CNN
 — 

To keep up with the ever-changing trends propagated by runway shows, influencers and frenetic social media fads, fashion connoisseurs and avid clothing shoppers can be quick to turn to the most convenient — and budget-conscious — options out there.

Often, that’s “fast fashion” offerings, from e-tailers with their endless feeds of wallet-friendly and of-the-moment garments or big box stores offering that knee-length trench coat or oversized flannel at sale prices.

But while cheap chic may seem like the way to go, the fast fashion industry sees clothing pushed out on a scale that is even too large for most consumers to keep up with. Plus, the materials used can last for as few as just seven to 10 wears, according to the non-profit environmental data platform Earth.org.

Fast fashion is a business model that focuses on the production of garments in bulk, and as quickly as possible, in response to current trends, according to Dr. Preeti Arya, an assistant professor of textile development and marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The term was first popularized in a New York Times article in 1989 to describe retail store Zara’s first opening in the