Adolescence posses the incredibly wasteful, while often overlooked, dilemma of continual and sometimes dramatic body growth. From shoes to shirts to pants, kids can outgrow clothing as often as a couple times a year. The question then becomes, what do you do with all this extra clothing? And do you continue to purchase new clothes, which poses not only an environmental dilemma, but also a financial one? In my family, I have around 20 older cousins, all but one of whom were girls, so I was never in short supply of hand-me-downs in my growing years, and all of these clothes continued on to my younger siblings once I had outgrown them. However, many people simply end up purchasing new clothes and then tossing them out or leaving them in the back of a closet for years once they no longer fit. Luckily, there is an easy solution: second hand stores. At second hand stores, you can donate clothing that no longer fits you but is still in good condition as well as purchase clothing that has been lightly used. By opting for second hand clothing stores and reusing clothing, we can c ut down the environmental impacts of making new clothing and disposing of outgrown clothing that is still usable.

I totally agree with you Maddy! Personally, I am a huge fan of secondhand stores and often buy my clothes from those stores instead of at huge chain stores. Buying from secondhand stores and thrift stores also combats against the textile industry, a major polluter in the world. By buying secondhand and not giving your money to "fast fashion" stores, you are not giving your money to companies that overwork their employees in factories and that contribute immensely to the pollution crisis.

This is an important issue to bring up! I absolutely love clothes and my closet is overflowing. I don't have any older siblings and very few older cousins I can get hand-me-downs from, so I buy most of my clothes. I do quite a fit of thrifting but most of the time I still buy my clothes from large chains just because of price and convenience. However, ever since I became aware of "fast fashion" and accepted that my clothing buying habits were horrible for the environment and the people involved, I have greatly reduced the amount of clothes I buy and try to make better decisions when buying. I also discovered apps and websites where I can buy and sell used clothes, such as Depop, Vinted, and Mercari. My old clothes then get a second life, plus I get a small profit, too. The things that don't sell after some time, I just donate to my local thrift store. These apps provide another way to promote the reuse of clothing rather than just throwing them away,

I understand where you're coming from 100%. It is important that people should donate to places like goodwill instead of places that purchase their used clothes so that the clothes can be recycled and afforded by all families. Goodwill stores are for families who cannot afford to shop in fancy malls and regular stores, so that should be kept in mind when shopping there if you do not donate. Aside from this, those who can afford to shop at regular malls and department stores should be mindful of what brands profit of child labor in polluted factories. There are many brands that produce their garments in the USA and pay their workers fair wages. In addition to clothes, we can also make smart choices about the brands we buy for everyday appliances or vehicles. If we all take the time to do research, we can make the change to supporting companies who do their best to help save the planet.