As of May 1, 2025, all of Forever 21’s 354 US locations have closed. The fast-fashion brand, founded by Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang in 1984, had been in operation for 41 years before it closed due to bankruptcy.
Offering clothes, accessories, jewelry and other trinkets, Forever 21 was an ideal store for teens. Freshman Adiah Levison says shopping at the Shoppes at Carlsbad location was always exciting because of their diverse selection and often good discounts.
“It makes me sad because I really liked their clothes, and there was always a clearance or a sale,” Levison said. ”The clothes were just really affordable and mostly good quality.”
Although Forever 21’s pricing was low, the COVID-19 pandemic led to more online competition from brands with cheaper pricing like Shein and Temu, which began to put pressure on the store. After the pandemic, consumers didn’t shop in-store as often as they had before.
“I probably shop more online because I just don’t have much time to go in-store with school and volleyball,” Levison said. “It’s also easier because I can just shop from anywhere.”
While this convenience of online shopping and mass shipping has risen in popularity over the past few years, so has attention toward fast fashion and its effects on the environment. The process of making these clothes often releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere and bodies of water. Additionally, around 85% of all textiles end up in landfills each year.
“I care about sustainable clothing more than fast fashion because it lasts longer, it’s a better use of your money and it’s better for the environment,” Freshman Grace Seltzer said. “It’s very harmful and wasteful.”
As awareness has been raised regarding Forever 21’s unsustainable clothing production, consumers have increasingly turned away from their products. Sophomore Avery Bartels says that as she has learned more about fast fashion and which stores contribute to this issue, she is beginning to reevaluate her shopping habits.
“In the past, I shopped from fast fashion brands like Forever 21,” Bartels said. “But when I heard about the practices they use, I tried to not shop from brands like them anymore.”
Besides environmentally detrimental practices, Forever 21 has also contributed to the underpaying of laborers in the supply chain. Lower wages help lower the cost of clothing, but even with these low wages, Forever 21 was still unable to compete with the prices of other clothing brands.
“I think there are just so many fast fashion brands that are really cheap, like Shein, that the industry is oversaturated,” Seltzer said. “If people can have the same shirt from Forever 21 and Shein, they’re going to pick the cheaper one from Shein.”
Forever 21 gained popularity in the early 2000s and provided teens with trendy, affordable fashion throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s. But with the clothing giant gone, questions have sparked regarding the future of fast fashion. Bartels says Forever 21’s closing feels like the end of an era.
“I remember I really liked shopping there, especially in middle school,” Bartels said. “So that makes me really sad because I’m not going to walk past it anymore and think about all those memories.”
