Fast Fashion on The Rise
"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."- Coco Chanel
Within society, we all have our own perception of fashion. Each of us has a unique style that defines our character. There are many elements that influence this including emotions, interests, social media, culture and lifestyle. Our way of dress fits accordingly to our mood and environment. When people think of fashion,they automatically think about big luxury designers, fashion shows and celebrities. Fashion is generally a form of art and is determined by one's personality and inspiration. As the quote above states that fashion does not only exist in the form of clothing, but also within nature, our thoughts and way of living. That is the beauty of fashion; it can be taken from any stand point within your life, whether it be physical or mental. The places you visit, the atmosphere you inhabit, the people you encounter on a daily basis can easily impact your life and enhance your perspective on certain aspects of life. Inspiration is a common concept behind the style of many people and is always being acquired from social interaction. Many designers have stories behind their articles of clothing that inspired them to go forth and innovate their thoughts through a particular design. Style holds such great value and has the ability to identify one's personal aspects. Fashion serves as an outlet for expression and how we choose to present ourselves to the world, allowing the engagement of creativity and sense of individuality.
Clothing is an essential part of everyone's life. Everyday, we as humans get dressed and start our daily lives. Some will spend time coordinating the perfect outfit, while others dress with an effortless style. As we spend this time searching through our closet full of clothes, it could get frustrating and end with the infamous phrase "I have nothing to wear". We then contemplate whether to go shopping or not, which can be inconvenient at times. We have all experienced this dilemma at some point. But have you ever stopped to think about why you bought that sweater or pair of jeans hiding in your closet that you've been saving for a special occasion? As more and more amounts of clothing are being purchased and thrown away, the fashion industry continues to flourish in ways that are currently depleting our planet. The fashion industry has invented a tactic called "fast fashion", which is determining the future of society, developing countries and the environment. The actions that are being taken have cost the lives of workers and are beginning to threaten the lives of consumers as well.These problems have fluctuated tremendously and has become the second largest cause of pollution in the world. Fast fashion can be defined as the cycle of accelerating clothing production to introduce new trends to the market as quick as possible at a cheap price.
Expectations vs RealityAdvertising can be deceiving at times, using false statements that will attract the attention of consumers. Within the fashion industry specifically, materialism is prominent. Mark Miller, PHD professor of media and culture at New York University stated that "Advertisements is a species of propaganda" and that "The way to solve the problem of your life is through consumption". Advertisements will claim to enhance the consumers lifestyle physically and emotionally based on occurring trends. As clothing is consistently advertised on magazines, television, billboards and social media platforms across the world, these media outlets gain an emotional interest from consumers, promising happiness and confidence. The trend of buying habits are now being taken in consideration by many psychologists. The amount of coverage that fashion receives has broadened. There are many "seasons" this industry has created ranging from holidays to occasional events that have encouraged consumers to purchase more clothing. Tactics within advertising is popularly being utilized among many fast fashion businesses such as H&M, Forever 21, Zara and many others. In this article, Fast Fashion Lessons, the business strategies that are being utilized at widely known fast fashion companies were discussed. In particular, the authors analyzed world-wide brand Zara and their 3 marketing strategies: observing raw data, making sense of the raw data and testing the hypothesis. In particular, the strategies explained the motives behind their choice of location, basic minimalist clothing and lack of public advertising. According to The Huffington Post, outlet stores that claim to sell designer brands at an affordable price are in reality just cheaply made clothing sporting the designer tag. These designs have not been produced in the same designated factory as the actual company. These outlet stores offer money to these designer brands to allow them to use their brand to make profit within their stores.
