Summer is the best season to show off a new wardrobe. With new clothes come large price tags, which can be difficult for college students to afford. Many will look towards cheap, popular brands. Still, we often overlook the negative implications of fast fashion, such as its damaging effects on body positivity and the environment. Are we truly aware of the price we’re paying? 

Brandy Melville is a famous fast-fashion brand that maintains its popularity year-round despite ongoing controversies and years of backlash. A recent documentary called “Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion” detailed the problems surrounding the store and its major flaws that everyone seems to ignore. Brandy lacks inclusiveness, offering only clothes in sizes extra small to small and labeling its tags “one size fits all” rather than having a variety of sizes for all bodies. 

Shannon Casteel, a second-year biochemistry major and the president of SSU for Stainability, weighed in on her opinion of fast fashion and their lack of sizes. Casteel agrees that the lack of sizing hurts society. “Nobody wants to go into a store and see that it doesn’t have anything that could fit them,” said Casteel. 

After talking with various students on campus, many claimed to enjoy still shopping at Brandy Melville for summer clothes but are well aware of the problems intertwined with Brandy’s brand. Savannah Roberson, a second-year business major, said that although she enjoys lots of their clothing, she feels more sizes are needed. “It’s unfortunate that they are unwilling to broaden their clothing,” Roberson said. 

Casteel gave excellent advice on switching up your wardrobe while remaining environmentally friendly and avoiding fast fashion. There are many places to find clothing that will empower you. “I go thrifting quite often and now I have a large variety of basics in my closet,” Casteel said. It can be challenging to find precisely what you’re looking for at thrift stores, so Casteel also mentioned, “I do believe in buying occasional articles of clothing from fast fashion if you like them and know you’ll wear them for a long time.” 

Grace Murphy, a third-year kinesiology major, suggested doing a clothing swap with friends and roommates to find an even wider variety of clothes without spending money or supporting certain big brands. “It’s a fun way to switch up your style for summer,” said Murphy. 

Murhpy also spoke highly of her love for thrifting, “It helps the environment by recycling clothes and giving them a new purpose, and I get cool new clothes for cheap.” 

As president of Students for Sustainability, Casteel wants to remind everyone that making one shirt requires a lot of water and non-environmentally friendly materials. Clean clothing brands can be expensive and hard to acquire as college students, so check out some thrift stores and say yes to hand-me-downs. There are hidden gems that are perfect for cute summer activities.