Coming from the country that reigns in the Fashion World, the “Depeche Mode” is a French slang that stands for “fast fashion,” a mindset that we must leave behind.
The ideology that dominates the fashion industry revolves around the concept that “new is always better”. That is a toxic mindset.
In the past, the fashion market had only two seasons of fashion known as Spring and Fall. However, with the exponential growth of the fashion market and influence through social media, we now cycle around trends at an accelerated pace, making room for 52 micro-seasons.
As social media facilitates the high-paced process of “trend setting,” fast fashion brands are the only ones who quickly accommodate the changing demand.
Yet, the true and real cost of fast fashion largely exceeds the number on the price tags as the production process causes harm to not only the environment that surrounds it but also the labourers who work around the production unit.
Therefore, the trillion-dollar fashion industry manipulates its sales by attracting people to the ever-changing trends and as a result, not many think of the clothing waste they have generated in the process of trying to keep up with trends.
The releasing of untreated waste material into the waterways, dumping of clothes on the land for decomposition, or the burning of fashion waste using fuel/wood leads to the contamination of the water, soil, and air at an alarming rate each year. As the average person in 2019 was buying 60% more than they had in 2000 the generated value and waste equates to more than double the amount (The World Bank, 2019).
The new age of the internet and social media allows the young and the old to voice their opinions and ideas openly. Relying on this vast source of campaigning, spreading awareness has become an easy task to do.
Individuals have the power to decide who they support and how they spend their money, making it an important task to open their eyes against the lies they are being fed so as to force these massive clothing corporations to change their business models and ideologies.
To escape the trap laid down by the economically-thinking fashion industry, one can resort to the alternative of fast-fashion shopping: thrift shopping. Second-hand shopping has become a favourite pastime for the most fashion-conscious portion of the population.
A method that allows the up-cycling of clothing items and encourages the resurface of trends, thrift shopping has proven to be the most environmentally safe and money-friendly way of recycling and reusing fashion items.
With all the problems fast fashion poses, the adaption of smarter spending habits is what we as individuals can do to help tackle the problem. Moreover, as active consumers, we must use our wallets to protest against fashion corporations who now need to adapt better to the consumer demand of environmentally conscious fashion.
References:
- The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. (2018, December 27). SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7
- How much do our wardrobes cost to the environment? (2019, September 23). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente