"For younger people, fashion is a way to show off to people or be comfortable in various situations. It's much easier to spend $150 on a set of new clothes to try impressing a date than it is to try impressing someone with your car like people may've tried decades ago."That's the real problem, the world can no longer afford that given the environmental crisis. They cannot have it both ways: millions of young people are always whingeing that the older generation has left them with a horrible environmental legacy that they'll have to clean up. Well, I suggest we start by pointing to them that to continue with both behaviors would shown them up as hypocritical.
Of course all those in the rag/fashion trade or the overly fashion conscious will vigorously disagree—mainly that to do otherwise would reduce their incomes.
The fact remains, we're using and wasting cotton in huge amounts and the amount of water needed to produce cotton is outright enormous—just phenomenal. Essentially the world's ecosystem can't afford it. If you want to be reminded of exactly how much that is that damage then I'd suggest you see what happened to the Aral Sea because of cotton growing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea. Right, cotton growing has essentially made the sea disappear. This really ought to be a wake-up call to the clothing and fashion industries.
"But it's not a thing you're ever going to "logic and reason"
Hike the price and it'd have an effect, so would nuking clothing and fashion industry ads (like the tobacco industry) and it may have to come to that. If I had any say in the matter (which I never will) I'd put an environmental tax on cotton (in first world countries only where the main waste occurs). What's needed is a cultural shift that it's not cool to show off this way. Like any other cultural shift, it'd take quite some time but it;s not impossible. If things continue to go from bad to worse governments may even force the matter.
BTW: That example was for knockabout clothes. I also have much better clothes right up to a 'money suit' complete with bow tie, although I've not updated any in recent years because almost all of them are AOK—i.e.: not out of fashion (it's actually quite easy to buy clothes whose fashion hardly ever changes). If I'm going to a formal dinner then I definitely look the part, same goes for a processional engagement (dealing with clients etc. one must be very particular and I never look out of place there either).
Re cars: I've never had one good enough to impress anyone (to me, vehicles are only a means to an end and I often wonder why they impress so many). Currently, I don't even own one. Environmental waste and the enormous waste of human effort is the result of the premature turnover of vehicles and it is an unmitigated environmental disgrace. Again, much of this is driven by fashion 'forced' on people by the manufactures and advertising industry (i.e.: same as the clothing/fashion industry in that they 'manufacture consent'—a feeling of need to continually want to buy and or upgrade their clothes).