In 2026, fast fashion has never been so fast.

^{via Hydra 4x}

Between the cheap e-commerce boom, every social media app becoming a shopping platform, and our seemingly boundless appetite for being consoomers, every passing day seems to bring grim new statistics about the realities of the shopping industry. 92 million tons of textile waste are generated annually, and the fashion industry makes up at least 10% of global carbon emissions. Meanwhile, fast fashion titan Shein is projecting a $2 billion profit for 2025, with their average customer spending at least $100 a month on countless items.

It’s little wonder that some consumers are attempting to cultivate a more mindful attitude towards what they put in their wardrobes, and one of the most pressing things they care about is what their garments are made of. If there is a folk devil on fashion’s side of the internet at the moment, it isn’t poor factory conditions or trash dumps of discarded clothes: it’s polyester.