In recent years, brands like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara have maintained global domination thanks to an unprecedented business model. Where specialty stores and luxury design houses take anywhere from 6-12 months to bring product to market, fast fashion stores are introducing new product within weeks. For fashion fans who want to stay on the cutting edge of the industry, the quick product turnaround is a blessing. But the ultimate sacrifice in this new retail business model is the quality of the clothing.

To bring fast fashion to the masses, several things need to be sacrificed. Perhaps the most tragic sacrifice involved is the loss of human life. To move faster and more profitably, large retailers are looking to third world countries with fewer regulations for cheaper labor. While this is great for their bottom line, there’s a moral price to pay.

In 2013, more than 1100 workers died in a factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Joe Fresh, The Children’s Place and Primark all produced clothing in the factory. More than a year after the horrific fire, its victims were still owed $40 million in damages and recovery costs.

Just last year, The Guardian reported that workers in Bangladesh were still dealing with poor working conditions. From physical assault to forced overtime, these employees were being pushed to the limit just so shoppers could get their ripped jeans and t- shirts on time.

Even worse, these clothes aren’t made to last. Fast fashion clothing relies heavily on cheap synthetic fabrics that rarely hold together over multiple wears. This means the customer needs to continuously foot the bill for new pieces. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps your wallet empty. But it’s also harming the environment.

When clothing is worn through, it ends up in the trash. The more trends we see and the shorter the shopping seasons are, the more clothing ends up in landfills. The clothing is too cheap to resell, too poorly made to hold onto and too useless to donate.

The only logical thing to do is toss it out.

The problem with this is that our abandoned clothing helps create greenhouse gases. So, we might end up with closet space for new duds, but we’re contributing to a global environmental crisis.

Sure, H&M launched a campaign this year urging shoppers to donate their old clothes. Those clothes would be recycled to create new product or donated to those in need. But most people don’t make an effort to donate their old clothes. And Newsweek reports that only .1% of donated clothing is used to make new textiles.

What’s the solve to the issue? Well, the solution is one that big retailers won’t want to hear. The best way to stop this problem is to buy higher quality clothing. If a piece of clothing can’t survive 30 wears, it shouldn’t be in your closet. Instead of worrying about to what to do with the old clothes, we need to demand more of the new ones.