When Fall Fashion Week rolled around earlier this year, I was really surprised to see so much fur on the runway. Fur coats, fur vests, fur-trimmed boots—fur was everywhere. According to an article I read in The New York Times, almost two-thirds of designers in the New York shows used fur in their collections.

With environmental consciousness raised worldwide, I honestly thought the days of using fur were—except for a handful of exceptions—mostly over. But after reflecting on my own relationship with fashion, I realized my judgment wasn’t that fair. After all, I know that my “fast fashion” purchases from Forever21 and H&M aren’t exactly responsible. The clothes are usually made from less than earth-friendly materials; we throw out tons of cheap clothes every year; the textile factories constantly churning out those clothes waste so much water, and the women and children working at those factories are often treated like slaves. Nope, I’m not one to talk about fur, or judge the people who design and buy it.

So I can’t help but wonder—why is it so easy for us to harp on the people buying fur but so hard for us to look at our own irresponsible purchases? I wonder if it has something to do with those buying fur having greater financial means. Maybe we expect wealthy people to be more responsible, because they have more choices, and we forgive people with less, because their choices are limited?

That argument is sort of ridiculous, though, because it means nothing ever really changes. Animal rights activists may get busier this year, and in a couple of years, their influence may mean we may see less fur on the runway, but other than that, fashion isn’t really getting more responsible. It may actually be getting less responsible. Sadie Stein wrote, “The high turnover of the collections at these stores keeps us on the lookout for the new, the fresh, all the time—and this has in turn influenced the high fashion industry, which is producing more frequently in order to satisfy our restless tastes, with similar environmental and human costs.”

It’s all very interesting… and frustrating. Because when I spend my ideal amount on an item of clothing, I’m usually making the worst possible choice for the environment. Why do I have to work so hard to make responsible purchases? And even if it was easier to make responsible purchases, would I make them? Or do I feel so entitled to own the latest trend that I’ll always make the wrong choice?