Quitting fast fashion isn’t easy. Fast fashion brands release new ultra-trendy garments almost daily for the price of a coffee and our social media feeds are flooded with influencers who are selling us their dreamy lifestyles.
This all adds up to a lot of societal pressure to constantly refresh our wardrobes. It’s not always easy to resist the allure.
Rest assured that quitting fast fashion doesn’t mean your style has to suffer. In fact, your style will THRIVE when you say goodbye to fast fashion.
These books will show you why quitting fast fashion is so important and help you take your first steps towards seeing consumption in a new way.
Like quitting any addiction, this is going to be a journey, these books will help you take your first steps into it.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, meaning that I will earn from qualifying purchases made. With that in mind, my promise to you is to only recommend things that I truly stand behind.
Consumed: On Colonialism, Climate Change, Consumerism, and the Need for Collective Change by Aja Barber
This is more than just a guide to why fast fashion sucks. It goes into the bigger issues that are interconnected to the problems of the fashion industry like consumerism as a whole, colonialism, and climate change.
The book is split into two sections: learning and unlearning. In the first, you will learn about the oppressive systems that the fashion industry is built upon, and how today there is still major inequality within the industry.
In the second half, she focuses on educating us on why we consume the way we do and how we have been programmed and manipulated to do so. She teaches us how to question and unlearn this behavior to be more responsible about how we shop.
By the end of reading this book, you will view consumerism in a completely new light. You’ll be ready to say goodbye to fast fashion, and ready to be more conscious about your consuming habits.
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Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas
This is the book that made me quit fast fashion once and for all. It made it easy because it’s such a detailed first-hand account, and once you get a glimpse of what’s behind the curtain of glamour, you can’t look at the fast fashion industry the same.
If you want an extremely well-researched book that outlines not only the problems of the fast fashion industry and how it became this way but also that touches on the growing movement against it, Fashionopolis is it.
The book is a comprehensive overview of the fashion industry’s problems, why they started, how they escalated, and where they are headed.
Dana Thomas is a journalist who traveled the world to interview people on the inside of the industry. She investigates everything from how globalization leads to offshoring, factory worker conditions, and pollution, as well as interviews the people who are standing up against the industry and innovating for a cleaner future.
Get Your Copy here
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How To Break Up With Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo
Lauren Bravo is a Journalist who broke off her love affair with fast fashion and is now helping others do the same thing. Her book How to Break up With Fast Fashion is a refreshingly practical guide that does exactly what the title says— teaches you to say goodbye to fast fashion.
She will help you shift your perspective and mindset on fashion. Giving realistic advice that helps you replace your addiction to fast fashion with more sustainable ways of shopping. For starters, she will help you look at your existing wardrobe in a whole new light.
After reading this book you’ll be ready to cut ties with fast fashion without needing to compromise your style. If anything your style will be even more true to you.
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The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good by Elizabeth L. Cline
If you’re going to read just one of these books, I would suggest reading this one. It touches on both the history behind why the fashion industry is the way it is, why it needs to change, along with ways to adopt a more conscious approach towards fashion. All while sharing her own personal journey into the world of sustainable fashion.
My favorite thing about this book is that it shows us how to start appreciating and valuing clothing again— rather than viewing them as disposable, which is what fast fashion promotes. She teaches us how to build an ethical, sustainable wardrobe we’ll love.
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