Forever 21’s fast fashion may be ending up in landfills

Fast fashion has a growing waste problem. Clothing companies like Forever 21 are constantly churning out the latest trends at incredibly cheap prices — but what happens to last season’s looks? 

When a new clothing shipment arrives, fashion retailers take the “old” clothes off the shelf and toss them in the trash — brand new clothes that have never even been worn. The result is mountains of textile waste being sent to landfills and incinerators.    

Globally, only 20% of all textiles are recycled or repurposed, sending the other 92 million tons of clothing to landfills each year — a major reason why clothing and textile waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the United States. 

Forever 21 is one of the largest fast fashion retailers in the U.S., and it churns through millions of articles of clothing every season. Whatever doesn’t get sold is likely headed to the landfill. 

The fast fashion business model is built on waste

Fast fashion companies make and sell clothes so cheaply that their business model relies on constantly attracting customers with ever-changing trends and selling them far more clothing than they need.

They’re using precious resources to produce millions more tons of clothing than they can actually sell, and they’re shipping them all over the world to stores with no more room on their racks. Each season, fast fashion retailers like Forever 21 are overproducing clothes by 30-40% — clothing they know won’t be sold.

In addition to all the waste, this business model pollutes our air and water with its constant manufacturing and shipping, and it contributes to climate change. Clothing in landfills releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. 

This endless cycle of overproduction and waste has to stop, and Forever 21 can lead the way by publicly committing to never trashing or burning new, unsold clothing. 

Customers want sustainable alternatives to fast fashion 

In France, a new law bans companies from destroying unsold products, including clothing, setting a precedent for how other countries can address waste. But until major changes like that take effect in the U.S., we consumers have a lot of power. 

Every time we shop at fast fashion stores, we reinforce that clothing overproduction and microtrends work. But if we adapt our shopping habits to support sustainable fashion, we can show the fashion industry that their environmental damage is not something we are willing to overlook. 

Many consumers are already exploring less wasteful ways to be fashionable by turning to thrift stores for second-hand clothes, repairing their existing clothes, and even repurposing old clothes into new household items.

But to get at the root of the problem, we need fast fashion companies to act. Forever 21 can be an industry leader by publicly committing to never burning or trashing overstock. If a major company like Forever 21 does this, it would create a ripple effect across the industry that changes the world for good. 

Add your name to our petition.