Green Is The New BlackThe average american throws away 82 pounds of textile waste each year. When disposed, clothes can sit in landfills for more than 20 years, as they are not biodegradable. Not only do they contribute to waste, but they also emit harmful gases. Why is that? Many believe that their clothes are made of natural cotton. Ever since the supply and demand of clothing has dramatically increased, farmers are needing to provide abundant amounts of cotton to manufacturers. To achieve this amount, farmers have started to purchase genetically modified seeds to grow more cotton at a faster rate. These seeds have been altered with toxic chemicals and require the use of pesticides. Vandara Shiva, an environmental activist, classifies pesticides as "ecological narcotics, the more you use them the more you need to use them". Many farmers have gone into debt from the high cost of seeds that require the additional pesticide use. The majority of cotton that is imported, is "grown" in foreign countries. The amount of pesticides being used are extremely harmful and has heavily polluted the air. This has caused birth defects, cancer and mental illness in the local communities of these foreign countries. Another aspect we have to consider are the other materials being used to make our clothing. Other than cotton, polyester has become the most convenient material used to produce clothes. Polyester is composed of synthetic plastic and is energy intensive. Not only does it require excessive fossil fuels, but when disposed from the factory or the average american, one is polluting our environment. These man-made textiles are composed of many chemicals that pollute our waterways, atmosphere and land when disposed of. Although this material is cheap and accessible, the price paid is the price shown. This synthetic material is known to wear and tear and many companies continue to make their clothing with it to have consumers purchase newer clothes more frequently.
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What's Trending!?The fashion industry is the culprit of seasons and trends. Many fashion shows such as "Fashion Week" debut what claims to be what "everyone" is wearing at the moment. Refinery 29 compiled a slideshow of current styles that are currently popular in fast fashion from this years spring fashion week. Celebrities who wear the designer's clothing at award shows or other events, serve as another outlet to debut the clothing. Designer brands have swept the runway with occurring trends that will appeal to the public and urge them to buy it. Consumers will follow these new, occurring trends that appeal to their aesthetic and visit these stores to purchase the clothing. Over the years, these luxury brands have become too expensive to purchase and retail stores started to take this into consideration. Today, many companies are beginning to take advantage of media platforms as a way to convey these trends that are constantly escalating throughout social media. This has influenced consumers buying habits, causing major concerns to rise.
Who's Really Making The Clothes?Fashion is the most labor- dependent industry on earth. Many men, women and even children, 40 million to be exact are currently working in garment factories around the world for $3 minimum pay. These factories are completely unsafe, consisting of unstable infrastructure, dangerous machines and toxic fumes. Bangladesh is the second most popular clothing manufacturer, following after China. On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, killing more than 1,000 workers. This 8 story building was in need of reconstruction and many workers warned management, who were well aware of the dangerous conditions. They refused to hear their concerns and forced many to go back into work despite their safety. Fashion companies choose to have their clothing manufactured in foreign countries as it is cheaper and a way to maintain great profit within the company. The global fashion industry receives about 3 trillion dollars annual industry. In as early as the 1960's, the clothing industry has provided jobs for immigrants, functioned the economy, and created commerce with foreign countries. In today's economy, the values of ethical commerce has diminished. Over 85% of garment workers are women and they are the lowest paid in the world. They are forced to work an excessive amount of hours and do not get equal pay to support their families. Many workers choose to protest for safer working conditions and higher pay. This has resulted in violence from the police force, injuring and even taking the lives of others. Altercations with management can result in abuse also within the workplace.
This Ted Talk discusses fast fashion and its effects on the environment and our health.
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Conclusion
Fast fashion is a worldwide issue that many consumers are not aware of. Everyday, our economy and environment are being negatively expended at such a quick rate. Soon these resources will be unable to support a functioning society. In order to make a change, this issue needs to be acknowledged by many others, spreading awareness regarding their purchases made on a daily basis. Every purchase made from a company undergoing these operations support their actions and boost profit. Fortunately, there are many sustainable companies that are making their way into the fashion industry. Maxine Bédate, as mentioned in the ted talk above, is the co-founder and CEO of Zady. Zady is a company focused on producing clothing that is durable and able to be worn in many seasons. They also work directly with each contributor in the production process, such as the farmers, sewers, washers, spinners, knitters and sewers to keep operations ethical and sustainable. It is up to us, as consumers to responsibly make sustainable choices and be aware of what we purchase. If alternative solutions can be put into action, resources can be conserved and supply and demand can proceed under control.
“We don’t need fashion to survive, we just desire it so much.” ~ Marc Jacobs
Bibliography:
"Zady." Zady. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
"Zady." Zady. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.