Fashion / environment
The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion
Listen and choose the best answer.
What is the hidden cost of fast fashion, according to Sofia?
Fashion / environment
The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion
Type the missing exact words. Empty answers are ignored.
1. Sofia used to love buying ___.
2. When she found a discount, it felt like a ___.
3. One weekend, Sofia cleaned her ___.
4. Some clothes still had ___ on them.
5. The ___ made it too easy to buy things she did not need.
6. The real cost can be paid by ___ who receive very low wages.
7. ___ appear all the time.
8. When clothes become almost ___, waste becomes a serious problem.
9. Sofia says people can buy ___ when possible.
10. The hidden cost is bigger than the number on the ___.
Fashion / environment
The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion
Put the ideas/events in the order they are mentioned from 1 to 10. Empty items are ignored.
She starts reading about fast fashion and its real cost.
Sofia says she used to enjoy buying cheap clothes and discounts.
She says low quality can make people replace clothes more often.
She concludes that the hidden cost is bigger than the price tag.
She cleans her wardrobe and finds many clothes she hardly used.
She explains that new collections create pressure to buy more.
She suggests small habits like buying less, repairing clothes, and buying second-hand.
She realises low prices made it easy to buy things she did not need.
She admits that not everyone can buy expensive ethical brands.
She learns that workers, factories, and the environment may pay part of the cost.
Fashion / environment
👕 The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion
B1 Upper-intermediate • 1 speaker • Transcription
Hi, I’m Sofia. I used to love buying cheap clothes. If I saw a T-shirt for five euros or a jacket with a big discount, I felt as if I had found a small victory. I could change my style often without spending much money. For a while, fast fashion seemed convenient, fun, and harmless. Then one weekend, I cleaned my wardrobe. I found clothes I had worn only once, clothes that had lost their shape after two washes, and clothes I did not even remember buying. Some still had labels on them. Looking at the pile on my bed, I realised that the low price had made it too easy to buy things I did not really need. That was when I started reading about fast fashion. I learned that the real cost of a cheap item is often paid somewhere else. It can be paid by workers who receive very low wages, by factories that have to produce huge amounts very quickly, or by the environment when clothes are made, transported, and thrown away. One problem is the speed of the system. New collections appear all the time, and customers are encouraged to feel that last month’s clothes are already old. This creates pressure to buy more and use each item for a shorter time. When clothes become almost disposable, waste becomes a serious problem. Another issue is quality. Cheap clothes are not always badly made, but many items are designed to be worn only a limited number of times. If a sweater loses its shape quickly, the customer buys another one. The company sells more, but the planet receives more waste. I do not think everyone can simply buy expensive ethical brands. That is not realistic for many people. But we can change small habits. We can buy fewer items, choose clothes we will wear often, repair small problems, exchange clothes with friends, or buy second-hand when possible. Now, before I buy something, I ask myself three questions: Do I need it? Will I wear it many times? Do I already own something similar? These questions do not make me perfect, but they help me slow down. Fast fashion looks cheap at the checkout, but its hidden cost is bigger than the number on the price tag. The real question is not only how much we pay, but who and what pays the rest.