The Problem with Style Influencers
You can find many fashion influencers promoting many types of products all over TikTok and Instagram. While these videos may be engaging and informative, many influencers help drive fast fashion and unbridled choices.
In recent years, fast fashion brands like Shein and Zara have come under fire for their unsustainable and harmful practices. However, a large part of the fast fashion industry depends on style influencers to promote their clothes to increase their sales. These influencers are rarely criticized, which is why I wanted to raise awareness of the role they play in accelerating fast fashion.
Most style influencers are agnostic and will promote any style they desire regardless of their unsustainable or unethical practices. One day they may promote a stable brand like Lucy&Yak and the next day promote a more dangerous polluting and unethical brand like Shein.
Another problem is that many style influencers are constantly promoting new clothing items and microtrends. It is rare for them to promote or engage in repurposing, which creates a dangerous perception that clothing is disposable.
What Makes a Really Sustainable Style Influencer? Here’s What You Can Want
TikTok isn’t all bad when it comes to looking for outfit advice and there are actually some very knowledgeable and informative influencers. I look for three main criteria when trying to find a sustainable fashion influencer that I trust.
The first way is to promote sustainable and ethical products compared to popular fast fashion brands. It is important that these influencers are not brand agnostic and have the integrity to promote small brands that care about their environmental impact. Avoid any style influencers who promote fast fashion brands like BooHoo, H&M and PrettyLittleThing. Instead look for style influencers who promote sustainable brands.
The second way is to promote sustainable materials such as hemp or organic cotton. Educating the audience about the things used in the fashion industry and what things to avoid is an important part of a stylist’s online presence. This shows that they have a deep understanding of what makes a garment more durable than others and some of the science behind it.
The final process is the promotion of used habits and re-wearing. Being a good example and removing the stigma from repurposing clothes and accessories shows me that the promoter is truly committed to sustainability. A big part of fast fashion culture is the constant pressure to follow trends and buy new clothes, so it’s important for influencers to combat this.
One caveat to remember: even the best influencers work on what the product itself says. Very few have the time or resources to validate claims against a consistent standard, which is why a product can look great in a 60-second video and fall apart in the process. Treat the recommendation as a starting point, and test the product with the rating system before buying.
Top 7 TikTok Fashion Influencers
I’ve created a list of my favorite style influencers who support sustainable brands, re-wear and buy second-hand. Most of the influencers on this list have small platforms so please consider giving them a follow if you think their content might interest you!
1. Cindy Choi
Cindy Choi is an ethical and sustainable fashion influencer who specializes in brand endorsements. They also have a great thread where they discuss affordable sustainable products that they personally love.
Cindy mentions that they always turn to thrift stores first when they are looking for everyday items like jean shorts as they are easy to find in grocery stores. They also have a huge focus on repurposing clothes and finding fun new ways to style them.
- Follow their TikTok: @_cindysarchives
2. Clo3simone
This influencer is dedicated to promoting second-hand clothing, using vintage stores, Fleek, Depop and Vinted. They produce a lot of content on how to best use Vinted to find some festive outfits, everyday wear and how to dress like beloved fictional characters like Lorelai Gilmore.
Their content is engaging, unique and promotes sustainability through second-hand shopping. My favorite video series they produce is called ‘Don’t buy this’, where they recommend keywords to use on Vinted to say goodbye to fast fashion brands.
- Follow their TikTok: @clo3simone
3. Miahiraani4
This influencer focuses on breaking down people’s ideas about sustainable fashion and shows how fun and different it can be! They have a series dedicated to slow fashion brands where they choose their favorite clothes from these brands and recommend which times they work best for them.
They recently created an ongoing list of summer products to check out in sunglasses, dresses and bikinis. This includes a cool brand called SoSo Swim that uses discarded fish nets in their swimwear. I really like their videos as they include lots of pictures and clips so it’s easy to see what items suit your taste.
- Follow their TikTok: @miahiraani4
4. Andrea Cheong
Andrea creates unique and high-quality content where she breaks down the quality of clothes from brands like COS and H&M — not to promote them, but to show viewers how to judge the construction and materials for themselves. He is knowledgeable about the making of the garment and the materials used. She takes a neutral approach when reporting on sustainable clothing brands, yet her coverage is invaluable as she provides tips on what to look for when shopping for long-lasting and well-made clothing.
One of his most popular TikToks is a video recommending that before buying anything ask yourself; ‘Do I really need this?’, ‘Did this need to be done/is there a purpose?’, taking this time to check in with you will prevent you from buying unnecessary things. Another important question to ask is ‘If I’m not allowed to take pictures of this, do I still want it?’, this question helped me to see when I fell victim to social pressure to buy something rather than buying it becauseactuallyi like it.
- Follow her on TikTok: @andreacheong_
5. Rachael Grif
Rachael is a Dublin based influencer, their bio says they want to stop influencing fast fashion with their used wardrobe. They create TikToks about brands like Urban Outfitters where they share new collections and suggest sustainable alternatives to certain items.
My favorite series is ‘reduce waste through creativity’, where they find things they already own but don’t wear and find new ways to style them. I love that they always talk about the frequency of possessions and their importance.
They say that if you really want a new dress, ‘borrow it from your friend, or write it in another way.’ They focus on the culture of going to a party and say if you do the same hair and makeup when you leave the party why not wear the same outfit, you don’t need a new one every time!
- Follow their TikTok: @rachaelgrif
6. Venetia La Manna
Venetia is the most followed influencer on this list with over 160k followers. She is a good fashion campaigner and travels to real world locations to interview people who live by the effects of fast fashion.
He calls out UK brands such as M&S as leading British brands polluting Ghanaian beaches. He is asking his viewers to take action to sign petitions and boycott unethical/unsustainable products. You produce high quality content and give voice to many communities that are not heard.
- Follow him on TikTok: @venetialamanna
7. Ujo Shop
And of course you should be following us too! When it comes to sustainable product recommendations we use a scientific approach that makes us one of the most trusted resources to help you cut out greenwashing.
We also do quick fashion style breakdowns and share some trending fashion tips and tricks!
- Follow us on TikTok: @yourecostylist
Take Action
Being aware of the influencers you follow on social media is important when considering sustainability and ethical fashion. Influencers have a real-world impact on the fast fashion industry and can contribute to environmental degradation.
Stop following fashion influencers and brands that are doing it wrong. And to keep them off your feed check out our social media cleanup guide!
Follow the above 7 for better tips. Againshare this articleincrease your impact!
Maisie is a content writer based in England. He recently graduated from the University of Exeter with his MA. He loves animals, nature and reading.