As fashionistas we are all trying to be on top of the latest trends by strutting our “new” pieces. In 2018 the retro vintage look has swept our nation with trying to achieve the grooviest looks. By shopping vintage or thrift we can set ourselves apart from the rest of the crowd with individualism and fun unique looks. However, thrift shopping can be very time consuming and the customer has to know all the good spots but reusing clothing is actually helping the environment by slowing down the demand for fast fashion therefore reducing the damaging effects on the earth. Fast fashion also has a huge strain on the people who are actually making the garments in below average working conditionals in third world countries.
The Clothing industry is actually in second place for the world’s biggest polluters next to the oil industry. That issue alone should be on our minds a lot more as consumers of everyday shopping.When shopping we need to be more conscious about the end use of all our products we buy, although we have all been in the tight position of not knowing what to wear out on a Saturday night where we find ourselves running out to the mall to get a one time wear outfit. Sometimes it’s not avoidable. We are faced with fast fashion everyday even by being on our phones with all the Instagram promotional pages of new “cheap” brands that you cannot get in store.
We basically don’t even need to go shopping, shopping comes to us nowadays. Dressing ourselves has never been more controversial. Do we strictly shop ethical or do you shop accessible? Even the most environmentally conscious people cannot be ethical 100% of the time it’s just the world we live in unfortunately. We have all purchased that jacket on sale at Zara one time or another!
As we focus on prices that go with ethical clothing brands its can be a little outrageous at times. Are we willing to pay more for an ethical piece of clothing? I think we need to take this into consideration when buying our next stand out piece. Maybe spending more on products that will have a better life cycle and have a less impact on the environment is the way to go. In this economy prices of everything are going up so this really shouldn’t be a huge shock. Plus I believe that this is the direction that the industry is going, making pieces more unique and specialized with tactics such a dyeing clothing with all natural compounds like turmeric.
Talking to a style specialist at Nordstrom, Julian Jamie has this to say about fast fashion, “I hate fast fashion, I think it’s boring and predictable. I don’t see the charm in wearing a piece that everyone else in the city has that’s not setting ourselves apart. As the young generation of the world we have to take matters into our hands and take responsibility of our actions. As clothes enthusiast we need invest in our day to day outfits that will have a longer timeless lifecycle. Supporting brands that are locally made or even in our own country with people we are being paid at least minimum wage is very important to me."
In retrospect we don’t want to take away jobs from people who are making our clothing overseas, and most of our population cannot afford to be spending a huge sum on a jacket or a pair of jeans so fast fashion stores like Forever 21 and H&M have more welcoming prices. This is an everyday struggle we face whether we choose to think about it or not. I know a lot of people have the mindset of having more pieces of clothing at a lower price than less clothing for a higher price. With age I know this way of thinking will change, as we grow up and learn more about the world around us I think the idea of being more minimalistic and reducing our end waste is something that will come to the ultimate forefront.
A few steps we have take into a better fashion future is combining science and technology such as growing our materials out of algae and bacteria. An amazing startup company in Australia called “1 Million Women” are making yarn out of food waste! This startup is starting an amazing conversation around the world on living a low-carbon life. This can be a huge contributor to the waste problem and has such potential to be the sole renewable outlet for making clothing. The more we talk about the fashion waste issues we are having and bringing it to light I believe we can make a difference for our planet earth that we call home and take back the ugly from day to day beauty.
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