Quarter-zips. Wide-leg jeans. Stanley cups. The modern landscape of fashion feels oversaturated. Almost every month, a new trend appears on social media and practically materializes at Paly overnight.
Outfits may be important for self-expression, and social media in conjunction with fast fashion can offer opportunities to experiment creatively. But if you are just copying what you see on social media, are you truly your creative and unique self? Or are you mindlessly conforming to pressures from social media and your social group?
Fast fashion thrives on this cycle. Britannica defines fast fashion as “the rapid production of inexpensive, low-quality clothing that often mimics popular styles of fashion labels, big-name brands, and independent designers… consequently, previous purchases, perhaps worn a handful of times, are soon discarded.”
Britannica further extends the term by noting its consequences, stating “the rise of the fast fashion industry in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has had enormous consequences, from its myriad environmental impacts to its exploitation of garment workers.”
Behind every quarter-zip that is sold, there is the masked harm that is pollution. According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of global carbon emissions. To put that number into perspective, the fashion industry emits more carbon each year than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
On top of all that, there is arguably an even greater cost: the exploitation of garment workers. According to a George Washington University Law and Policy Brief, fashion industries are located in huge overseas factories where their individuals work up to 16 hours a day, earn wages that keep their families below the poverty line, and the use of child labor is encouraged.
This abuse lasts, in large part, because of the demand for fast fashion. In order to keep clothing cheap and trends hot, fast industries exploit their workers, leaving millions of workers paying for our disposable clothing habits.
This demand depends on constant trend turnovers. And what perpetuates trends? Social media. On top of all of the mental health issues we associate with social media, there’s also the environmental degradation from fast fashion as an unwelcome cherry on top.
The unfortunate truth is that the fast fashion industry is one of many platforms that sell us the illusion of individuality. Whether it’s iPhones, cars, or even quirky kitchen gadgets, social media’s push of trends causes us to overlook whether or not we need a product because we’re so focused on being trendy.
I’m not suggesting we all adopt uniforms. But we should ask ourselves: When did clothing stop being about comfort and start being about a monthly performance? More importantly, who benefits from that performance? Because it’s certainly not us. And not the environment or garment workers either. So the next time you think of buying clothes, or any product, because it’s trending, pause. Do you actually like it, or have you just been told to like it?
