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