The Paw Print

By Madeleine Spanbauer

Water bottles are some of the most commonly promoted items across social media.  // photo courtesy of Madeleine Spanbauer

Social media has dictated most, if not all, trends for the past few years. As more and more people become active online, trend cycles have become faster and faster, causing items to go in and out of style at record speeds. 

It has become abundantly obvious that TikTok is a strong reason that trends come and go so quickly. Every day, users upload videos sharing their newest favorite item, which causes viewers to feel the need to go out and purchase the thing that supposedly “changed their life.” The sheer number of people sharing their favorite items, along with the consumerist nature promoted by these types of videos, is what causes trends to go in and out of fashion faster than ever before.

One especially prominent example of rapid trend cycles promoted across social media is the not-so-recent craze surrounding water bottles. Back in 2016, the most sought-after bottle was the S’well with its variety of patterns, textures, and colors. The Yeti came and went relatively quickly, and then came the Hydroflask. This was by far the most popular water bottle of the early 2020s, and it was difficult to go practically anywhere without catching a glimpse of the iconic logo. However, sometime later, people all across the internet began talking about the Stanley Cup, seemingly the perfect water bottle that would finally fit in a car’s cup holder. After Stanley’s moment in the limelight, in 2024, Owala is here to steal its throne.

“I’m fed up with it,” said Rhea Makkuni ‘25 when asked for her opinion on water bottle trends. “It’s just a water bottle; you put water in it, and that should be it. Also, I don’t agree with the prices of them. A Stanley is, like, 40 bucks, and at the end of the day, it’s just going to hold water.”

This is just one of many examples of a larger problem dealing with consumerism promoted by social media. Trend cycles are moving so quickly that people need help keeping up with the newest and supposedly greatest product that is sure to go out of style in a few months.

Another massive contributor to the speed of trend cycles is the prevalence of fast fashion. Since consumers prefer not to drop hundreds on current trends, they tend to turn toward more unsustainable practices to get a good deal. With the brands having a finger on the pulse of all the newest fashion trends, and their wildly low prices, it’s no surprise that they attract a large consumer base. However, their business practices leave something to be desired.

According to George Washington University, 80 billion pieces of clothing are bought and consumed every year. However, approximately 85% of these pieces end up in a landfill. In addition, in 2014 the average person purchased 60% more clothing compared to the year 2000. Many fast fashion companies look for ways to cut costs to keep up with this demand and take their production to developing countries to take advantage of the cheap labor costs.

Today, the fast fashion industry employs about 75 million people factory workers across the globe. Many of these workers are children, who are exploited by companies because of the low skill level required for the jobs. Out of those workers, only an estimated 2% make a living wage. In addition to this, many workers work up to 16-hour work days for seven days a week.

Quinn Carroll ‘25 had some thoughts to share on the fast fashion industry. “I think that the fast fashion industry promotes really rapid trendsetting and trends changing because it allows people to buy clothing that’s cheaply made and cheap to buy, according to whatever is trending, and then just dispose of it as soon as a trend is deemed to be over, which promotes a lot of waste in the clothing industry.”

Consumerism is largely promoted by social media, but it doesn’t have to stay this way. Try to think about where your items are coming from before you make a purchase, and remember that you don’t always need to even make that purchase in the first place. By lessening the effects of rapidly changing trends, it could soon be possible to take consumerism and remove it from our online lives altogether.